Extension Corner - Spring Presenting Challenges to Farmers
This spring it is hard to miss the yellow flowered plants that appear to be everywhere. They are in alfalfa fields, ditches, vacant lots, waste places and more. This abundant plant is called Tallhedge mustard.
It is an annual or winter annual plant. Since it is an annual it reproduces only by seed. It is too late this year to control the plant but be prepared to control next year’s plants this fall or next spring.
With much of the corn and soybeans planted in Washington County, farmers will be turning their attention to harvesting their first cutting of alfalfa. The rains over the past couple of weeks have kept many producers from cutting their alfalfa. Even if your alfalfa isn’t blooming heavily, it may have already started to grow the next cutting.
Before you swath your hay, take a close look at the base or crown of the plants. If you see some new shoots starting at the base of the plants, these shoots will turn into your second cutting.
Avoid cutting off these new shoots. Cutting them off will delay could cause a delay in your second cutting.
Fortunately, you can avoid this delay. All you need to do is raise your cutting height just a couple inches so that you avoid clipping off most of these new, second growth shoots. Your regrowth then will have a head start towards next cutting. And since the stubble you leave behind has quite low feed value anyway, the yield you temporarily sacrifice is mostly just filler.
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