Throughout the Midwest and Northeast, dairymen are awaiting the opportunity to get their corn crop in the ground. Since corn silage makes up the bulk of dairy rations, it's essential to ensure that your...
The rumen is akin to an orchestra. It requires a variety of elements, working in concert with one another, to achieve its end goal. When the rumen is working harmoniously, dairy cattle are able to transform...
We all know that a Google search about GMOs and glyphosates will turn up an overwhelming number of negative websites as mentioned in the Hoard's Dairyman Intel, "Could glyphosate cause cancer?" These negative...
The 2015 national feed situation is off to a not very encouraging start, thanks to the March 31 Prospective Plantings report from USDA.According to the report, total corn acreage for the year is forecast...
In a matter of weeks, equipment will hit fields across the Midwest and Northeast. While hybrid decisions are already locked in for the planting season, there's still time to evaluate planting densities,...
by Corey Geiger, Managing Editor Having been applied to crops and farm fields for over 40 yearsHaving been applied to crops and farm fields for over 40 years in some 160 countries around the globe, glyphosate...
Corn rootworm stands as one of the most expensive threats to U.S. crop farmers. The larvae gnaw on the roots of cornstalks, stunting plant growth and costing growers an estimated $1 to $2 billion per year
Last year, the United States saw another drop in farm acres and number of farms, but productivity filled the gap. Our nation's farmers are faced with the continuous challenge of doing more with less. The...
Effluent planning can be done now to make harvest easier this year Growing up on a small dairy farm, silage effluent wasn't something I was overly aware of other than it smelled, and I tried not to get...
The author is a nutrition and management consultant with Progressive Dairy Solutions based out of California. Once a modernized and well-maintained forage harvester is set up and operating properly, it...
Given the long-term price projections for grain and oilseed prices, there definitely could be more acres of cropland dedicated to hay and alfalfa in future years, projected Joe Outlaw with Texas A&M University....
The nation's major dairy states led the pack for both corn silage and alfalfa forage harvest. Producers in Wisconsin put up 15.7 million tons of corn silage, while California stored 10.9 million tons of...
An invasive pest from Asia, the brown marmorated stink bug was first identified in Pennsylvania in 2001. Since that time, it has spread throughout the Mid-Atlantic region. The bug causes damage to a variety...
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...
Forage digestibility can be a game changer. For dairymen who were banking on the harvested tons to add some breathing room back in their forage budget, a crop like 2014's provided little relief
Haste makes waste. An idiom that's long been applied to children completing their household chores is just as relevant to our corn silage harvest and storage. Occasionally, in the haste to stay ahead of...
"In the best-case scenario, we'll lose only 2 to 3 percent of our harvested forage tons to fermentation shrink," noted John Goeser, Rock River Laboratory, at the Penn State Dairy Nutrition Conference
This year's harvest marks two very different ends of the spectrum. Some dairies have been blessed with an abundance of forage to feed over the coming year