Agronomic Crop and Improved Pasture System Development (Santa Fe County)

San Ildefonso Alfalfa Planting
Assistance was provided in the fall of 2011 to the San Ildefonso Agricultural Program in the soil sample collection, selection of alfalfa variety seed, planting and irrigation. The five acre field is another crop that the program is looking at incorporating into their agricultural program. Unfortunately due to the dry fall season that was had along with the cold dry winter, they only got a very poor stand of alfalfa.

Crop Disaster Assistance Workshop
The Agent hosted and co-sponsored in August an FSA Disaster Assistance Information Workshop for Farmers and Ranchers who had experienced losses of crops and livestock due to the drought conditions that occurred throughout the course of the year. The workshop that was attended by 18 producers was well received. Those in attendance were grateful for the effort being put forth to organize the workshop.

The Agent developed a brush control demonstration plot on irrigated pasture in cooperation with a farmer who is trying to irradicate siberian elms from his pastures. The herbicidal materials that the Agent used included Garlon 4 and Pronone Power pellets. The cooperating farmer was grateful for the demonstration and felt confident not only in learning about how to use the materials,but that the materials are effective. After evaluating the results the farmer said, there’s a proverb that says, “ Give a man a fish and he’ll eat for a day, teach a man to fish and he’ll eat for a lifetime. You have just taught me how to fish. I can handle the rest of my brush problem on my own.”

The Agent provided assitance to another livestock producer in controling the Buckhorn Plaintain in her irrigated pasture by guiding her in the mixing and application of the herbicide based on the demonstration plots that were set out in 2008 in the community of Nambe. This farmer in particular decided to control this invasive weed which was only along the east side of her pasture rather than before it spread out throughout the entire pasture. The mid summer application seemed to have yielded good results.

The Buckhorn Plantain control demonstration plots that were established in September 2008 using 3 different herbicide treatments were evaluated in March and again in May. The plots that showed the best results were those that were treated with 2,4-D. Therefore based on this these results that were shared with the 6 local livestock producers, 3 livestock producers collectively treated 36 acres of pasture to rid them of this invasive weed.

As a result of the concern being voiced by a couple of livestock producers in the Nambe area relative to a weed called Buckhorn Plantain invading irrigated pastures, the Agent set out some demonstration plots in September utilizing 3 different herbicides to determine which one will control the buckhorn plantain most effectively. Two weeks after the treatment were done none of the treatments looked very encouraging and will have to be evaluated on an on-going basis.

No progress was made toward this POW during this first year.