Predictive Equations for Alfalfa Quality (PEAQ) Stick/Alfalfa Scissors Clip

Predictive Equations for Alfalfa Quality (PEAQ) Stick/Alfalfa Scissors Clip will be conducted by the Outagamie Forage Council again this year, the same way it always has, with the cooperation and support of many individuals.

Samples will be collected on Monday and Thursday, when the crop reaches a height and stage of maturity when it is reasonable to begin sampling with results posted on Tuesday and Friday at https://fyi.extension.wisc.edu/scissorsclip/ or available through voicemail at (920) 832-4769.

Farm	Height/Maturity Stage	PEAQ/Lab Results

Thank you to the following farms and collectors:

Sugar Creek Farm (New London) collected by Much Crop Consulting
Neighborhood Dairy (Kaukauna area) collected by Kevin Naze Dairyland Seed Company
Birlings Bovines (Black Creek/Seymour area) collected by Tilth Agronomy
Larrand Dairy (Freedom area) collected by Tilth Agronomy
Oneida Nation Farm (Seymour area) – Cereal Rye collected by Tilth Agronomy
Birlings Bovines (Black Creek/Seymour area) – Cereal Rye collected by Tilth Agronomy
Sunny Daze Dairy (Seymour area) – Cereal Rye collected by Kevin Jarek/Tilth Agronomy

Outagamie Forage Council to Pilot Project to Monitor Maturity and Quality of Winter Cereal Forages

The number of farms planting winter cereal crops continues to increase every year. There are tens of thousands of acres of these forage crops grown in Northeast and East-Central Wisconsin. While the history of some of these crops may be rooted in their use as a forage to provide supplemental heifer or dry cow feed, we now manage the harvest of these crops quite differently. Many farms have greater forage needs than what their existing cropping acreage can support, so it should not be a surprise to anyone that we cannot allow all of our acreage to remain fallow during the winter months. Crops like winter triticale have proven time and time again that when managed effectively and harvested correctly, they can provide supplemental forage to the lactating dairy herd ration. As a result of the increase in acreage and the necessity to accurately identify the ideal time to the harvest winter cereal crops to maximize both yield and quality, the Outagamie Forage Council will be piloting a project where we collect height and maturity information, and then report lab analysis values for these crops. Results will be posted on this page.