Summer brought weather extremes for Southeastern farmers, but the Sunbelt Ag Expo farm’s 90-acre hay demonstration and research fared well.

Hay mostly persevered despite weather fluctuations from heavy rains early in the season followed by heat and drought, according to Lisa Baxter, a University of Georgia Extension forage specialist who conducts research at the Expo farm. 

Editor’s note: Hurricane Helene went through the region Sept. 26, but the Sunbelt Ag Expo is ready to start Oct. 15.

Hay producers and visitors to the Sunbelt Ag Expo Oct. 15-17 in Moultrie, Ga., will see the progress of six bermudagrass cultivars. Within these cultivars are nine herbicide treatments under evaluation. Plots were treated withindaziflam and/or glyphosate in spring to determine their impact on weed control and ground cover. Treatments included Indaziflam (PRE; Rezilon); Glyphosate (POST; Roundup Pro Concentrate) a; and Indaziflam + Glyphosate (PRE+POST). 

Handling weather 

Different issues impact different grasses, she said. 

“Sorghums, sorghum sudan and johnsongrass all have risk of prussic acid. Many forages have risk of nitrates,” she said. 

Baxter recommended waiting a week after a drought to return to grazing or harvesting, though timing varies, based on how long and how severe a drought was.   

“Heavier stocked pastures that are not allowed to rest will see drought effects earlier and longer,” she said. “Increase your stocking rate slowly and continue to supplement with hay, baleage, or other stored feeds until the pastures recover. It is tempting to turn cattle into pastures as soon as the grass starts to grow. Consider your pasture’s recovery time and give plants time to replenish energy reserves in the roots. There are several factors that affect the speed in which a pasture will recover following a drought.” 

Baxter reminded farmers of the importance of contacting their local UGA county Extension agent for advice. She also recommended producers visit UGABeef.com/drought and check out her drought management video for crop care tips during dry times.  

The contest 

Once again, a major draw for the Expo’s opening day ceremonies will be the official announcement of the winners and awards of the Southeastern Hay Contest. 

The program, Baxter said, is a partnership between industry, hay growers and Extension from Georgia, Florida, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas and Tennessee.   

The SEHC award categories are: 

The hay contest samples are ranked based on RFQ (relative forage quality). The RFQ score measures different forages relative to their overall nutritive value, or their total digestible nutrients, and predicted dry matter intake. RFQ can help hay producers categorize and price hay lots based on the relative quality. Livestock producers can use the value to balance supplemental diet based on the quality of the hay. 

The top RFQ in last year’s hay contest was an index-breaking 327 in the alfalfa hay category and was produced by Beeson Farms from Climax, N.C.