Thursday, August 24, 2017

2017 Forage Management Day


Join us for the 2017 Forage Management Day!


Click Here to Find Registration Information & Agenda

Most of this training / active learning will occur in a pasture that is about three miles southwest of the Purdue University Agronomy Center for Research and Education. Please note that pre-registration is required!

Friday, August 28, 2015

SIPAC Ag Field Day - Sept. 12, 2015


Third Annual Family and Ag Field Day Flyer














Southern Indiana Purdue Ag Center (SIPAC) is hosting the Third Annual Family and Ag Field Day on September 12, 2015.

Activities begin at 8:30 AM (ESDT).

Location: Southern Indiana Purdue Ag Center (SIPAC)
                 11371 E Purdue Farm Rd.
                 Dubois, IN 47527

Please visit the following links to view flyers for the field day activities.

Friday, July 17, 2015

Considerations in Response to the Wet Spring and Summer

Considerations in Response to the Wet Spring and Summer
Keith D. Johnson
Purdue Forage Specialist
765-494-4800

The following are tips to consider as you assess forage needs and forage crop health. Feel free to contact me with questions or concerns.


Check with your crop insurance and Farm Service Agency personnel to see if it permissible to seed corn/soybean flooded spots in a field with annual forages if the feed is needed.

If seeding is permissible, review labels of the herbicides applied to confirm what can be seeded without concern of carryover effects.

If soil conditions will not allow seeding flooded spots by late July, I would defer from seeding warm-season grasses like sorghum-sudangrass, sudangrass, pearl millet, foxtail millet and tef to a mid-August seeding of spring oat. Inclusion of a forage turnip might be considered if the acreage will be grazed.

In the above list, tef and foxtail millet are more likely able to be dried for hay. It is difficult to make dry hay in the fall because of shorter days and cooler temperatures. Bale silage could be an alternative storage method to consider if a bale wrapper or in-line tuber is owned or arranged for.

Assess pasture and hay fields for plant damage caused by saturated soils. Dig up several forage plants, especially those challenged by water and assess the wellbeing of the roots and crown by cutting through the tissue. If there is little browning and the integrity of the roots are firm, these would be a good signs.

Also, take note of hoof action (pugging) damage to forages in pastures. Reduce further damage if possible by grazing better drained pastures and paddocks first. Come back to hoof-damaged areas in the field often to assess if forage recovery is occurring. If permanent damage has occurred, plan on reseeding or renovating the field.

Keep in mind, that some alfalfa yellowing may be caused by the insect potato leafhopper and not totally attributed to saturated soils.

If grasses are nitrogen deficient, apply approximately 50 pounds of nitrogen per acre. If the nitrogen fertilizer is applied to cool-season grass dominant pastures by late August this should stimulate grass growth and provide more late-in-the-year grazing days.

Sample stored forages, hay and silage, for quality. Forage quality will likely not be excellent for most this year, because of delayed harvest. Send the samples to a forage testing laboratory and provide the results with a trained nutritionist so rations can be formulated for your livestock. Details about forage testing can be found at www.foragetesting.org

Friday, March 20, 2015

Grazing 102 - June 9-10, 2015

We hope you can make it to Grazing 102 at the Southern Indiana Purdue Ag Center in Dubois, IN on June 9-10, 2015. Click here for the PDF.

Flyer for Grazing 102 on June 9-10, 2015

Thursday, March 12, 2015

Forage Establishment Factors

Click here for the PDF of the Forage Establishment Factors presentation.

Forage Establishment Factors-Page 1

Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Congratulations 3D Valley Farm on the 2015 Outstanding Forage Producer Award

3D Valley Farm received the Indiana Forage Council's Outstanding Forage Producer Award at the February 19 meeting held at the Clifty Inn & the Falls Restaurant, Madison Indiana.

3D Valley farm is located near Depauw, Indiana. More information can be found on their website http://3dvalleyfarms.com/.  

Individuals are left to right, Morgan, Jane, Steve and Jo Carr, with 3D Valley Farm.