January 31, 2017

· Michael Casler, USDA-ARS grass breeder with the U.S. Dairy Forage Research Center in Madison, Wis., received the Medallion Award from the American Forage and Grassland Council at their annual meeting in Roanoke, Va.

· Pyrethroid insecticide use is currently under review by the Environmental Protection Agency. If the review is unfavorable, farmers could experience limited or loss of access to some products.

· Cattle and calves on feed for the slaughter market in the U.S. for feedlots with capacity of 1,000 head or more totaled 10.6 million head on January 1, 2017, according to USDA’s Cattle on Feed report. This was only slightly above one year ago.

· Placements in feedlots during December 2016 totaled 1.8 million head, 18 percent above 2015. This was significantly above prereport estimates.

· Milk production in the U.S. during December totaled 17.86 billion pounds, up 2.2 percent from December 2015. Cow numbers rose by 11,000 from November and were 38,000 higher than December 2015.

January 24, 2017

· California alfalfa acres (dry hay) have dropped from 1.1 million in 2006 to 720,000 in 2016. It’s the state’s lowest alfalfa acreage since 1935. Even so, the Golden State still leads the U.S. in the production of dry alfalfa hay, producing over 5 million tons in 2016.

· Wisconsin’s alfalfa acreage about doubles to near 2 million when those acres that are harvested exclusively as haylage get added to their dry hay acres total.

· Forage ash content makes a difference. For every 2 percentage unit rise in ash content, relative forage quality drops by 5 points.

· In 2016, the U.S. exported a total of 2.24 million metric tons of alfalfa from January through November. This is 26 percent more than during the same period in 2015.

· Don’t miss opportunities to boost your forage IQ.

January 17, 2017

· U.S. corn silage averaged 20.3 tons per acre in 2016, according to USDA’s Crop Production Annual Summary report released last week. With both fewer harvested acres and no yield gain in 2016 compared to 2015, total corn silage production was down 1.3 percent.

· Farmers in the U.S. averaged 174.6 bushels of corn per acre with total production at 15.1 billion bushels, up 11 percent from 2015. New state average yield records were set in North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, and Wisconsin.

· The first annual “Handy Hints” contest will be a part of this year’s Grassworks Grazing Conference being held February 2 to 4 in Wisconsin Dells. Entry information can be found here.

· The American Grassfed Association’s board of directors recently approved new standards for grassfed dairy certification.

· Don’t miss opportunities to boost your forage IQ.

January 10, 2017

· The University of Kentucky offers a number of useful reports in its forage variety performance trials. Check them out here.

· In the positive export news department: China imported 104,596 metric tons (MT) of U.S. alfalfa in November, according to USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service. This was up from the 85,279 MT imported in October and 50 percent higher than November 2015.

· Saudi Arabia also continues its upswing in alfalfa imports during 2016. It imported 28,791 MT in November, up nearly 100 percent from November 2015.

· The Midwest Forage Association Symposium '17 will be held in Wisconsin Dells on January 24 and 25.

· The Ohio Forage and Grassland Council will hold its annual conference on February 3 in Reynoldsburg.

January 3, 2017

· According to the World Agricultural Outlook Board’s weekly report, the state with the highest percentage of its hay acreage currently experiencing some level of drought is Alabama with 97 percent. It’s followed by Georgia (89 percent), California (79 percent), and Mississippi (74 percent).

· It’s pretty hard to argue that the top agricultural story for 2016 wasn’t the big company mergers. The impact on the forage industry is imminent, but specifics are yet to be determined.

· January through October timothy hay exports from the Pacific Northwest to Japan were up 15 percent from 2015, according to the Hoyt Report.

· There are a plethora of hay and grazing educational events coming in January (and beyond). Check them out here.

· W.D. Hoard said it over 100 years ago: “When corn growers come to understand the true economic value of the silo for preserving the corn plant at its highest feeding value, there will be less husking of the ear and less wasted labor on the stalk, as well as waiting for an almost worthless product for fodder purposes.”