Stockpiling is an important management practice that defers forage availability for a time of later use. In the southeastern U.S., perennial grasses such as tall fescue and bermudagrass

Over 2.5 million acres of nonirrigated dry hay are produced annually in Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, Georgia, and Florida, with an average yield of 5,750 pounds per acre

For many Western alfalfa growers, rodents fall into a major pest category right along with insects, diseases, and weeds

The current drought in the West has likely had no greater impact on other agricultural entities than on alfalfa, according to Dan Putnam, the longtime extension forage agronomist

Selecting a grass species or variety for the production of hay or pasture forage isn’t a decision that should be made without some careful thought. In fact, an argument could be made that selecting

Alfalfa growers in the western U.S. are very aware of how important it is to have adequate irrigation water to produce a crop

There will be a lot of gift wrapping going on this week. It’s my opinion that the ability to wrap gifts correctly and neatly is a genetic trait that is either inherited or must be learned

It was an easy sell . . . well . . . kind of. As an extension agent in one of the biggest dairy counties in Wisconsin, the large majority of farmers I worked with had corn-alfalfa rotations with

Greg Halich is an economist by trade. He puts together full and partial budgets on everything from corn to hay and spends time in the classroom molding younger minds about the intricacies of futures a

Now that mowers and balers are safely tucked away in machine sheds, and the focus shifts to marketing and selling the summer’s bounty. Hay marketing is a business that is built on trust and hon

Forage seed production in 2021 has experienced unprecedented challenges with virtually no popular species spared

Should I go for maximum yield or maximum quality? For generations, alfalfa growers have wrestled with this quandary

Alfalfa’s high yields and forage quality make it a premier forage worldwide. If anything about alfalfa could be improved, most growers would want to extend stand longevity

“One of the major factors negatively impacting harvested alfalfa forage quality is leaf loss,” asserted David Weakley, director of forage research nutrition for Forage Genetics Internatinoal

As the final days of August tick away, there is the realization that alfalfa plants will soon begin to downshift

In the April/May 2021 issue of Hay & Forage Grower, I wrote an article titled “How hay became a four-letter word.”

Plastics net wrap is a common binding material for large round hay bales, but it can present health challenges for cattle due to buildup in the rumen

How often have you harvested a beautiful field of alfalfa or a newly established stand of a high-quality variety of alfalfa, only to find out later that the lab test results were only average?

Forage producers differ greatly in their tolerance for weeds that invade hayfields or pastures. In the West, where hay is often grown for retail or export, there is nearly zero tolerance

It’s well known that the growing environment can impact the quality of forage. Cool temperatures generally are favorable for improving fiber digestibility, hot temperatures will speed plant maturity