Establishing forage is a lot like playing poker, according to Marvin Hall. If you plan ahead and count your cards, you've increased your chances of winning....More
It won't compete yield-wise with alfalfa or triticale, but grazed or ensiled winter canola offers high nutritional value and digestibility its first year...More
With today's high input costs, beef producer Jeff Schmidt wants to get as much bang as possible from every production buck. That's why he seeds a blend...More
When choosing summer-annual forage varieties based solely on yield, it's okay to use data from dryland research, even if the crop will be irrigated. But...More
Adding perennial forage kochia to traditional winter pastures significantly increased their productivity in a Utah State University study. Forage kochia...More
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...More
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...More
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...More
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...More
When Bob Walton first thought about selling to a niche market, he considered packaging small bales of hay in boxes for horse owners. Instead, he ended...More
Sugar cane grows on less than a million acres in Louisiana, Florida and Texas. But if Edward Richard's research pans out, the crop will be growing on...More
Two new forage soybean varieties have the potential to produce more than 9 tons of dry matter per acre with up to 28% protein, university research has...More
The American Forage and Grassland Council (AFGC) has increased its membership by 21% in the last year, says its president, Bill Tucker of Tucker Family...More
With credit markets tightening everywhere, it’s more important than ever for farmers and ranchers to polish their management skills, says Texas A&M extension ag economist Danny Klinefelter. Among his suggestions for operating in tough...More
Forage legumes can save livestock producers some of the costs of adding nitrogen fertilizer to pastures, says Ray Smith, a Texas AgriLife Research scientist (pictured).
But there is a lot of "hype" surrounding forage legumes such as crimson or arrowleaf...More
High-sugar perennial ryegrasses are said to supply more energy to the rumen, converting more of the grass protein to meat and milk. High-sugar grasses...More
An estimated 23.2 million acres are expected to be re-enrolled into Conservation Reserve Program contracts out of 27.8 million acres eligible for retirement between 2007 and 2010, according to...More
Tom Barcellos, Tipton, CA, gets an extra year out of aging alfalfa fields by interseeding oats.
"We plant 25 lbs of oats per acre in a weakening third- or fourth-year conventional alfalfa stand...More
Great Plains livestock producers whose hayfields and pastures have been hurt by dry weather in recent years may want to consider planting oats this spring...More
Two Canadians are finding that turnips can be a high-quality, tasty grazing option for their livestock. Manitoba cattleman Ray Bittner says the brassica...More
Cup plant can't match corn silage or alfalfa haylage for yield or feed value, and at this point its seed is very expensive. But it potentially offers...More
Darwin Lawson was looking for a fast-growing forage to seed after cutting winter rye in late May. His seed supplier suggested teff. I had heard it could produce a fast and decent-quality forage crop...More
