JANUARY 2012 w
SUNDAY
Nutrient Management Tips
w w
Review soil tests and nutrient management program. To protect surface water, don’t allow manure to runoff from heavy use areas or barnyards. Don’t spread manure within concentrated water flow areas such as ditches, waterways, gullies or swales.
New Year’s Day
For Grazing Operations w w w Review grazing records and make needed adjustments such as paddock size, time in rotation, fertilizer needs, and/or watering and mineral station locations.
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
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31
December 2011
Full Moon
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Agronomy Tips
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Review records of weed problems to determine crop rotation and herbicide changes. Order crop seed. Order needed equipment parts before spring planting.
g w w w Good Plannin and fertility field rotations
ation Plan upcoming e farm’s conserv gement th g in ew vi re y needs b nt mana sults and nutrie re st te il so , n la p or the local NRCS ct ta n o C s. rd reco update istrict office to Conservation D nutrient management plans. nd conservation a
JANUARY 2012
MONDAY
15
Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday
22
New Moon
29
S
M
T
W T
4 5 6 7 11 12 13 14 18 19 20 21 25 26 27 28
Notes w w w
F
February 2012 S
1 2 3 8 9 10 15 16 17 22 23 24 29 30 31
S
M
T
5 6 7 12 13 14 19 20 21 26 27 28
W T
F
S
1 2 3 4 8 9 10 11 15 16 17 18 22 23 24 25 29
FEBRUARY 2012 SUNDAY
MONDAY
January 2012 S
M
T
W T
F
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
March 2012 S
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
S
M
T
W T
F
1
S
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
2
SATURDAY
3
d For Graziers An k Other Livestoc Producers w w w
4
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
ck for pink eye. Vaccinate livesto
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Nutrient Management Tips
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
w
Full Moon
12
13
14
15
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17
18
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Agronomy Tips
w
19
President’s Day
20
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25 w
Determine crop’s needs for nutrient/herbicide/insecticide for each field. Frost-seed legumes into grass hay field or pasture. Attend Professional Crop Producers’ Conference in Grantville, PA.
New Moon
26
Notes w w w
FEBRUARY 2012
27
28
29
Did You Know w w w Act 38 (Nutrient Management Regulation) defines winter as: December 15 – February 28 or when the ground is frozen at least 4 inches deep or the ground is snow covered. Act 38 regulations also call for fields receiving fall or winter manure applications must have at least 25% cover or a cover crop established to prevent manure runoff getting to streams.
w
Annually take manure analysis to determine the nutrient value of this resource; use wisely to help lower fertilizer costs. Take advantage of “early-bird” fertilizer and pesticide prices. Check the manure storage footer drain for manure leakage. Check for foul-smelling or discolored flow from the outlet of the footer drain.
MARCH 2012 w
SUNDAY
Nutrient Management Tips
w w
Record manure application rates, locations, and dates.
MONDAY
M
T
W T
F
S
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29
Calibrate the manure spreader and begin early application. Take annual manure tests.
4
WEDNESDAY
S
M
T
W T
F
S
t-seed legum w Frexosistin g pasture.
es into
w
w
, Check fence system k an including stream-b tock es liv re fence to ensu are excluded from s. surface waterway s and Check water system s. gh clean watering trou
w w w
Top dress no-tilled wheat and barley fields for needed nitrogen/acre.
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
1
2
3
8
9
10
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
5
6
7
Agronomy Tips
For Graziers
THURSDAY
April 2012
February 2012 S
TUESDAY
Full Moon
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
30
31
Check seed depth of no-tilled alfalfa, grasses and oats – seeding depth for alfalfa and grasses is 1/4 – 1/2 inch, seed depth for oats is 1.5 inch. When selecting herbicides, consideration the crop rotations and cover crop species.
New Moon
25
Improve Pastures w w w Improving sod increases dry matter for livestock and reduces polluted runoff from pastures. Frost-seed legumes into existing pastures or inter-seed the pastures with grasses/legume mix.
MARCH 2012
26
Notes w w w
27
28
29
APRIL 2012 SUNDAY
MONDAY
1
TUESDAY
2
WEDNESDAY
3
4
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
5
SATURDAY
w
Nutrient Management Tips
7
6
w Full Moon Easter
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
Use this calendar to briefly record manure applications, grazing rotations, or fertilizer applications throughout the year. Check vegetative growth at the manure storage footer drain outlet. Lush or burnt grass can be a sign of a leak. Manure storage leaks can cause ground water pollution.
