Every day, America's farmers spend long hours working the land or caring for livestock. We rely on farmers for the food we eat, the clothes we wear, and the fuel that moves us
Farmers and ranchers operate with the understanding that many things are beyond their control despite the best laid plans and management. Market prices, input costs, pests, and diseases are just some
Spring calving season can be stressful enough without calf scours making animals sick and compounding medical costs. That is why the Sandhills Calving System was designed to limit the spread of calf s
Cows were made to eat forage. We give them other stuff, but none of it comes under the entrée heading. Everything else is strictly a side dish.Built into this need for forage is the ruminant’s
A moderate average price gain for alfalfa in December snubbed the previous month’s downturn. For hay other than alfalfa, the average price dropped by $5 per ton, according to USDA’s Agricultural
Below are examples of alfalfa and grass prices being paid FOB barn/stack (except for those noted as delivered, which are indicated by a "d" in the table below) for selected states at the e
Dragging pastures is a spring ritual on many farms and ranches. Also known as harrowing or brushing in different localities, the process is meant to break up manure piles from the previous grazing sea
Winter offers a lot of time for reflection, and for the editor of a hay and forage magazine, a lot of that thinking is devoted to . . . well . . . hay and forage, at least until baseball season starts
Most farm fires are created by accident. Electrical sparks fly, engines run too hot, and wet hay spontaneously combusts. However, there is one instance when fires are planned for and set intentionally
Whiskey is for drinking; water is for fighting over. This is far from an original statement, but no truer mantra has ever been spoken.The western U.S. is in all-out battle over water, and it’s being
When we combine the beef cow inventory of Tennessee with Kentucky, the number of cows managed pushes these states into the top five beef cow-calf states. The beef cow-calf sector of the southeastern U
Alfalfa yields can vary tremendously within a field, with the highest-yielding area often three or four times that of the lowest-yielding area. Is that the result of soil limitations, fertilizers, or
Have you ever wondered why clay soils have such a good ability to absorb water? And yet, these same soils can become muddied and are prone to standing water in wheel tracks from vehicles traversing a
When I was about 5 years old, I desperately wanted to become a farmer like my grandfather and uncle. At that time, my family was living in the suburbs outside a large metropolitan area
I’ve recently opted for a diesel truck, primarily to step up the range between fuel stops. It’s got a 33-gallon fuel tank, but the range equation is more than just a larger fuel tank. Both
Even if I yell at you, I still love you. Not exactly the definition of modern parenting, but it is my opening line when I teach my daughters to drive. As I sit next to them for the first time in the p
Resiliency is the ability to recover from or adjust easily to misfortune or change. Weather occurrences such as drought are never welcomed, but there are proven strategies that will help cattle produc
It's common to encounter fields of tall fescue as you venture across the northern edge of Missouri. Predictable still is the sight of beef cattle grazing the grass on small farms scattered throughout
Forages are the foundation for nutritionally sound, profitable, and rumen-healthy rations. When Randy Shaver with the University of Wisconsin-Madison surveyed high-producing Wisconsin herds, he calcul
