Thin stands encourage weed invasion, reduce yield and may shorten the life of the stand. Considering these negative consequences of poor stand establishment along with the high actual and opportunity costs associated with forage establishment, it is important to maximize the chances of success.

1. Plan ahead
Remember that old adage: “the lack of planning is planning for failure.” Numerous activities including weed control, adjusting soil pH and fertility and selecting the best forage species and variety, need to be completed well in advance of actually seeding a new forage stand. Weed control after the forage is seeded has very limited options.

In addition, while many forage species will grow at a soil pH less than six, they will grow best and yield the most at pH level closer to seven.

The first and foremost factor to take into account when selecting forage specie(s) is the necessity of matching forages to the characteristics of the soil on which they will be grown. Soil type, drainage, moisture-holding capacity, fertility, pH and winterhardiness all have an effect on which forage specie(s) is selected. Species and varieties are often select based on personal or industry preferences and biases without considering soil and site characteristics.

2. Seeding rate
Forage seeding rate recommendations vary considerably across the country depending on soil and environmental conditions. Reducing seeding rates below the recommended level is not the place to cut corners on forage establishment. Economic analyses show that less than 4 percent of the total cost associated with forage production is seed cost.

Reducing forage seeding rates is truly being “penny wise and pound foolish.” A better way to save money is to calibrate your seeder so that it is actually planting the amount of seed you want to plant. With use, the seed metering device on the seeder wears and begins to drop more seed.

3. Seeding depth
The No. 1 reason I see for poor forage stand establishment is seeding too deep. The agronomic rule-of-thumb is not to plant a seed deeper than 5 times its diameter. That means that most of our forages shouldn’t be seeded deeper than 3/8-inch. Seeding deeper than 3/8-inch greatly increases the risks of poor emergence and a weak stand. In order to assure accurate seeding depth in a tilled seedbed, the seedbed must be firm. Fluffy seedbeds do not allow the depth gauge wheels to function properly and seed is frequently placed too deep.

4. Seed-to-soil contact
The forage seeds must absorb more than 100 percent of their own weight in water to initiate the germination process. From the forage seed’s perspective, that’s a lot of water! 

Since the water must move from the soil into the seed, it is crucial that the seed be in contact with as much soil as possible. Poor seed-to-soil contact results in poor and sporadic germination which lowers the number of productive forage plants in the stand. A fine seedbed without soil clods helps ensure good seed-to-soil contact.

• Rules-of-thumb to determine if the soil is firm enough to plant forage:

– On properly firmed soil, an adult’s footprint should not be deeper than 1/4-inch.

– Approximately 10 percent of the seeds should be on the soil surface after planting. If no seeds are visible, then you’re planting too deep!

5. Seeding method
While there has been a lot of debate over which seeding method (e.g. broadcast, fluid seeding, no-till) is the “best,” it really isn’t a big issue as long as each method is done correctly. This includes not seeding too deep, getting good seed-to-soil contact and making sure enough seeds are being seeded per acre.

I realize these basic forage establishment principles seem rather obvious, but every year there are unnecessary establishment failures. Many of these failures occurred because one or more of the basic principles outlined above wasn’t followed. This year, don’t focus on the details of forage establishment so much that the basic principles of establishment are neglected.  FG

Marvin H. Hall
Forage Management
Pennsylvania State University