Orange City, Iowa — A northwest Iowa extension expert is telling farmers about a way to determine the feed value of alfalfa.
Iowa State University Extension and Outreach Dairy Specialist Fred Hall says there’s a pretty good way to determine the “butter zone” between harvesting too early and missing some yield; and harvesting too late and missing some feed value.
Hall says it’s called ” Predictive Equations of Alfalfa Quality or “PEAQ,” and it provides an estimate of the quality, measured as Relative Feed Value, for the first cutting alfalfa standing in the field.
Hall says the relative feed value of alfalfa can be estimated by factoring in the height of the plant and its maturity. He says relative feed values start high (around 240), but get lower as the plant ages. However, the yield or volume starts low and increases as the plant ages. So it’s when these two factors are balanced the time is right to cut alfalfa — weather permitting, of course.
He says by the time you allow for some losses, you end up with alfalfa in the 150 range for relative feed value.
Click here for a chart that helps you estimate that relative feed value.
Hall will be monitoring alfalfa fields during late April and May in Sioux and Plymouth counties and the information will be posted on the ISU Extension and Outreach Dairy Team website, and will be added to the Northwest Iowa Dairy Outlook blog at https://blogs.extension.iastate.edu/nwiadairyoutlook
He says for more information you can call him at 712-737-4230.
