Every year, there is a lot of lodged forage due to delayed harvests caused by heavy winds and rain associated with severe storms...

The introduction of disc mowers has allowed forages to be cut close to the ground — much closer than sickle bar mowers...

Round balers tend to be more economical than medium to large square balers for both beef and dairy mid-sized farms...

Summer and winter alfalfa are different in structure. The change occurs during the process of hardening in the fall to allow the alfalfa plant to survive colder temperatures...

The low futures prices for corn and soybeans have caused some farmers to consider alfalfa as a more profitable crop in 2018 than either grain...

Triple mowers enable forage to be cut in a wide swath, allowing for more rapid drying and fewer harvest losses.I have been a forage agronomist for 30 years here at the University of Wisconsin during...

We’re so accustomed to driving over alfalfa when harvesting that we sometimes forget about the potential damage being done to the stand by wheel traffic...

In a recent study, where we sampled alfalfa that was standing, after mowing, after raking, and in the chopper wagon or bale, 71 percent of the change in forage quality was related to leaf content...

Many do not understand what fall dormancy really is and its value to alfalfa growers. Fall dormancy is the ability of alfalfa to grow tall in the fall. It is measured by determining plant...

The author is an extension forage agronomist, University of Wisconsin, Madison.From the time forage is cut until it is fed, the goal is to minimize dry matter and forage quality loss...