Water shortages in the West have prompted farmers and researchers to explore strategies that will cut water usage while at the same time maintaining profitable alfalfa yields. According to Dan Putnam

Some years things just don’ t go according to how they get drawn up in the pasture playbook.That was the case in Arkansas where the fall was not favorable for generating fall and winter pasture grow

Forage sorghum, usually thought of as a Southern crop, has gained traction in the North during recent years. On some dairy farms, it’s being used for both heifer and/or milking cow feed.Forage sorgh

With milk, beef, and hay prices being on the south side of desired for sellers of those commodities in 2016, one tidbit of good news on the input side of the ledger can be found in fertilizer prices.I

Many beef cows have a heavier mature weight and greater milk production compared to 40 years ago. As such, “Most commercial producers would underestimate the mature size of their cows,” says

Injecting manure into tilled fields or after an annual crop has been harvested is a common practice. Doing the same into a perennial forage hayfield has been viewed as more problematic because of the

Even in the Deep South January plantings don’t make the preferred planting window list for winter pastures that will bridge the April to June forage gap. That said, it might be an option when

Raising oats in the fall as forage for cattle is gaining popularity among dairy farmers.Wayne Coblentz, a USDA Agricultural Research Service dairy scientist in Marshfield, Wis., says that oats provide

The importance of supplementing low-quality forages or winter pastures with protein is backed by significant research data and farmer experience. However, protein supplements are often exp

It’s been discussed most of the year and now the time has arrived. The first ever initiative to secure funding for alfalfa research through a checkoff program will begin on January 1

The primary negative impact of seeding grasses with alfalfa is not lower forage quality, but rather variable forage quality, according to Cornell University forage researchers

Many producers plant annual forages during the summer for winter use. However, a decision has to be made on whether to bale the forage or graze it during winter.“Producers interested in grazing the

Winter feeding baled hay is a necessary evil once pastures go dormant. Strategies to feed baled hay are as numerous as the number of forage species being fed. One such alternative is referred to as ba

Winter is the ideal time to prepare for the upcoming grazing season.Performing key activities in the off-season, like summarizing production and grazing records, analyzing last year’s manageme

Mycotoxins are toxic metabolic by-products of fungi. They have haunted the livestock industry for many years.It’s nearly impossible to predict or know for sure that mycotoxin problems exist wi

With pastures entering dormancy and cornstalk grazing underway, it will soon be time to start delivering supplemental feed to the herd. Often, hay is supplied in the form of large round bal

Though corn draws most of the attention in the annual crop silage world, there’s expanding interest in forage sorghum as water resources become scarcer in some U.S. regions.On the Texas High Plains

Figuring out how much fertilizer to use for forage grasses can be challenging. Applying more fertilizer than what is needed wastes money and causes excess runoff.“Fertilizer costs in forage producti

Ryegrass and winter cereal grains are common “go to” forages in the South for overwintering beef herds and keeping dairy cows productive. These same forage options are used in other areas of

When calculating winter-feed needs for cattle, correctly estimating hay or standing forage intake is essential. Forage quality determines the amount of forage consumed