IN THIS ISSUE OF AG UPDATE
- Spring is Here - Drought Outlook
- Pest Alerts and Bulletins
- Should You Be Planting Soybeans Early
- Herbicide Rotational Restrictions and Cover Crops
- Field Notes Episode 16: Specialty Grain Markets
- Avian Flu Prevention Materials for Workers and Employers
- Using Lab Tests to Estimate Forage Stability and Fermentation Efficiency
- Automated Milking Systems User Group
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Automated Milking Systems (AMS) User Group | prioritize management issues
April 9, 2024, 1:00pm - 3:30pm, to register click HERE
Badger Crop Connect | water and weather
April 10, 2024, 12:30pm - 1:30pm, to register click HERE
Badger Dairy Insight | grazing your way to reduced heifer cost & better sustainability
April 16, 2024, 11:00am - 12:00pm, to register click HERE
Badger Crop Connect
April 24, 2024, 12:30pm - 1:30pm, to register click HERE
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Spring is Here!
As folks start to get the itch for planting as soon as it dries up, let’s just be glad that we are finally getting so much needed precipitation. Last year at this time, we were just emerging from the wettest winter Wisconsin has had before immediately plunging into a flash drought that set in in early to mid May.
While no one has a real crystal ball, forecasts see southern Wisconsin largely staying free of drought, however adaptive management is key. For folks that have cover crops in the ground, those covers can play a great role in drying out too wet soils, readying them for planting, but if the forecast looks like the tap is shutting off, early termination is key to making sure those soils don’t get too dry for the crop. Happy planting!
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Pest Alerts and Bulletins
While it is difficult to say the effect of such a warm winter as we had in southern Wisconsin on pests this growing season quite yet, we have two different ways of staying tuned to latest pest alerts from a vast network of insect traps that DATCP has across the state:
Emily Bick, UW-Madison Extension Field and Forage Crop Specialist, and her Lab are developing methods to optimize insect collection locations for DATCP's trapping network. The Insect Pest Text Alert service will send alerts by region based on the insects found within your region.
In DATCP’s Field Notes, a weekly pest bulletin, not the podcast run by Crop’s Educator Will Fulwider, readers will find the same pest monitoring data and maps once provided in the Wisconsin Pest Bulletin, along with current articles on economically important plant pests affecting Wisconsin's field crops, fruits, vegetables, nurseries, and forests.
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Should You Be Planting Soybeans Early?
Thoughts from Wisconsin State Soybean Specialist Shawn Conley on the connection between planting date and yield and when not to plant early.
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Herbicide Rotational Restrictions and Cover Crops
This publication provides a starting point of reference when considering using cover crops following herbicides in the cropping system.
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Field Notes Episode 16: Specialty Grain MarketsWisconsin infrastructure for grain markets and the ability to drop off grains at the nearest elevator incentivizes corn and soybean (and wheat to a lesser extent) rotations. Breaking outside that box and finding alternative grain markets can yield dividends in price premiums and extended crop rotations enhancing farm resilience to drops in commodity prices and other external shocks. We talk with Willie Hughes, an organic and conventional grain farmer in Rock County, and Alyssa Hartman of the Artisan Grain Collaborative about how they navigate finding, complying with and knitting together these differentiated markets.
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Avian Flu Prevention Materials for Workers and Employers
In light of the recent revelation that dairy cows have contracted highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) and 1 farmworker in TX has now been identified as having HPAI, here are some resources that might be helpful for your work with farmworkers through the buttons below: HPAI fact sheets for workers (also available in Spanish, Hmong); HPAI fact sheets for employers (also available Spanish and Hmong versions); and our occupational heath webpage has a section for farm workers that includes the fact sheets and several other resources.
Disclaimer: Since they were created before the recent spread to cows, the fact sheets only mention contact with poultry, not cows. However, the general guidelines are still relevant. Of course, the situation is fluid and CDC or other authorities may come out with recommendations that differ from these. So please defer to CDC and other federal and state authorities when in doubt.
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Using lab tests to estimate forage stability and fermentation efficiency
Laboratory commercial feed tests provide information on protein, level and digestibility of fiber, minerals, which are all factors that determine the feeding quality of the forage. Today many forage tests provide information beyond the energy and protein in the feed but also feed fermentation quality and its stability in the manger. Having efficient fermentation is critical to ensure the forages being fed are highly palatable and digestible.
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Automated Milking Systems (AMS) User Group
Joining the AMS User Group provides participants with opportunities to collaborate with peers, access expert guidance, contribute to research efforts, and improve farming practices, ultimately enhancing efficiency, productivity, and profitability on their farms.
The AMS User Group aims to create a supportive community for dairy producers utilizing Automated Milking Systems (AMS), facilitating learning, idea exchange, and best practice sharing.
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Wisconsin Ag Climate Outlook | Stay ahead of the weather with the Wisconsin Ag Climate Outlook email list. Get timely updates, expert analysis, and strategic insights tailored to Wisconsin's agricultural landscape.
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| Will Fulwider
Regional Crops Educator - Dane and Dodge County Extension
Email: will.fulwider@wisc.edu l Ph: 608 220 3577
Alison Pfau
Bilingual Regional Dairy Educator - Dane, Dodge, Jefferson, Rock & Walworth County Extension
Email: alison.pfau@wisc.edu | Ph: 970 402 9710
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