Safflower Continued from Page 11
silage is normally in the 30s, he said. Safflower silage appearance was similar to cereal, Robinson noted, and was low in starch. Analysis showedprotein at 11% and 60% fiber. The silage was added to the dairy re- placement heifer rations in June. “I think that will be where it fits,” Robinsonsaid. “It isnot a lactationration.” He said the trial was actually two proj- ects inone—analternative tohigherwater and fertilizer use crops and characteriza- tion of quality for dairy rations. There are trade-offs with safflower vs. wheat inyields,digestibilityandotherqual- itycharacteristics.Proteinlevelsanddigest- ibilitywerehigherearly intheseasonbut so were foragenitrate levels. They declined to non-problematic levels byharvest. Clarkwasoptimistic that theharvest and ensilingchallengeswithsafflower couldbe overcome in time. “I’mexcited for thepotential, andI think themainissueswithsaffloweraremanage- able,” he said. “It is possible to grow as a feed crop; we need to look at seeding rates, rowspacing, planting dates and irrigation.” “It could be a solution to keeping local feed in the bunker.” (Cec i l ia Parsons i s a repor ter in Du c o r. Sh e ma y b e c on t a c t e d a t ceciliaparsons8@gmail.com.)
will be reported in the near future. Kaffkapointedout that these trialswere only the first and second times fall-plant- ed safflower has been grown on a dairy for research purposes. A smaller trial was done previously at UCDavis, and success in that study led to the trials ondairies this year. He noted that safflower as a forage hasbeentried ina fewother countrieswith climates similar to California’s, including Israel and Italy. Pre- and postharvest soil samples were taken fromthe safflower fields, andKaffka saideddy covarianceandWatermark sen- sors were used to measure water uptake and to track soil water depletion. The field at T-Bar Dairy was planted in early November with a grain drill and harvested the first week of April. The SBS Ag field was planted October 10 on 30-inch beds and harvested at the end of March. Both fields yielded 40 tons per acre fresh weight at 15% dry matter. Both were harvested be- fore flower buds formed. T-Bar’s20-acre fieldhad fivechecks, two irrigatedwith freshwater, twowith partial lagoonwater and onewith no irrigation. “Challenges came at harvest. Handling anewcropwithsuch largeamountsof bio- mass was a learning experience for every- one involved. Inpart,we learnedwhat not to do,” Kaffka said.
UC dairy nutritionist Peter Robinson, left, and dairy farmer Tom Barcellos evaluate the quality of the silage produced from the safflower crop. The analysis showed 11% protein.
The safflower crops were too heavy to be chopped, and were mowed and swathed instead. When T-Bar Dairy owner Tom Barcellos went to mow his safflower, the standwas so heavy that the plantswere shreddedand the largewind- rows did not dry. Barcellos saidhe had to push the plants downtoget throughthe field.Adjustments to the equipment helped, and the wind- rows were turned and combined after swathing.Althoughthebiomasswasequal inyieldthroughout the field, Barcellosnot- ed that only the sections thatwerenot irri- gated had biomass usable for silage. ThesafflowerharvestedatSBSAgdriedin
72hoursaftercuttingandwaschoppedand placedinarolloversilagepilethatwaslightly packeddue tohighmoisture. It fermented well and is currently being fed to replace- mentheifers. Thesafflower choppedat SBS Aghadagoodoutcome,Kaffkasaid,asitwas spreadoutmore todry. ‘We think wider windrows at harvest and different seeding rates will improve outcomes,” Kaffka said. Drying a crop in April, compared to August, is another challenge. Peter Robinson, dairy nutritionist at UC Davis said at four weeks ensiled the safflower was at 25% dry matter. Cereal
JO I N US AS A SPONSOR AND SUPPORT THE 2 0 2 1
CALIFORNIA YOUTH AG EXPO
AUGUST 4 - 8
TULARE CALIFORNIA
2021
California Ag Alert
FORMED IN 2020 TO CHAMPION CALIFORNIA ' S YOUTH IN AGRICULTURE BY OFFERING A LIVESTOCK SHOW AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES AND AWARDING THE STATE ' S LARGEST SCHOLARSHIPS AND PREMIUMS .
SPONSOR
CONTACT
FOLSOM FOLSOM LAKE CHRYSLER DODGE JEEP RAM 916-355-9999 www.folsomcdjr.com RED BLUFF RED BLUFF DODGE CHRYSLER JEEP RAM 530-366-3166 www.redbluffdodge.com
REDDING CROWN MOTORS 530-241-4321 www.crowndodgecalifornia.com YUBA CITY JOHN L. SULLIVAN CHRYSLER DODGE JEEP RAM 530-742-6406 www.johnlsullivandodgechrysler.com
( 405 ) 235 - 0404 INFO @ CALYOUTHEXPO . COM
CALIFORNIA YOUTH AG EXPO C / O GOLD COUNTRY FAIR HERITAGE FOUNDATION PO BOX 255601 SACRAMENTO , CA 9 5865
California Ag Alert
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE CYAE VISIT OUR WEBSITE AT WWW . CALYOUTHEXPO . COM
C / O THE GOLD COUNTRY FAIR HERITAGE FOUNDATION 501 ( C )( 3 )
California Ag Alert
California Ag Alert
California Ag Alert
12 Ag Alert July 21, 2021
Powered by FlippingBook