Pricing standing hay can be a challenge due to multiple cuttings and subsequent harvests throughout the year, along with a lack of a formal commodity market
On occasion, growers ask for advice on forage seed mixtures. When growers are considering new alfalfa seedings, their questions focus on what other legume or grass species to add with alfalfa, and how...
Wiersma is the alfalfa business manager with DuPont Pioneer. Thomas is retired from the William H. Miner Agricultural Research Institute and president of Oak Point Agronomics Ltd. Soil fertility is an
“It’s a game changer,” shared Ev Thomas of Oak Point Agronomics during the Hoard’s Dairyman webinar, when talking about forage advancements in alfalfa production
There’s considerable interest in reduced-lignin alfalfa, which comes from both genetically modified varieties and those developed using conventional plant breeding. Reduced-lignin alfalfa can provide very...
During our careers, we’ve had the privilege of seeing not just one, but several new plant genetic technologies dramatically change the crop production landscape
It’s never too early to begin planning for late summer and early fall management of alfalfa (and alfalfa-grass). First, check your recent soil analyses, and take soil samples for a new analysis
The older we get, the faster summer seems to go by. Just as we begin to enjoy bright sunshine and warm weather, fair time and school time come along to signal the approaching end to another summer
In alfalfa fields, weeds are no more welcome than rain on freshly cut hay. Weeds compete for the same resources needed to grow a good crop of alfalfa: water, nutrients, and light
Choosing the right machinery for harvesting alfalfa can have a large impact on forage yield. While we certainly need to drive over the field to harvest it, we can minimize the effect traffic has
Dairies in the West aren’t just competing with each other for alfalfa hay but with dairies all over the world.Just like milk, alfalfa exports have become a huge business
Once it's harvested, it's all you have to work with. That's the story with forage quality. At last week's Tri-State Dairy Conference, Dan Undersander, University of Wisconsin-Madison forage specialist,...
Across U.S., the "queen of forages" is also a king of crops. Dairy cows love alfalfa, so it's no wonder that demand for it comes overwhelmingly from milk producers. And despite recent years of volatile...
In a nutshell, economics has been the primary driver that caused almonds to speed past alfalfa for total acreage for the first time in modern California history. The higher returns per acre for the nut...
Western dairy producers, especially those in California, have been squeezed by high feed prices; perhaps none more than those for alfalfa hay. With the state's ongoing drought, competition from other crops...
Continued drought in California produced a host of takeaway messages at the 2014 Alfalfa, Forage and Grains Symposium, December 10-12 in Long Beach, Calif., including: Huge improvements in alfalfa irrigation...