by Kevin Jarek

As we get into the dog days of summer and fall approaches, our attention in Wisconsin shifts to fourth-cutting alfalfa, corn silage harvest and, of course, the Green Bay Packers 2024 season. What do all three have in common? Expectations.

It has been a less-than-spectacular growing season for alfalfa fields across the Badger State. Following widespread drought last year, we harvested high-quality alfalfa but lower yields in 2023. The 2024 growing season has offered just the opposite — very good dry matter yields, but alfalfa quality is leaving cows and nutritionists with a lot to be desired. As for corn silage, last year most of the crop was planted in less than a week’s time, while 2024 plantings extended into mid-July. The Packers went 3-6 over the first nine games vs. 6-2 over the last eight of the 2023 season to finish 9-8. The common denominator among all these topics: high variability.

One of the concerns farmers should have when they look at the three lowest-yielding years during the 17-year history of the Wisconsin Alfalfa Yield and Persistence Project is that there are only three years where the statewide alfalfa dry matter yield was less than 4 tons for the season — 2009, 2013 and 2020. However, it is important to look at what happened the preceding year if we want the full picture.

Evaluate alfalfa stands

The 2008 growing season was very wet. Does everyone remember what happened to Lake Delton? The 2012 growing season was a drought year, while 2018 was very wet later in the season and set the table for what would be the worst growing season in a half-century in 2019. There are farms that would argue 2024 has been worse than 2019. This year, Wisconsin saw the most precipitation ever recorded for a combined May and June since records began in 1895. That is hard to ignore.

Soil compaction and crown damage are evident across alfalfa fields statewide. One could make the parallel that the 2019 growing season was highly responsible for the lowest recorded dry matter yield of 3.63 tons in 2020.

Now is the time to evaluate which of your alfalfa stands are going to be kept for next year. Which ones will remain in production, which may be candidates to interseed with grass species in the spring, and which ones simply do not have a high probability of producing an economic yield in 2025?

Alfalfa forms buds in the fall for the following year’s spring growth, so how you manage your alfalfa stand from this point forward can go a long way toward influencing next year’s outcomes. Follow University of Wisconsin soil test recommendations. Consider planning now for what may be reduced dry matter yields on some of your damaged alfalfa acreage next year.        

Corn silage challenges

On many Wisconsin farms, corn silage also will be challenging. The good news is we have seen this movie before. Many of the strategies employed last year may be applicable on farms this year. We have a lot of late-planted corn across the state. My observation conducting corn silage drydowns for the past 25 years is that given an early-planted full-season hybrid vs. a short-season late-planted hybrid, the short-season late planting is typically higher in moisture content when fields are sampled at the same time.

Test whole-plant moistures from each field and match ensiling dry matter content with the storage structure being used. Visit the UW-Madison Division of Extension Corn Silage Dry Down webpage to view whole-plant moisture results in your area.

Identifying and addressing the key elements that will help you maximize the quality and quantity of your forages come harvesttime may help you make the most of what has been a challenging growing season. Focusing on and improving one aspect can make a difference.

Last year, Packers quarterback Jordan Love threw for 14 touchdowns in the first nine games and 18 touchdowns in the last eight games. An improvement, yes, but not significantly different, right? That by itself did not turn the tide for the team. However, after throwing 10 interceptions in the first nine games, he only had one in the last eight games. The lesson here: It is not always about making the best possible decision; sometimes, it is about avoiding the worst ones. Go, Pack, go!

Jarek is the University of Wisconsin Extension crops and soils educator for Outagamie and Winnebago counties.