The Country Today from Eau Claire, Wisconsin • 13

June 23, 1993 PageBI The Country Today 4- sbcesoe? two Map courtesy Rockford Map Publlstws, Inc. i Late planting soybeans Fertilizing alfalfa Planning for transition The dairy trend in the Upper Midwest is for fewer producers and larger herds. To some people this is agonizing, and to others it presents a real challenge. Whatever happens, the dairy industry will be in transition as we move toward the 21st century. There are lots of opportunities to expand but it should be done with a plan.

The plan needs to outline goals, describe pitfalls and clearly outline capital needs and cash flow. The question "What if?" should be applied to all areas involved in the expansion. Risk is always a major factor in expansion. Expanding gradually from 50 to 400 cows might be spread over a 10-year period. Minimizing risks and adjusting to the learning curve are two good reasons to make a major expansion over a period of time.

It is a lot easier to make adjustments if expansion is done gradually. Dairy farmers in transition not only need a farm plan, but they also need a banker who demands they have a well-thought-out set of goals prior to an affirmative nod to the request. Expanding without a plan can mean surprises and be a costly investment. Creditors need to be well-educated and informed on dairy production, management and business matters. Bankers should discourage farmers from adding on to an existing dairy barn.

Stall barns are not the way of the future for dairy herds in the Upper Midwest. Free stalls can be built for $750 to $1,200 per stall while the price per stall in a stanchion barn is at $2,000. A farmstead plan in addition to a facilities plan pinpoints not only costs but also how expansion will take place in future growth. All too often we see plans for building but none for the whole picture. Milking facilities won't last forever.

The useful life of a parlor is 15 to 20 years and all dairy facilities should be paid for in 10 years. If this doesn't happen, facilities will be worn out before they are paid off. One of the major costs of dairy expansions is milking parlor costs. Typical parlors cost $10,000 per stall. If you downsize the parlor, you can save money, which can be used to pay the hired labor more or pay down debt faster.

Producers might consider more time use of the parlor in order to maximize efficiency. Large-scale dairies in the Southwest utilize parlors for 18 to 20 hours per day. In the Upper Midwest, an average would be about four hours per day. Labor will be a major concern on dairy expansions. Students at college, construction workers and possibly teachers could be employed as seasonal workers.

We need to think of innovative ways to employ dairy labor and step out of the traditional hired hand who is a milker, fieldperson and handyperson on all farm jobs. i Finally, manure management will become more of an issue. Regulations in the future will be tight and tough. Dairy producers need to calculate ways to dispose of manure without overloading nutrients in the soil They might even consider selling manure to neighboring crop farmers. David Kjome, Olmsted County (Minn.) ag agent Research conducted in Wisconsin and in Minnesota shows that delayed planting reduces soybean yields one-half bushel per acre per day after the first week in May when planting full-season varieties.

This varies by variety, row spacing, soil moisture conditions, and growing temperatures. When planting soybeans after pea harvest from June 10 or later, it is critical that adequate moisture be available to germinate the soybean to allow good stands and maximize yields. In all cases, but especially with later planting soybeans planted in narrow rows produced significantly more than wide rows. If planting soybeans after June 15, growers should: 1. Select earlier maturing varieties.

2. Plant into moist seedbeds or provide irrigation if available. 3. Use high populations. 4.

Plant in narrow rows. 5. Provide for adequate weed control. Matthew Glewen, Calumet County ag agent Weed control variable Weed control with herbicide is not always predictable. Most post-emergence herbicides have labels stating that a herbicide should be applied "when weeds are actively growing" and that "best results are obtained when the herbicide is applied to young, actively growing weeds." The degree of control is dependent on rate used, sensitivity and size of the target weed, and environmental conditions at the time of and following application.

Warm, moist weather conditions following treatment promote herbicide activity while cool, dry conditions delay herbicide activity. Under cool weather conditions, herbicides will work more slowly and overall control may be less than under "ideal" conditions. Herbicides rates should be adjusted accordingly. When using a herbicide with good crop safety or if risk of temporary injury is acceptable, a medium to high rate will help to offset the reduced activity from the cool weather. It may also be advisable to switch to a herbicide that has greater crop safety.

David Kjome, Olmsted County (Minn.) agriculture agent The wet season so far has caused its share of planting problems and those concerns carry over into the forage harvest that has been under way the last week or two. Another concern for alfalfa growers is fertilization. Alfalfa yielding 5 tons per acre a season takes approximately 250 pounds of potassium and 50 pounds of phosphorus from the soil, and replenishing that supply can do a great deal to enhance future yields and the survival of that stand into another year. Any fertilizer program should be built around a corresponding soil testing program. When soil tests show a low or very low level of potassium or phosphorus, significant yield response has been shown to top-dressing.

