Air July 19, 2000

Thank you Mark, and good morning everyone. A little break from the heat has been welcome, and I emphasize little. Let’s just hope it carries on into next week for the Geary County Free Fair. If there’s a bright spot here, it’s the long range forecast. Both the August and August to October forecasts indicate normal or below normal temperatures and normal precipitation. It looks like above normal precipitation is the predicted for the western half of the state in August, and with any luck maybe we’ll see some of that drift a little further east. But I think we’d all be happy with normal August rainfall IF it’s nicely distributed.

The last half of August is often the best time for us to start a new stand of alfalfa. But you can’t wait until then to get started. There are four critical factors for getting a good stand of alfalfa established. You have control of three of those. The fourth, good rainfall and temperatures, are a little out of our control unless you have irrigation. First of all, soil chemistry. Given the price of seed and the fact that we may have that stand in the ground for 6 or more years, you need to have soil pH corrected prior to planting. A basic soil test with lime and starter fertilizer applied as needed can make all the difference between a great stand and a just okay stand. Secondly, you need a good seedbed. Alfalfa seed is small and it needs good contact with the soil. A clody rough uneven seedbed just won’t hack it. Many producers are finding that planting no till into wheat stubble works very good and it will, as long as you don’t have to neutralize the soil with lime. If you do have to work up the soil harrow it down until you have a nice fine mellow seedbed. Finally, pick a good variety. Every year we have companies bringing out new and better alfalfa varieties. They may be no better in yield, but they have better insect and disease resistance, two important considerations in keeping a healthy and productive stand. I heard someone complaining about 4 and 5 dollar a pound alfalfa seed. If you spread that out over the life of the stand, and if you price alfalfa or protein supplement, it suddenly seems pretty cheap. We’re a month away from alfalfa planting. It isn’t too early to start making preparations!

This is Chuck Otte, Geary County Extension Agent, with Ag Outlook 2000.

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