I wonder what Ed Nolt is thinking these days. Many people argue that the small square bale is all but a history lesson . . . but is it?Nolt, a Pennsylvania Dutchman, invented the prototype for t
Heard about reduced lignin alfalfa? Wondered if it can play a role on your farm? Redesigned to increase digestibility by 12-15 percent, HarvXtra™ alfalfa with Roundup Ready® Technology allows
Alfalfa enhanced with the transgenic, reduced-lignin trait being marketed as HarvXtra was made available in limited supplies for spring 2016 planting. In 2017, at least 10 seed marketers will offer Ha
The thought of alfalfa being traded on the futures market is a concept that probably scares a lot of hay growers and marketers. After all, supply, demand, quality, and good old-fashioned one-on-one ne
Cutting alfalfa after temperatures have reached the point that regrowth will no longer occur makes for a different discussion than cutting during the period of four to six weeks before first frost. In
With the opening weekend of the college football season now behind us, alfalfa breaks out a new game plan of its own — one of conservative offense and a tough defense.As temperatures cool, alf
In virtually all walks of life, we’ve become a society that wants information and wants it now. Waiting is often an option only if there are no other alternatives. Farmers are no different.Last fall
Below are examples of alfalfa and grass prices being paid FOB barn/stack (except for those noted as delivered, which is indicated by a "d" in the table below) for selected states at the end of
That was the response I got not too long ago as I called to confirm a morning farm visit.The hay grower had cut early to capture the quality premiums that go along with Supreme quality hay in today’
“When the last bale comes off the field, the fertilizer truck is loaded and ready to roll,” said Clayton Geralds, a Munfordville, Ky., farmer who bales nearly 150,000 small square bales per
Perhaps nothing in the forage production cycle is more aggravating, disheartening, disappointing, or sometimes frightening than a new forage seeding that just never develops. At worst, it means an ent
Why is it that corn yields keep climbing to record levels year after year and perennial forage yields improve at a tortoise-like pace? Quite frankly, perhaps the biggest reason is simply
Cutting height is important. That said, not one size fits all. This is because the carbohydrate reserves for regrowth are located in different plant parts, depending on the species in question
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
Applying manure immediately after alfalfa harvest opens up windows of time for manure application not available with most annual crops, and it expands the acreage base for nutrient management pl
The author is an agricultural extension educator in Jackson County, Fla. As a county agent for the past 20 years, one of the things I have noticed is that there are two general categor
Legumes such as hairy vetch can improve the quality of winter annual grasses. Cover crops are planted to enhance health and fertility of soils and to benefit the surrounding environment
At the base of healthy ryegrass, a mass of white adventitious roots and cobweb-like fungal mycelia develop just as it enters its most rapid phase of growth
