Before expanding my agricultural canvas as a national magazine editor, I really had little idea how the rest of the nation operated beyond my home Midwest region. Here, we plant, it rains, crops grow
“Alfalfa is a virtuous queen,” began Dennis Hancock while speaking to a packed house at the World Alfalfa Congress last month in San Diego, Calif. “There is a long list of well-known
This past year saw the Southern Plains and western Midwest regions get rocked by drought. These same areas are dense with beef cattle found in both large and small herds.Drought can be devastati
“When I tell people what I do, my explanation usually elicits a lot of confused looks,” said Josh Callen regarding his company’s quest to document Western hay markets in his weekly newsletter
Among the many politically polarizing issues of the day is climate change. A multitude of claims — many unsubstantiated — are made by both the “doom and gloomers” as well as the
As a hay industry, there are still a number of hay sales that occur “by the bale.” Yes, it’s easier, but if the sale is made without factoring in bale weight and moisture, there’s
Interest in integrating livestock and alfalfa production is on the rise in the U.S. as a way to produce food more sustainably. There are significant economic and environmental advantages to grazing, i
The alfalfa acreage in Oklahoma has drastically declined in recent years, according to the National Agricultural Statistics Services (NASS). The total alfalfa harvested area dropped from 310,000 acres
Among the many unique rural landscape features found in the western United States, first-time visitors will witness thousands of scattered haystacks that have seemingly sprung forth from the parched s
Alfalfa is the fourth most widely grown crop nationwide and historically has been one of the most popular forages among livestock producers due to its high yield and quality potential. Alfalfa utiliza
After a few years of extremely tight overall forage seed inventories that were exacerbated by supply chain challenges, many of the primary forage species in key production areas should start to have a
Let’s be honest: Alfalfa has taken somewhat of a hit over the past 20 years. It’s enough to break an alfalfa guy or girl’s heart. Since 2005, there has been about a 30% drop off in harveste
As we learned too often during the pandemic, artificial life support is sometimes needed to see people through a tough time and get them to better times
If you grow or harvest forage, develop forage products, sell stuff to people who grow forage, educate people who grow forage, do research for people who grow forage, or just buy forage, then consider
One of biggest advantages of large round bales is that they can be stored outside with minimal dry matter losses. One of the biggest disadvantages is that they can be stored outside
The list of components in a dairy cow’s ration includes forages, nonfiber carbohydrate feeds (grains and by-products), rumen degradable and by-pass proteins, fat, minerals, vitamins, and other feed
During nutrition workshops with students and industry professionals, I generally break nutrition analysis training down into sections corresponding to nutrients or nutrient digestion measures
