MFGA has declared June 4/5 as HAY DAY

Hay Day is the estimated day that alfalfa will reach a RFV of 170. 

Manitoba Forage & Grasslands Association (MFGA)'s Green Gold program is in full swing. The program is being delivered with the help of producers, Mb Agriculture and Manitoba Beef & Forage Initiatives via the collection of alfalfa samples from 15 Manitoba fields that are sent on to Central Testing Laboratory Inc. for testing.

May 18 to June 1

Relative Feed Values in the sampled alfalfa fields declined from 250 to 190 over the two week period - an average daily decline of 5 pts of RFV. This decline wasn't uniform across the province as areas in the Interlake, NorthWest and Brandon got off to a slower starts to the growing season. With warmer temperatures most of these areas have started to catch up and our samples are showing a similar RFV across the province. Because there is some variation across the province, the Hay Day this year could vary in the various areas from June 2nd to June 5th.

Past experience has shown that approximately 20 points are lost during the haying process and the time taken to get the entire crop cut, cured and baled. Silage shortens this process and therefore the quality can be higher. Grass/alfalfa mixes can and do reduce the RFV by 20-30 points depending on the % of the blend. 

For questions about the Green Gold Program, contact John McGregor, MFGA Hay Expert and Green Gold Program manager, at  [email protected].