There are many clever definitions of the word “average.” I like the one where an individual sticks a finger in ice water at 32º and another finger in water used to scald a freshly slaughtered hog at 140º. (We learned this in the meat and slaughter course I took at Cornell my junior year.) That scalding temperature was hot enough so that you could touch it three times with the same finger but you didn’t want to touch it a fourth time. With a calculated mean temperature of 86º from the two-water scenario, you could say that on average the two fingers were comfortable at about 10º lower than body temperature.
The above illustration was my attempt to show that the Northeast has had a lot of extremes thus far in its 2024 growing season, depending on the grower’s location. But if you lump all these extremes together, from countless locations, putting mathematical values on them – like temperature and precipitation – the resulting calculated average would be pretty normal. That said, for most of Northeast agriculture, this has been the season of extremes.
First, many locations had very little rain, then it has not stopped raining. In some areas, it rained all summer, and the corn is one to four feet high and very uneven. Interestingly, in the wet areas, especially with heavy soils, a driver passing by could perform a windshield survey. They could look at a corn field and know whether it was planted into winter forage triticale stubble or into typical bare soil that spent all winter uncovered, vulnerable to cold weather elements.
The field planted with the all-too-common bare condition all winter and spring tilled is a mess. The observer sees rows starting at one foot tall. Visually advancing down the row, plants get taller, starting their tasseling. Then in the same row, corn height drops, dwarfing again at one foot tall – with nothing growing in wet spots.
Across the road, the corn no-till planted in triticale stubble is tall, uniformly growing and tasseling. With winter forage – don’t call it cover crop anymore – providing 3.5 to 4 tons of dry matter, with more milk-producing ability than corn silage, there’s an additional benefit: Improved soil health, due to no-till planting into widespread triticale stubble roots, allowing the corn to survive and grow in marginal weather conditions.
Growers reap better yielding corn crops if they follow winter triticale forage. Planted in sequence with corn silage, the total yield from that acre is boosted 25% to 35%, counting the triticale.
News flash: Let preparation for winter forage production begin right now. With over 30 years of Cornell-sponsored experiment demonstrations (centering on the Valatie, NY, Research Farm), research workers have evolved the crop from a 1.5- to 2-ton incidental afterthought to a key forage crop. That crop yields high-quality roughage in the 4 to 6 tons/acre dry matter (DM) range.
To make this happen, there are critical factors crop managers need to embrace:
1: Plant early. This is the biggest factor in moving Northeast yields from 2 tons DM/A to 4 tons DM/A yields. The earlier you plant, the more tillers develop. More tillers mean more yield potential next spring. The plant should go into winter 8 to 12 inches tall. This means shortening the season length of the corn silage variety being followed. Field research has shown that going from 105-day corn to 85-day corn will reduce corn silage by an average of 3 tons (1.05 DM ton). But growers are replacing that with 6 to 12 tons (3.5 – 4.2 DM tons) of flag leaf winter triticale forage with more milk producing ability than the corn that was sacrificed.
We can show that the shorter season corn yields are rivaling the longer season corn because of greatly improved soil health and structure, complements of this winter forage.
2: Strong seed. Rye is not recommended. Most forage experts shy away from this lanky small grain because the nitrogen necessary to get 18% crude protein makes the rye crop very prone to lodging. Winter triticale was still standing in Valatie-replicated research while rye wasn’t.
These experts recommend against planting a rye/triticale mix, because rye will be ready before triticale. This means that total yields will suffer if growers harvest rye on time and, thus, triticale too early. Waiting for the triticale to reach flag leaf will likely result in high-quality triticale mixed with rye straw. Fortunately, plant breeders are developing triticale varieties that are ready almost as soon as rye come spring.
3: Seed rate. Replicated research has found that 1.2 million seeds/acre (about 100 lbs./acre) optimizes yield. Contrary to old-timer barnyard wisdom, more seeds do not make up for later planting. It only increases seed cost. A definite money-making move is to treat seed with a three-way treatment – fungicide/insecticide/biological. High-yield wheat growers use this routinely.
Cornell-replicated research on winter triticale found a 15% yield increase from treating the seed if planted on time and a 28% increase compared to no treatment and late planting. This more than pays for slightly increased seed costs.
4: Autumn nitrogen at planting. Planting with a minimum of 60 lbs. of nitrogen (N) plus sulfur (S), along with the seed being drilled, is vital. Sulfur application is based on soil test results, since this element is the cornerstone of the critical amino acid methionine plus three other amino acids. Research shows that this N/S combination significantly increases the number of tillers, which in turn sets the yield potential for next spring.
Do not delay planting to apply manure. We lose more yield than we gain with manure fertilizer savings. Every day is critical in autumn to maximize the crop through tillering.
If ever there’s a case where the truism “time is money” applies, it’s when growers get their winter forages out of the starting gate ASAP.
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