Dairy Producers
Bob Sliger
Monroe County Tennessee, County agent Bob Sliger with the assistance of Dane Mercer, a local dairy farmer, helped to introduce Alfagraze alfalfa for grazing to American farmers in 1990. Since that time, he has been one of the stalwarts for alfalfa grazing all through his native state. In 2000, Bob was contacted to see about going a step further and establish an on farm demonstration to look at some improved traffic tolerant varieties for both grazing and haying. The site he selected was at Sweetwater, Tennessee and on the farm owned and operated by Dr. Marty Bilderback.
In late 2001, here is what Bob had to say after working with the five-variety demonstration: "Alfagraze was a tremendous variety. AmeriGraze 401-Z and now the AmeriStand 403-T that have come along since Alfagraze, have been more tolerant to grazing, harvest traffic, and frequent harvests. All of these features we like for higher feed quality in grazing and hay. For us, we are especially excited about the progress that is being made to improve grazing alfalfas.
We were late seeding the demonstration field in 2000 and we had a terrible summer drought following the seeding. But we did get some limited grazing. In 2001, the plants were better established and we had a much better season for plant growth. The field was grazed every 3-4 weeks during the summer and early fall. Even with the high stocking rates and frequent grazing cycles, there was still surplus growth that was cut for hay. This hay harvest not only produced some great hay but also helped to keep the grazing cycle running smoothly. When I made a stand count on October 22, 2001 the AmeriStand 403-T was by far the densest stand of the five varieties in the field".
Bob went on to say, "Alfalfa for grazing has a lot of potential in our livestock program in East Tennessee. It is a very unique plant that is high yielding, tops in quality, and ideal for summer grazing when cool season forages are dormant. For years, we have been using some winter annuals and other plants for the cool seasons but we needed something with persistence to give us the high yield and quality during the summer months. This makes alfalfa ideal for us. There is no question but that this crop fits into our program now and in the future".
In a nutshell, here is way Bob summarized his thoughts about the traffic/grazing tolerant alfalfas, "Their ability to tolerate the traffic and spring back after grazing, their ability to tolerate relatively short harvest intervals and persist with high yields and high feed quality year in and year out is incredible".
Marty Bilderback
Marty Bilderback of Sweetwater, Tennessee is a retired veterinarian turned full time dairy farmer. His dairy herd of 90 milking cows with a rolling herd average of 21,620 pounds of milk per cow per year ranks as one of the top herds in Tennessee.
In early 2000, he decided to see about reducing his forage costs by eliminating haylage (and related machinery costs and labor) for summer feeding and try substituting alfalfa for grazing as the haylage replacement. When offered the opportunity to establish the traffic tolerant demonstration thru Bob Sliger, his county agent, he jumped at the idea.
He seeded the 11 acre five variety demonstration on May 29, 2000.
After one year of production (the seeding year production was very low due to late seeding and a terrible drought), he had this to say: "Alfalfa is a wonderful crop that yields so much quality feed for such a long period of time. We have been able to graze rotationally from April thru September plus a residual grazing after frost in mid-October. Our longtime goal is to produce 50% of the forage needs from pastures. At present we are at less than half that goal. We want to move in the direction of eleven months of pasture from all sources and alfalfa is going to be a big part of that goal".
"We have been intensively grazing the alfalfa during the grazing season. The cows have access to an average one-acre block for about an hour and a half twice each day. Depending on the time of year and alfalfa growth, they are moved to new areas (using electric fencing) to maintain high milk production levels. We figure this allows them about 6-7 pounds of dry matter a day from grazing. In addition we feed 3-4 pounds of free choice hay plus a balanced ration of corn silage and a dairy mix which is balanced for 80 pound per day milk production. However, on the days they are on the alfalfa pasture, we reduce the total mixed rations by 10-20%. When we made the clean-up grazing in October this year, our daily milk production from the herd gained 600 pounds or nearly 8 pounds per cow".
"The most astonishing thing that happened to the grazing followed an inch and a half rain that fell in a relatively short period of time. The cows accidentally got into the field and trampled an area severely and left nothing but a 'mud-hole'. Obviously we were devastated but within a few days, we could see life coming back into the crowns and in two weeks, a solid stand of alfalfa was back and growing fine.
Today, it is impossible to locate that area. We have grazed the field intensively (seven times) and most or all of the treading damage has disappeared.
It was amazing to us also that we had some surplus production from these few acres that we harvested for hay. We did have trouble in the hottest summer days getting the cattle to graze long enough to maintain production. This wasn't due to lower feed quality it was simply just too hot for them to graze long enough to get their fill. On those few days we resorted to more stored feed until the weather cooled-down and the cows could go back to grazing. Obviously, we are pleased with our success. In the future we plan to increase the alfalfa grazing acres to be sure to produce the grazing we need for the herd with a surplus most years that we can harvest for hay".
Darrell Carlton
Darrell Carlton of Waynesburg, Kentucky has been in the dairy business for nearly a quarter of a century. He has been grazing alfalfa with his 50 (average number) Jerseys for more than 15 years. He was subdividing old alfalfa stands that were no longer high yielding hay fields years before grazing tolerant alfalfa varieties came along. So the switch to Alfagraze when it first came out in 1992 was only natural. He has been using and expanding this program on his farm ever since.
