Once your bunks are packed and covered, your focus needs to shift from maximizing yields to reducing future losses. While it's difficult to counteract poor management early on, proper feed-out can minimize...
A fall alfalfa harvest: should you do it on your farm? If you are short on forage supplies, the answer may be yes. Alfalfa stores energy in its roots and crowns. These energy reserves are used by the plant...
As farms have grown in size, so has the equipment used in crop production. Field equipment is heavier, with the potential to cause more soil compaction at depths that make it difficult (in some cases impossible)...
What can you afford to pay for land rent and still be competitive? Margin management has become critical to farm success. "Keeping in mind feed market volatility, it looks like feed will be cheaper based...
Creating solutions to forage needs. Mike Hutjens, University of Illinois, presented "Playing the crop-year cards we've been dealt" webinar on Monday, July 8. Labeled the "perfect storm" by Mike Rankin,...
2013 Farm Progress Hay Expo had plenty to see and learn about. For hay and forage enthusiasts, the 2013 Farm Progress Hay Expo was the place to be. There were numerous equipment line-ups and demonstrations...
With record-low hay stocks, many farms will need to stretch their forage supplies. by Abby Huibregtse, Hoard's Dairyman Associate Editor The USDA recently released estimates for hay in storage, and it's...
Silage piles aren't always a best buy. Producers and consultants often jump to the conclusion that flat feed storage is the most economical. They could be wrong
Don't make rash changes based on a single ingredient analysis. Repeated sampling teases out if this is true variation or an error. Feed and forage nutrient composition always vary to some degree. But limiting...
Spreaders and other implements are beginning to hit fields across the country as we begin the 2013 cropping season. But have you taken the time to evaluate your nutrient recording keeping system lately?
Ev Thomas of the William H. Miner Agricultural Research Institute shared his experience with growing forages, especially alfalfa, on the March 11 Hoard's Dairyman webinar, "ABCs of alfalfa harvest."
In our February 10, 2013, issue, four producers from Vermont, New York, Wisconsin and California shared their thoughts on feeding high-forage diets to their herds. With the level of detail these producers...
The replant window for corn can be quite narrow. Even though corn is a crucial ration ingredient, as the growing season progresses the decision to plant another crop
Frost seeding red clover into wheat stands will not reduce grain yields. However, it can prevent soil erosion, provide nitrogen credits and be fall forage in this double-crop system. If you grow wheat...
Marshall McCullough was a University of Georgia dairy nutritionist who wrote for Hoard's Dairyman for many years, including the book Roughages for Dairy Cattle.One day after looking at some extremely high...
If you grow wheat as part of your dairy cropping mix, this could be a good time to try "frost seeding" red clover to boost forage production. But it is important to follow seeding recommendations. The...
Hoard's Dairyman Webinar Archives November 12, 2012: "Sorting through our cropping strategies" presented by Dan Undersander, University of Wisconsin-Madison Brought to you by Merial and their Best in Class...
Drought-stressed alfalfa fields need extra attention "Lack of water at optimal times cannot be made up later with additional rains or irrigation," said Dan Undersander, when discussing the state of alfalfa...