Cattlemen, forage producers get inside tract at Butler field day

By JULIET BRISKIN | Central Texas Edition

July 5, 2001 -- Summer is in full swing and so are forage field days. The Brazos Area Hay Producers Association (BAHPA) recently sponsored the 15th annual Dr. O.D. Butler Memorial Forage Field Day at the Jim Carroll Farm in College Station.

The BAHPA is a seven county association which includes Brazos, Burleson, Grimes, Madison, Milam, Robertson and Washington counties.

According to Jack Hunter, Brazos Co. Extension agent, the field day is an educational activity that provides information to forage producers as well as beef cattle producers. "The topics covered are about forage management and production," said Hunter, "but within that context the subject matter will change from year to year depending on trends in the industry."

Over 175 producers participated in this year's day-long event which included field tours, informational exhibits and an evening pesticide applicator laws and regulations update.

Dr. Tony Provin, Extension soil chemist, discussed soil fertility in a bermudagrass and legume system. "The past few years have been a little tight in regards to nitrogen fertilizers," said Provin. "Because of that we are seeing a renewed interest in the use of legumes in our grazing systems and extending that into our hay systems with bermudagrass."

Provin talked about the pitfalls that could be encountered with a legume system and the things producers need to keep in mind before setting up the system. "The first thing that needs to be considered when planting any legume is the pH or amount of acidity in the soil. What we are primarily concerned with is not necessarily the percent of available nutrients in the soil, but the amount of viable aluminum and manganese. As the pH drops, aluminum and manganese become very available in the soil and are toxic to many plants. Most legumes are not very tolerant to this toxicity," he said.

According to Provin a soil pH of between 6.7 and seven has proved to be the best bio-mass producing pH range for most legumes.

Dr. Mark McFarland, Extension soil fertility specialist, spoke on fertilizer management in forage production and the necessity of regular soil testing. "Most of our soils are not able to provide all of the nutrients that our crops need on a continuous basis. We've all experienced a little bump in fertilizer prices this year so we need to manage fertilizer input very carefully," he said.

According to McFarland it takes about 50 pounds of nitrogen, 14 pounds of phosphorus, and 42 pounds of potassium to grow a ton of grass. "Typically we need to add one or more of these nutrients to the soil to take care of producing a good high quality crop at a reasonable yield level."

Simply trying to guess what the soil needs in terms of a fertilizer material is a mistake according to McFarland. "By putting out a standard blend each year we run the risk of having too much of one material and not enough of another," he said. "When we do that we are losing ground economically. One thing that can be done to virtually eliminate that problem is to use soil testing."

"Testing lets us look at that individual soil, measure the amount of nutrients, and simply subtract that from what we know it takes to grow the crop," said McFarland. "When we look at the potential cost savings from using soil test recommendations, growers can save from $4-$30 an acre on their fertilizer bill."

Dr. Bill Turner, San Antonio livestock chair professor, was on hand to discuss a heifer development program sponsored by the Texas Forage and Grassland Council (TFGC). "When we look at a heifer to determine what kind of cow she's going to be," said Turner, "I'm going to tell you it is more important how you develop that heifer than what you look for in traits and characteristics."

According to Turner, the concept of this program is that an opportunity to develop heifers regardless of genetics always exists. Robert Bruner, president of TFGC, outlined the program for field day participants. The original test program is going to be held in Bryan-College Station and is open to any producer that wants to participate.

"We want to identify heifers that will do a good job on strictly forage," said Bruner. The test program will start with one-thousand head of heifers that will be put on a synchronized feeding program. According to Bruner breeds will not be compared against other breeds and producers will get ultrasound data back on the heifers they placed in the program.

One highlight of the event was the Dr. O.D. Butler Memorial Scholarship presentations. Jim McCord, BAHPA director, presented six graduating high school seniors with $250 scholarships to Texas A&M. The recipients were Keith Howe and Jason Malazzo of Burleson Co., Chris Ponzio, Keri West and Ashli Woodward of Brazos Co. and Lacey Vaculin of Milam Co.