POSTAL CUSTOMER
Volume V, Issue 4
PRSRT STD U.S. Postage Paid Permit #36 OMAHA, NE
April 2011
Growing resurgence in square bales Forage report shows no evidence of winter damage to Iowa’s pastures, hay fields By Gordon Wolf As the western Iowa landscape transitions from brown to lush green and cattle return to the pastures, livestock producers can expect much the same grazing conditions as last year. Dr. Stephen K. Barnhart, professor of agronomy at Iowa State University (ISU), has not heard evidence of winter damage to Iowa's pasture lands and added that the hay fields seem to have survived the winter well. "There is no indication there will be less grass than last year," he stated. However, the higher price of fertilizer will determine whether producers will choose to apply nitrogen to their pastures. Dr. Barnhart, who is responsible for the ISU Extension program in forage production and management, annually recommends that producers delay nitrogen application on pastures until early May to the latter part of May to help spread the spring growth of grass to make it more uniformly available. With the cool-season forages commonly used, producers typically have an early spring forage surplus without applying fertilizer. The demand for hay could increase as some states to southwest are experiencing dry weather. In Kansas, 20 western counties were placed under a drought warning and the surrounding 27 counties were placed under a drought watch, according to an April 7 declaration issued by Kansas Governor Sam Brownback. Additionally, as of April 5, the U.S. Drought Monitor, based at the University of NebraskaLincoln, listed severe drought for agriculture (crops, pastures and grasslands) in southwestern Kansas, eastern Colorado and portions of New Mexico, Oklahoma and Arkansas; and areas of extreme drought for agriculture in Arizona, New Continued on Page 18 Cattle graze in a pasture in western Iowa last July. Livestock producers can expect pastures to produce the same amount of grass as last year as they seem to have survived the winter well. Photo by Gordon Wolf
Trottin’ for Taylor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 4
2011 Crop season underway . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 11
The Farmer’s Wife . . . . . . . . . . .Page 5 Futures Market Commentary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Page 13 Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Page 28-31