May 1, 2009
Hay Market Update
Some Prices Hit Bottom
Alfalfa hay prices bucked the normal trend this year, weakening during the heavy winter feeding period. In some states, prices for top-end hay are at...
Features
Hay Supply’s Ups & Downs
Hay growers in Oklahoma expect to harvest 240,000 more hay acres this year than in 2008, while Texas growers say they'll reduce hay production by 130,000...
Copter Commerce
Some of Scott Jackson's clients get a fringe benefit other hay dealers can't offer: helicopter rides. Jackson buys hay throughout southern Idaho and northern...
What's This Alfalfa Worth?
Determining a fair price for standing alfalfa hay can be a complex process. Year-to-year changes in hay prices and yields, and different values for various...
Standing Hay Price Resources
The University of Wisconsin has developed a fact sheet to help landowners and buyers determine short-term sales prices for standing forages...
Worried About Worms
California alfalfa growers af-fected by this spring's stem nematode outbreak should be careful to avoid spreading the microscopic worms to non-infested...
Flexible Annual Forage
More and more livestock producers are looking at crabgrass, not as a weed, but as a high-quality summer hay and pasture alternative. The sturdy annual...
A Break From The Weather
No doubt about it: Traipsing around an auction yard on a cold, windy winter day to examine a load of hay or straw before making a bid is no fun. Dealing...
Where Sainfoin Fits
To many people, sainfoin is a new crop. But to Don Keil, it's an old friend. Sainfoin has been a part of his forage program for more than 40 years. It...
Stick With Alfalfa, Say Two Agronomists
Sainfoin probably isn't a good choice for growers in Nebraska or Wisconsin, say forage agronomists in the two states. In almost all areas where alfalfa...
Highly Digestible Feed
Reducing lignin in alfalfa can improve fiber digestibility in cows and lambs by up to 10%, according to feeding trial results from Dave Mertens, U.S....
From Standby To Mainstay
Twelve years ago, Kendall Guither started wrapping 45%- to 55%-moisture bales for baleage, primarily as a rainy-day backup. Today this perennial winner...
Grazing On The Wedge
A good rotational grazing system for a grass-based dairy or beef herd continually keeps livestock on the best pasture available. Cows graze one paddock...
Prepare For Drought
Frequently measuring and recording the amount of standing forage in your pastures is a smart practice for graziers when conditions are ideal. It's also...
Peas Hold Promise
Fall-seeded peas or lentils could pan out as a profitable grazing crop as well as an economical nitrogen source for a subsequent wheat crop, say Montana...
Better Conditioning
Scott Rice began saving a half to a full day of drying time per cutting on his Wilsonville, NE, hayfields after he and his brother, Steve, went to intermeshed,...
Finishing Alfalfa Stand Strong By Adding Grasses
Ted Cook's 35-acre alfalfa field produced more hay in its final year than in any of the other eight. Although he didn't follow all the recommended procedures,...
Industry News
Forage Analysis Superbowl Makes Major Changes
A move to all cash prizes and two new awards will highlight the 2009 World's Forage Analysis Superbowl. The first change is aimed primarily at increasing...
Twine Becomes Twine In Recycling Effort
A lot less used baler twine is being burned or sent to landfills thanks to an Albert Lea, MN, twine manufacturer. Bridon Cordage established a sister...
Annual AFGC Conference Is June 21-23 In Michigan
New forage-research findings, innovative grower and grazier ideas and forage tours will all be part of the American Forage and Grassland Council Conference...
Product Preview
Compact Tractors
Compact Tractors The MF1600 Series compact tractors from Massey Ferguson have 35-60 gross engine horsepower, featuring steel and cast iron construction,...
Durable Fence Posts
The new Zareba Systems 4' poly step-in posts are quick and easy to install and feature eight built-in wire holders for fence-line configurations to contain most animals...
Rotary Tedders
Kuhn North America, Inc., introduces six-rotor GF 6502 and eight-rotor GF 7702, fully mounted rotary tedders with working widths of 21' 4" and 25' 7", respectively...
Round Bale Processor
RCMR, Inc. presents the Round Bale EZ Ration Processor, designed to run the floor chains at different rates and create a ration...
Most Popular Articles
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Research in Brief
The following items report on forage-related research recently presented by University experts at meetings across the country.
