Coated Alfalfa Seed Proves Worth on Minnesota Dairy Farm
In 1996, Elliott conducted a field trial using seed of Avalanche alfalfa from America's Alfalfa of which 50% was coated with Rhizo-Kote®XL from CelPril® and 50% was preinoculated. Results showed an advantage of 882 lbs. per acre.
This year, Elliott planted another trial on adjacent land using RhizoKoteXL Avalanche and preinoculated Avalanche. Results showed a 1,249 lb. per acre advantage for the coated seed in the second cutting and a 1,051 lb. per acre advantage in the first cutting, resulting in a 2,300 lbs. per acre advantage for the coated seed on the two cuttings in the seeding year.
In both years, the alfalfa was drilled into oats at 18 lbs. of product per acre. The oats are burned off using Poast Plus herbicide once the alfalfa has emerged. The oats are planted strictly to hold the alfalfa seed in place.
This year, Elliott used a Rockwell VISION GPS computer system to precisely map his alfalfa variety plantings. Plantings were replicated three times across a gently rolling production field.
Elliott ingeniously engineered a yield monitor for alfalfa by using the Rockwell VISION System to record yield, time and place. He installed load cells at the four comers of a new Fargo
forage wagon and attached them to a mobile scale head. As he harvested alfalfa, he was able to record yield on the go over every acre, ultimately producing an accurate GPS generated yield map of his field. Rockwell engineered an interface between the VISION System and the scale head unit mounted on the forage wagon.
Elliott's production numbers show that the premium quality alfalfa he produces is worth in excess of $1,200 per acre, explaining why yield increases of 2,300 lbs. per acre are so important to the economics of operating a dairy farm.
"We blew our results from last year away this year," Elliott said. "Last year the coated seed showed an advantage of 882 lbs. per acre. This year the coated seed had an advantage of 2,300 lbs. That's just the advantage over straight Avalanche. I calculated the value of the crop on the University of Wisconsin's FeedVal computer program and got a value of $3.55 per 100 lbs. Of alfalfa. The Rhizo-Kote® coated seed had an advantage $81.65 per acre over the uncoated seed." With good alfalfa selling in Minnesota at $80 ton, he says he is better off selling ii to a neighbor than feeding it to his own cows.
"On the alfalfa acres I raise now, the coated seed advantage is worth $15,000 plus to me," Elliott said. "I can go on a heck of a vacation on that."
"For a guy (himself) that wasn't excited about coated alfalfa just two or three years ago, this is looking real interesting," say Del Glanzer of Glanzer's Consulting in Alexandria, MN. "We are comparing an excellent variety in Avalanche and we are still showing a substantial increase with the coated seed."
Says Elliott, "I am only 1,000 lbs. away from my yield goal of 9 tons per acre. I have never seen alfalfa like this in my life. It's really thick. We'll make 9 tons next year
last updated: Monday, September 11, 2006
