Harvest is underway in most of the country and as corn is being harvested, a huge feed resource is being left behind. Cornstalk grazing is an excellent way to extend grazing economically and provide c
It was baleage, not hay, that outdistanced the record field 380 entries in the Southeastern Hay Contest presented by Massey Ferguson. The legume baleage sample from Yon Family Farms, Ridge Spring, S.C
A total of 336 samples from 17 different states comprised the field of entries for this year’s World Forage Analysis Superbowl. The highest placing samples were on display last week at World Dairy
Finding the balance between cheap yet healthy and beneficial can tend to be a challenge when creating rations. However, cereal grains can provide different management options to help meet ration objec
Hay is a great option for feed, however, without an effective storage strategy, a significant amount of money and quality will be lost. Economists estimate the total value of hay storage and feeding l
Hay is hay. Right?Most people understand that the package of dry forage we bind up and call “hay” is not created equal in terms of nutrient content. In fact, hay is subject to extreme variation
Photo: University of California Extension What fits one production system or environment doesn’t always fit another. Grazing alfalfa in the fall and winter with sheep is one such practice
With winter fast approaching, some cattle will soon be in fields grazing on swaths and bales. Swath, stockpiled, and bale grazing are all ways to extend grazing time and are methods with economic bene
Researchers at the Noble Research Institute have been involved in a long-term study that is examining ways to extend the number of grazing days and reduce feed supplementation for the cow
Cereal rye is the most commonly used small grain for spring forage, but there are plenty of other high-quality options to boost spring inventories. Consider diversifying your spring forage
With the arrival of September, prevent-plant acres can now be harvested or grazed. Harvesting crops such as sorghum-sudangrass requires that attention be paid to whole-plant moisture since there is a
In years such as this one, when frost might outpace soybean maturity because of late planting, harvesting the crop as silage or hay becomes a viable alternative.Extension specialists at Mi
With Labor Day now in the rearview mirror, the decision to grab one more alfalfa cutting becomes more traumatic. That said, the need for high-quality feed is unquestionable on many farms. As temperat
With both the quantity and quality of forage at a premium this year in many regions, preservation of corn silage becomes paramount. One component of silage preservation is the use of bacterial inocula
In some regions of the U.S., yellow sweetclover is flourishing. With a biennial lifecycle, sweetclover exhibits very little top growth in the first year and then produces tall stalks during its second
With the large acreage of late-planted corn this year, the probability for some of that crop experiencing a frost or, worse yet, a hard freeze before it’s mature is much higher than in a normal grow
When Southern warm-season grasses go dormant and become unproductive, there are a wide variety of cool-season annual grasses that can be used to extend grazing periods into the winter and spring month
In times of excessive rain or poor drying conditions, producers turn to preservatives to bale hay before it’s fully dry. The use of preservatives allows for hay to be baled wetter than normal. Propi
Cover crops protect soil and water quality and often provide a valuable source of livestock feed. However, not much research has been done regarding the value and viability of using cover crops for fo
Alfalfa and corn balance one another out in forage systems across the Midwest and Northeast. When both are included in diets, their complementary nutritional components can be incredibly beneficial to