Some people say putting up hay is hard, but it seems pretty cut and dry to me ….
Jokes aside, hay and pastures are not simple. Maintaining high-quality forages can be complicated, and if you don’t believe me I encourage you to go identify some grasses by the blades, hairs and ligules. No seed heads, that’s cheating. PS to the unknowing, not all grasses are desirable in forages, some are weeds.
Forages are often overlooked because of their perennial stands, but they need managing. For horse owners, or “hobby farmer” with small herds of small ruminants or freezer beef, weed control and nutrient management can be hard to source. Small bales and small enough equipment/applicators for pastures seem to be getting harder to acquire.
If you ever question the quality of your pasture or your hay, I encourage you to look into the Small Ruminant Field Day and the Hoosier Hay Contest. (I can only cover so much in a tri-weekly newspaper article, but look for my next article to get deeper into the complexities of forages.)
• Small Ruminant Field Day (free), 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Aug. 24, at Whiteside Farms, 15365 E Base Road, Columbus, IN 47203. Call 812-379-1665 to register by Aug. 15.
Topics Include pasture management, forage testing, pasture renovation, woodland invasive species control methods and more. Free lunch served by the Washington County Sheep Association.
There is an optional FAMACHA from 1:45 p.m. to 4 p.m. Session is $30 per person and additional registration required.
• Hoosier Hay Contest
The Indiana Forage Council’s Hoosier Hay Contest began June 1. The friendly competition encourages Indiana producers to cultivate higher quality hay during the 2024 season. The contest has two categories, hay or baleage, and promotes forage production, informs hay producers on the nutritive value of their hay, and encourages producers to sample and test their hay or baleage before feeding it to livestock.
“Sampling and analyzing harvested forages should be the method of determining if the forage is delivering sufficient nutrients to ruminant livestock,” said Nick Minton, Indiana Forage Council director and Purdue Extension beef systems specialist. “The greatest risk of not doing so is assuming that it’s ‘good’ hay when it’s not. Production or performance declines as a result.”
SureTech Laboratories will analyze contestant samples and release the results to the contest organizer, producer, and the producer’s local Purdue Extension agriculture and natural resources educator. The educator and producer will then work together to interpret the analysis and determine how best to use the forage.
The cost to participate is $14 per hay sample or $20 per baleage sample, with the contest being limited to 100 samples. Entries must be received by SureTech Labs and the IFC by Sept. 30.
Rules and entry forms can be found online at www.indianaforage.org, or by contacting Tricia Herr at the Montgomery County Purdue Extension Office. For more information about the contest, contact Nick Minton at 812-279-4330, nminton@purdue.edu, or Jason Tower at 812-678-3411, towerj@purdue.edu.
Tricia Herr is the Montgomery County Extension Educator, Ag and Natural Resource. The office is at 400 Parke Ave., Crawfordsville; 765-364-6363. She may be reached by email at triciaherr@purdue.edu.
