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Winter Management of Alfalfa

If you have not already made a herbicide application to control winter annuals, you can still do so. Just wait until you can get on the field without tracking the field. Alfalfa is really growing due to our warm weather. The only herbicide that you need to be using for winter annuals now is either Pursuit or Raptor. They need to be applied ASAP before the alfalfa gets tall enough to canopy the weeds. Either herbicide can be used on established or newly seeded alfalfa however they will damage any orchardgrass that is in mixed stands. Since our winter has been so warm we need to be prepared to treat our fields for alfalfa weevils in late March or early April. Warrior or Mustang are your best choices   

Whatever pesticide you use please take the time to read and understand the label

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Management of Grass Pastures and Hayfields

Check fields for buttercup (yellow blooms in spring), if you can catch 3-5 days where the temperature gets 50 degrees or better, you can make a herbicide application to control them. 2, 4-D Ester does a good job, 2.5 pts/ac, no grazing restriction for beef cattle but has a 7 day grazing restriction for lactating dairy cattle. This herbicide will kill red clover  and do some damage to white clover but will not kill all of it. Cimarron (new name for Ally), at 0.15 oz/ac plus a surfactant will do a good job. It has no grazing restriction , but will kill all legumes and when used in the fall you will not be able to reseed legumes in that field in the spring. On fields that do not have a weed problem and a pH of between 6.3 and 7.0, and a medium or higher level of P and K, then you should consider overseeding with a legume. Fields that are straight grass and will not have legumes seeded in them should be topdressed in late February. Fertilize according to soil test or if you do not have a soil sample use either a 60-30-30 or 50-30-30

Wheat

Don't forget to check for winter annuals, if needed you can make an application of 0.4 oz of Harmony plus a surfactant for very little money.

If you have weed-free pasture fields, this year (high Nitrogen Prices) will be a good year to seed legumes in a pasture or hay field. Below are some of the advantages of having legumes. 

* Lower Nitrogen costs.

* Better distribution of growth.

* Better forage quality.

* Increased forage yield.

* Reduced risk, with two or more forages in a pasture if you lose a species there still are enough plants to maintain the pasture

* Legumes improve soil structure and tilth

* Reduced endophyte toxicity.

* Environmental acceptability.

* More interesting and attractive pastures.

* Increased profits.

February is the best month to overseed fields and if we have cold or wet weather you may still do it in March. However if it turns off warm you will need to lightly disk or use a chain harrow to get a seedbed. And there is always no-till drills that can be used. White or red clovers are excellent choices if you have good pH's (6.3-7.0) and good fertility. If you have a field with a lower pH or low fertility, consider using lespedezas. Some good mixes are Ladino clover 2 lb/ac mixed with 6 lb of Certified Kenland Clover or you can use straight Ladino Clover at 2-3 lb/ac, If you need to use a lespedeza, use 12-15 lb Korean Lespedeza/ac 

Any fields that will be sown in alfalfa this spring should have been soil tested this fall and if the pH was below 6.3, lime should have been spread on the field. Check UK's yield plots to select a variety and get ready to seed starting in Mid-March. Straight alfalfa use 22-25 lbs/ac and if you desire a mixed stand use 20 lb alfalfa/ac plus 3 lb of orchardgrass. Spring oats can also be added to either straight or mixed stands using 1-11/2 bu/ac.