Alfalfa fields in that low category yield 4.8 tons of alfalfa with no extra potash applied, 5.7 tons when 120 pounds of potash was top-dressed, and 6.1 tons of alfalfa per acre when 240 pounds of potash was applied. Similar response has been shown to phosphorus when it is low in the soil. On sandy soils, such as we have in some of our river valleys, sulfur is also beneficial. At the Irrigation Research Center near Staples, alfalfa yields have doubled by adding 25 pounds of sulfur per acre per year on those sandy soils. Generally, we recommend half of the alfalfa's fertilizer needs be applied right after the first harvest is off the field and balance in the fall.

If soil levels are extremely low, two-thirds of the total might be applied after the first cutting. If part or all of your fertilizer need is being met by top-dressing with liquid manure, that too should be applied in a light coat right after the first crop is off the field. Chuck Schwartau, Wabasha County, ag agent Side-dressing nitrogen The wet conditions in Winona County this spring may have prevented some corn producers from applying some or all of their nitrogen before corn planting. If you need to side-dress your nitrogen this year, the sooner the better. By applying the nitrogen while the corn is 6 to 12 inches tall (rather than when it is 15 to 24 inches in height) has proved to be more successful.

There is often visible and significant nitrogen stress if no nitrogen is applied until a later side-dressing. Side-dress nitrogen applications should be incorporated several inches into the soil, placing the fertilizer in a more favorable zone or root uptake. All nitrogen sources (anhydrous ammonia, urea and 28 percent) can be used for a side-dress application. The urea and 28 percent forms can be applied with a herbicide, which may be an important factor this year. Neil Broadwater, Winona County, ag agent Cadet nursing school memories linger on 0 of yesteryear with gram was deemed the most successful of the war.

This part of the war effort seems to have been forgotten. I have never seen anything written about it. Seems it came and went and only those involved remember it. This story is published with permission of the author. Stories and photographs of rural yesteryears can be submitted to The Country Today, along with a signed statement granting one-lime use, at: The Country Todav Yarn, Box 570, Eau Claire, Wl 54701 francis steiner retired Clark county ag ed Instructor "My wife says I talk in my sleep.

How come nobody at work has ever mentioned it!" By Irene Butler Kraske New London (Waupaca County) The U.S. Cadet Nurse Corps was established on June 15, 1943, by the federal government. It was a program designed to attract young women to the nursing profession, to ensure adequate nursing care to our military forces as well as to those at home. Enrollees signed an agreement to be available for military or other federal, governmental or essential civilian service for the duration of the present war. "In consideration of the training, payments, and other benefits which are provided me as a member of the U.S.

Cadet Nurse Corps, I agree that I will be available for military or other federal, governmental or essential civilian services for the duration of the present war," read the agreement signed by members of the Cadet Nurse Corps. I was a member of the Cadet Nurse Corps as a student at Mercy School of Nursing in Oshkosh, from 1945-48. The three-year diploma program was the norm for training registered nurses in those years. The Cadet Corps offered full payment of tuition, room and board, dress uniforms for winter and summer, plus the nursing uniforms, and a street uniform. We received a monthly stipend which was about $15 or $31, as I recall.

That was big money ia those diys! As students, we ln-cd ia the around the state also affiliated at Wood's Veterans Hospital. I recall gals from St. Agnes Fond du Lac, a school in Eau Claire and a couple schools in Milwaukee Mt. Sinai, Misericordia and Deaconess. We never did figure out how the three of us were "chosen" for Wood.

Was it a random drawing? Did the nun director want to be rid of us? Or were we superior students or gals that the vets would like? No one ill ever know. Call it ooe of the mysteries of life, but a very good experience, socially and professionally. Enrollment quotas were exceeded and the program ended Oct 15, 1945. Our class of 1948 was the end of the Cadet program. The ar as over, so none of our class ere drafted.

dorms for the three years and really became a close-knit Some of those friendships have lasted a lifetime. In spite of "lights-out" at 9:30, and occasional late privilege and rare overnight, plus classes and study and hospital work, we found time for fun and mischief. Three of our class (I was one) were "chosen" to spend the last six months at Wood Veterans Hospital in Milwaukee. We got a raise in pay to, I think, $30 a month, more lenient privileges and good clinical experiences. The Irving quarters were really nice.

The dining room had real tablecloths and we could inv ite guests for a meal and visit Our classmates who were at Milwaukee County Hospital for psychiatry affiliation were privileged to be our dinner guests. That as very speciaL 1 ffi 0 Cadets from other schools The nurse recruitment pro- The Country Local members cf the short-lived Nurse Cadet Corps, established on June 15, 1943, were interviewed by rado station WOSH at Oshkosh..