Farmers can add weed control to the long list of benefits gained from growing alfalfa in crop rotations. According to Mark Renz, being a dense stand of perennial forage that is cut several times a year
Ten Mile Grade Dairy started baling dry hay and making baleage in 2024 — two jobs that had been hired out until then. Hayfields are seeded to limpograss, which was established after taking a sod
Kelsey Woldt is the oldest of the five daughters who were born and raised on Woldt Farms in Brillion, Wis. Now serving as the farm’s human resources manager, Woldt and her sisters have all been invo
With the country’s beef cow herd at its lowest level since the 1960s, the number of calves also continues to shrink. This puts a tight clamp on the availability of stocker cattle.Currently, CattleFa
One of the best ways to quickly orient someone to a lactation dairy ration is to compare it to the diets of a mama cow grazing native pasture and a feedlot steer. These are the two extremes
High-quality forages are the foundation of a productive and healthy dairy herd. However, the way feed is managed from the field to the cow is crucial for maximizing a producer’s investment in forages
Dry cows on a dairy farm remind me of Larry. They have no real obligations in life except to eat, drink, and take a nap. They are on a vacation from their normal vocation
Forages are the foundation for nutritionally sound, profitable, and rumen-healthy rations. When Randy Shaver with the University of Wisconsin-Madison surveyed high-producing Wisconsin herds, he calcul
Even if I yell at you, I still love you. Not exactly the definition of modern parenting, but it is my opening line when I teach my daughters to drive. As I sit next to them for the first time in the p
It's common to encounter fields of tall fescue as you venture across the northern edge of Missouri. Predictable still is the sight of beef cattle grazing the grass on small farms scattered throughout
Fall weather often brings cool and wet conditions that can stimulate mold growth in crops prior to harvest. This can boost mycotoxin levels in silage. Mycotoxins are toxins produced by some molds
Different reasons exist for growing small grain crops on a dairy farm. Winter annual crops capture nitrogen from the manure applied to the soil, protect the soil from erosion
Over the past 30 years, alfalfa has lost market share to corn silage in dairy cow diet formulations. Multiple reasons have been cited for this shift, including lower alfalfa yields, winterkill risk
