Archive for the ‘summer’ Category

16 Jul

Taking a Rain Check on Irrigation … For Now

Posted by Center for Sustainable Ag. in fertigation, irrigation, produce growing, produce safety, summer, sustainable agriculture, Uncategorized.

A 2014 on-farm irrigation workshop.

A 2014 on-farm irrigation workshop.

Despite a very dry May, this June was one the wettest on record for many areas in central and northern Vermont. So wet, in fact, that registrations for an on-farm UVM Extension irrigation workshop scheduled for July 16 were scant, leading us to cancel the workshop. (Even so, many thanks to River Berry Farm in Fairfax for agreeing to host; we do plan to re-schedule for next summer!)

Prior to our decision to cancel, I had a discussion with one of our invited experts, Trevor Hardy, on the sanity of scheduling an irrigation workshop given all the rain (granted, it seemed like a great idea back in May!). Trevor made the excellent point that farmers with fertigation capabilities, or irrigation systems that can deliver crop nutrients, will be in an enviable position this year. They will be able to maintain/replace fertility, without having to traffic sensitive, wet soil. Undoubtedly, the excess rainfall has leached significant nutrients (especially nitrogen) out of the rootzone, or saturated soils have led to conditions ripe for denitrification loss of any remaining nitrogen. Fertigation equipment can be added onto new or existing irrigation systems, organic or conventional, and can also save on labor and energy required for conventional nutrient applications.

Even though this summer’s weather has been seemingly ‘abnormal,’ we know unpredictable seasons like this are likely to become more ‘normal’ in the future with climate change. The rapid shift from very dry spells to very wet spells and vice versa is expected to become more common, as well as droughty periods interspersed with intense storms where most rainfall runs off. These are the conditions that likely make irrigation a wise investment moving forward, especially water-efficient systems such as drip irrigation (which may also be smart given new produce safety rules).
As you think about irrigation and water management on your farm, please be in touch if we can provide technical assistance (contact information below). I know that Trevor Hardy in Hollis, NH (Brookdale Fruit Farm*) is an experienced irrigation system designer and equipment supplier, and is glad work with Vermont farmers.

For further reading, here is a link to a publication from University of Florida Extension that is one of the best mini-guides to drip irrigation that I am aware of. Also, please let us know if you have favorite irrigation resources and contractors that you’d like share.

Joshua Faulkner
UVM Extension Center for Sustainable Agriculture
Joshua.faulkner@uvm.edu
802-656-3495

*Any reference to commercial products, trade names, or brand names is for information only, and no endorsement or approval is intended.

2 Jul

When Planning for the Summer Slump on Your Pasture, Consider Pearl Millet

Posted by Center for Sustainable Ag. in cattle, grass farming, grazing, pasture, summer.

Originally posted on June 3, 2015 on the Vermont Pasture Network Blog

Getting ready for mid-summer dry weather for your grazing animals? Pearl millet may be a great annual option because of its incredible resiliency.

Pearl millet or Millet [Pennisetum americanum (L.) R. Br. is a warm season annual grass that is well-adapted to fertile soils. With proper management millet can easily yield around 10 ton of forage to the acre, right when cool-season forages nearly stop growing due to hydric stress. Millet has an excellent quality, with low tannins and high protein, calcium, phosphorus and digestibility levels. Additionally, preliminary [non-conclusive] results of a study conducted in Vermont evidence that its fatty acid profile is similar to that of the diverse cool-season forages in the Northeastern U.S. These benefits show up in the milk or meat of animals that graze it, delivering excellent health benefits.

Cows Grazing Millet

Many more photos of millet at different times in the growing season are available with the original post: http://blog.uvm.edu/pasture-vtpasture/2015/06/03/when-planning-for-the-summer-slump-consider-pearl-millet/

Millet loves heat and it is drought tolerant but can endure wet soils. It must be established in early summer (by the end of May, beginning of June), at the average rate of 20 pounds per acre. It can be potentially ready to be grazed around mid-July on. If carefully managed, it can yield two or even three grazing rotations until the first frost.

Millet can be used for grazing, hay, silage or green-chop. Pasture management research and observation recommends to start grazing millet before boot stage, when it reaches between 18 and 24 inches high, leaving about 10 to 12 inches of residue. Millet can take a lot of grazing pressure and animals must be allowed to graze a paddock for a few hours per day or, rotated as many times as needed per day. The use of strip-grazing with a back fence is strongly recommended to promote faster re-growth while avoiding damaging it.Prussic acid is not a concern in Pearl Millet but nitrate poisoning can be a problem if, a) high nitrogen fertilization rates are applied, b) prolonged droughts are followed by rain; and c) encountering any condition that kills the plant but not the roots such as, frost, hail, grazing and trampling, etc.

In a study we conducted during 2014 at a farm in Highgate, Vermont, we drilled 7 acres of millet on a beaten “sacrifice” paddock. Millet was exposed to different levels of grazing pressure: light, medium and heavly grazed. In each condition, its re-growth was impressively vigorous, even when plants looked heavily grazed and with little chances of recovering.

So, when planning your next cover crop give Pearl Millet a try!

You can find more resources about pearl millet below:

Juan Alvez, Ph.D., Pasture Program Technical Coordinator

Have you explored different successful forage ideas to overcome the summer slump and have a more uniform livestock production along the season? You can share your observations by dropping us a line at the UVM Center for Sustainable Agriculture Pasture Program:  Juan Alvez (jalvez@uvm.edu); Kimberly Hagen (kimberly.hagen@uvm.edu) and, Jennifer Colby (jcolby@uvm.edu)

*Any reference to commercial products, trade names, websites or brand names is for information only, and no endorsement or approval is intended.

 

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