Agronomy Tips
w 15
16
17
18
19
20
21
New Moon
22
23
29
30
24
Notes w w w
25
26
27
28
Grazing Cover Crop w w w Take full advantage of a cover crop. Cut and feed as green chop or graze the cover crop before the stand is chemically burned down. Avoid grazing the cover crop when fields are too wet in order to avoid soil compaction. Planting a cover crop reduces nutrient and sediment runoff from fields. Cover crops also lower groundwater pollution events by slowing nutrient leaching.
s w w For Grazier w r to record where this c d and w Ugse als are rotate ock. razing anim padd alenda
March 2012 S
M
T
W T
4 5 6 7 11 12 13 14 18 19 20 21 25 26 27 28
F
w
May 2012 S
1 2 3 8 9 10 15 16 17 22 23 24 29 30 31
S
M
6 7 13 14 20 21 27 28
T
W T
F
S
1 2 3 4 5 8 9 10 11 12 15 16 17 18 19 22 23 24 25 26 29 30 31
APRIL 2012
e in each length of tim rstures by inte Renovate pa h it w ure areas seeding past e seed mix. grass/legum
w
Chemically burn-down cover crops when stand is between 6-15 inches tall. Order cover crop seeds for summer planting.
MAY 2012 w
SUNDAY
Agronomy Tips
w
Be timely when killing cover crops to achieve the preferred amount of residue cover. Killing cover crops too early means too little cover, but killing it too late may cause planting problems such as hair-pinning.
MONDAY
TUESDAY
April 2012 S
M
T
W T
F
WEDNESDAY
1
S
2
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
3
5
4
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
Check for slugs and spot treat hot-spots.
Full Moon
6
7
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9
10
11
12
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15
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25
26
28
29
30
31
Stream-side Buffer Maintenance w w w Scout buffer areas for invasive plants or other competitive weeds. Mow or use pre-emergent herbicides to control invasive plant growth. Precision is needed when applying herbicides on weeds. Take care not to spray native trees and shrubs in the buffer.
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Nutrient Management Tips Examine manure storage for needed repairs and promptly fix them. Check the manure storage footer drain for manure leakage. Check for foul-smelling or discolored flow from the outlet of the footer drain.
w
New Moon
27
w
en for Apply nitrog rage growth. additional fo estock after De-worm liv through the first rotation em. paddock syst samples to Take forage ge quality. monitor fora
June 2012 S
M
T
W T
3 4 5 6 7 10 11 12 13 14 17 18 19 20 21 24 25 26 27 28
s For Grazier
w
Memorial Day
Notes w w w
w
MAY 2012
F
S
1 2 8 9 15 16 22 23 29 30
JUNE 2012 SUNDAY
MONDAY
TUESDAY
May 2012
Use this calendar to help record manure application’s dates and locations.
3
WEDNESDAY
S
M
6 7 13 14 20 21 27 28
T
W T
July 2012 F
S
1 2 3 4 5 8 9 10 11 12 15 16 17 18 19 22 23 24 25 26 29 30 31
4
5
THURSDAY
S
M
T
W T
F
FRIDAY
1
S
2
w
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
6
7
8
9
w w
Grazing
w
Full Moon
10
w
Nutrient Management Tips
SATURDAY
11
12
13
14
15
16 w
Plant summ er like brassica annual forages s and sorgh umsudangrass. Apply nitrog en to pasture for addition s al growth. Update graz ing and nutr ient application records.
Use this calendar to record manure application rates, locations, and dates. Use preside-dress soil nitrate tests to determine correct nitrogen application rates. To reduce sediment runoff polluting nearby streams, examine vegetated filter areas for erosion, reseed as necessary.
Agronomy Tips
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
New Moon
24
25
26
27
28
Notes w w w
JUNE 2012
29
30
w w w
Check soybean and corn planter performance. Identify and fix planter problems for next year. Plant summer annual cover crops such as millets, sorghum-sudangrass, and buckwheat. Begin post-emergence herbicide applications and follow label instruction.
Storage Foundation Drain Maintenance w w w Check the outlets of manure storage foundation drains frequently. The drain's outflow should be observed when the facility is being used. Repairs should be made to correct any leakage into the footer drain to reduce the risks of groundwater pollution. Leaks may be detected by the color and smell of the out-flowing liquid. The vegetation around the outlet could be either lush and dark green or dying and burnt.
