It’s been another year of ups and downs on farms and ranches. If you weren’t locked in on eHay Weekly every Tuesday morning, here’s a list of the 10 most popular articles that filtered through your inbox over the past 12 months. The topics are varied, ranging from frost seeding to horse hay to reed canarygrass. Looking ahead to 2025, we will once again strive to bring you relevant forage production, storage, utilization, and marketing information each week. Thanks for your readership and we wish you a healthy and prosperous new year.

In the order of when they appeared, here are eHay Weekly’s Top 10 in 2024:

Two big reasons why frost seedings fail . . . January 9

Frost seeding pastures is a tried-and-true practice on many grazing operations, but it doesn’t always meet with success. This article explains why.

Small square bale technology is on the rise . . . March 19

Equipment for small square bale producers has sat on the back seat of the technology bus for a long time. Perhaps, times are changing as double balers and advanced handling equipment are now hitting the market.

Custom fieldwork rates for 2024 . . . April 16

This popular look at available custom farming rates once again makes its annual appearance on the Top 10 list.

How to kill grass without an herbicide . . . May 7

Keeping a pure grass hayfield or grass in an alfalfa mixture hinges on one important decision. This article explains what that decision is.

Four plants that plague horse hay . . . May 14

Horses react to certain weed species differently than cattle. This article highlights four weeds that you don’t want to see in hay or pastures being fed to horses.

Rain is imminent: Mow now or mow later? . . . June 25

There was lots of rain during the early part of the growing season. This made haymaking a more difficult task than it normally is. Wait for better weather or cut before the quality declines further?

What’s wrong with stacking round bales? . . . July 2

There is a right way and wrong way to store round bales uncovered and outdoors. Choosing the wrong way is a costly decision in more ways than one.

Clipping pastures: an age-old debate . . . July 23

Opinions vary on the practice of clipping pastures after they’ve been grazed. Here, we discuss the plusses and minuses of the practice.

Graziers agree this grass isn’t great . . . September 24

These three graziers all concurred that this grass wasn’t a favorite. What grass is it? Read the article.

Have Western hay prices bottomed out? . . . December 17

Hay producers in the West have been plagued with a low price for their product during 2024. Where will hay prices go in 2025?