Darrell has been through the stored feed route the same as so many farmers around the US. But now, he is grazing alfalfa for at least 6 ½ months a year. Milk production has remained constant, labor, both in time and cost, are greatly reduced and he now enjoys more free time away from the dairy than ever before especially during the grazing season. The real payoff he said, "is income over feed costs; $250-$300 per cow saved annually. And $12,500 to $15,000 extra is not to be sneezed at especially when it comes with a lot less effort"
Darrell has 40 acres of alfalfa in production. All of it is seeded to grazing tolerant varieties AmeriGraze 401+Z and Alfagraze. His formula for grazing paddock size is one acre for 50 cows per day. He prefers three acres per paddock to provide grazing for three days for the herd. All of the new hay-alfalfa fields are seeded to AmeriGraze 401+Z. "The quality and yield of this one is tops, possibly the best we have ever grown", he says.
Bloat has not been a problem but he protects and plans around it. In the early portion of the grazing season, the cows are turned in the fields in the morning after milking where they are fed hay and silage. The pre-fill tends to reduce hunger and intake. Last year, he fed Bloatguard early in the grazing season just as a precautionary measure but not this year. "We like orchardgrass in our alfalfa, we have weed problems and grass helps to control the weeds thus increases the life of the grazing stand, plus the grass helps with bloat control".
David Wright
David Wright owns and operates a 150 head dairy farm near Alexandria, Alabama. He made his first 10 acre seeding of Alfagraze and AmeriGraze 702 for grazing in the fall of 1995. Since then, he has expanded to 35 acres. David’s wife Leianne summed up how they feel about the crop when she said, "This is such an amazing crop. When we think it will never grow back after it has been used so hard, it pops right back. We have been amazed and pleased how well it has done on our farm".
David is a real enthusiast and practitioner of rotation grazing along with his alfalfa. Using these combined practices and great alfalfa grazing, he has been able to cut labor costs, especially by reducing hay needs and disposition of manure. A big benefit to this grazing he says is the additional time he has for the family, and not having all of his time tied up with the dairy herd.
David rotates his herd daily. He has found that the cattle eat more of the forage. Stands stand up better and he has more control of the whole grazing program. He is so convinced that rotation grazing is important, that he has developed and is marketing a tool he named the "Polywinder". This device is very simple to use and helps move fencing in 15 minutes or less.
The future for grazing alfalfa in the south? "We feel the potential is very good. We will be adding acreage along as we need it. We like to use grass with it mainly to reduce the chance of bloat. No, we have not had bloat from our alfalfa!", he added.
Titus Martin
Titus Martin farms near Fayetteville, PA. He and the family operate a 105 head Holstein herd. He has been grazing seriously since 1993 and made a big switch to alfalfa in 1996.
This summer the drought hit them real hard and the alfalfa has been a lifesaver. Even though the yields are down due to water shortage, he and other growers in Pennsylvania and surrounding states have been able to keep their alfalfa stands and retain reasonable yields of top quality forage. For Titus, grazing has supplied roughly 40% of his forage needs. Under normal conditions, he would expect it to furnish up to 75%.
Bloat has been no problem for him. He does feed TMR’s (total mixed rations) especially in the early grazing seasons, thus his animals are never really hungry. Does he encourage other farmers to use alfalfa for grazing? Yes he does, but always adds they should use the ones with grazing tolerance. He prefers AmeriGraze 401+Z but still really likes the heartiness of Alfagraze.
Bill Patterson
Bill Patterson of Crimora, Virginia located in the Shenandoah Valley has been grazing alfalfa with his dairy herd since the late 1980's. In the beginning, he used hay type varieties, (the only type available). In 1991 he switched to Alfagraze.
When AmeriGraze 401+Z alfalfa was released, he was invited to compare (field-test) this variety with Alfagraze along with 22 other farmers in the USA. A third variety, Graze King was available in his area and it was included at his site. Each five-acre field (all of similar soil type) was seeded with 20 pounds per acre of alfalfa plus four to six pounds of orchardgrass.
All three fields were no-till seeded April 4, 1996 into an old tall fescue sod. Prior to seeding, he applied Gramaxone two times at the recommended per-acre rate in the fall of '95 and again in the spring of '96 to control the grass.
In mid-June, 2001, the average stand of all varieties was 80-90%. The highest stand rating was Amerigraze 401+Z at above 90%.
Here is what Bill had to say about their system. "Grazing makes up 100% of our forage program in the growing season. Only in severe droughts do we consider feeding hay or silage if we have plenty to graze. Even though we had heard and read that the grazing tolerant varieties would take abuse and still persist and produce high yields of the highest quality of forage known, it was good to have the firsthand experience. We found also that alfalfa for grazing is without question, the best dry weather insurance we have ever used".
"Grazing greatly reduces our feeding and manure handling time for the 145 dairy cows. Grazing alfalfa really works for us and will remain an integral part of our forage system", he said.