The author is a dairy nutritional consultant and freelance agricultural writer based out of Connecticut. Progress continues to be made in the analysis of forages and in determining how they ferme

The author is a freelance writer from Bozeman, Mont., and has her own communications business, Cowpunch Creative. Pastured poultry provide a profitable value-added enterprise at Seven Sons Farm.S

Alfalfa growers would not be happy to see a field riddled with large diseased areas as in the accompanying image. But, who would have ever imagined that a military surveillance tool

Producing hay for the horse market can be a profitable enterprise but brings a different set of considerations compared to selling hay destined for ruminant livestock. At the recent Wester

If you think weed herbicide resistance is just a row crop problem . . . think again. “North America leads the world in herbicide resistant weeds, and it’s becoming a growing issue for

Many do not understand what fall dormancy really is and its value to alfalfa growers. Fall dormancy is the ability of alfalfa to grow tall in the fall. It is measured by determining plant

The beauty and curse of a biological system is that we always play the averages and probabilities because very few things happen 100 percent of the time. For any given question there are

For those in areas of the country where winter actually exists — real snow with drivable lakes — you’ve been looking at brown or white alfalfa fields for several months. All of that is

There are a lot of opinions about applying manure to established alfalfa; okay, maybe there are really just two: yea or nay. We’ll save established alfalfa for another day

Versatility is always a commendable attribute and Texas A&M University’s Russ Jessup is developing a new grass plant that can be used for both forage or as a biofuel

Wheel-line irrigation system. Moisture stress to alfalfa regrowing after a cutting has the greatest impact on yield

Growing forage legumes in the southeastern U.S. can be challenging. The combination of warm weather, high moisture and sandy soils provide a perfect environment for a variety of crop pests and disease

Alfalfa is the most widely used perennial forage in the U.S. due to its high digestibility, its ability to fix nitrogen, and its high protein content

The 2015 hay and haylage crop is in storage and being fed, with many producers asking how their crops stack up, no pun intended. Determining a single crop’s quality can be a tricky task

Though there is no scientific survey that documents the rising popularity of baled silage, an excursion down rural roads tells us that more and more forage is being harvested in this manner

The author is a dairy scientist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Alfalfa producers will have a couple of new options to consider in the upcoming growing season. Low-lignin alfalfas are being to

Seed availability for alfalfa producers looks to be in pretty good shape for the 2016 growing season; however, like most years, there may be issues for those who wait to order elite varieties that are

Several years of moderate winters have allowed meadow voles (Microtus pennsylvanicus) to reach crop-killing proportions in some areas of the West

A strong U.S. dollar and increased competition are two factors that have led to a more difficult hay export situation. Looking back over 2015, forage exporters reflected on a year of frustration

The 2013 to 2015 drought centered on California and Nevada has been termed “Exceptionally Severe” by USDA scientists, and has brought home with a vengeance the importance of water for