Whether you seeded your forage stand this year or last, it’s a good idea to evaluate it once warm weather shows up. BrettYoung Sales Manager for Alberta, Mark Hagen, said a lot of growers don’t go out to evaluate their forage stands, even though that can be the difference in losing or making money.
The most important factor in successfully establishing a forage stand is the seeding rate. A lighter-than-recommended seeding rate can save you money when seeding but will end up costing you more down the road.
“A light stand will give you a bale and a half per acre, where a heavy stand will give you maybe four bales per acre,” said Hagen. “You’re looking at giving up several hundred dollars each time you cut if you try to cut costs when seeding.”
So, how do you know if your new forage stand is on track?
Evaluating Your Newly Seeded Forage Stand #
Though you just seeded your crop a month or so ago, Hagen recommends getting out into your field. This early on, you want to make sure seedlings are starting to come in and germinate. With a lot of forages — especially legumes — a lot of the seeds are dormant, and some species will take longer to establish as they break that dormancy.
If you seeded your forage stand with a companion crop, Hagen said you’ll likely see a lot less growing in your field in the first year. It’s common to seed a new forage stand with oats, barley, wheat, or even canola, as the companion crop will help to nurse the forage and turf seedlings throughout their first growing season.
“That’s just the nature of it when you use a companion crop,” he said. “You’ll see some small seedlings starting to emerge and after about a month, you should see something starting to grow.”
However, the rate of growth for the stand as it gets bigger and establishes a root system when planted with a companion crop will be slower.
Evaluating Last Year’s Forage Stand #
Another important time to evaluate a forage stand is after it overwinters for the first time. Hagen said your crop should have crowns from the previous year and they should be growing leaves now.
If you didn’t use a companion crop when you seeded the forage stand, your field should look full. If you did seed your stand with a companion crop, this year will be a continuation of its establishment year.
“You should still see plants but there will be more spaces and gaps between them because the forage stand was competing with the cover crop,” said Hagen. “Without that competition it should take off and fill in.”
If you’re worried about some crowns not surviving from the previous year, mould growth, or something else, Hagen said to flag those plants and come back to check on them. It’s also good to check for weeds and determine if you have chemical options to get rid of them as a weed-free stand is important for good establishment.
When you’re out there evaluating your stand, be it a new one or not, Hagen recommends the hula hoop method to determine your plant count. It’s as easy as throwing a hula hoop in a spot in your field and count the number of crowns growing within the space — that gives you a rough idea of how many plants you have per square foot. An ideal stand will have 10 or more plants per square foot.
Hagen recommends you keep checking it throughout the growing season as grasses are very difficult to see when they start growing. If your stand is thin by the end of the season, you can consider adding more seed or completely re-seeding the field. Many BrettYoung forage products are backed by our Forage Establishment Guarantee to protect your investment. Learn more about BrettYoung’s Forage Establishment Guarantee here.
