With June comes the onslaught of university blog posts and media releases warning alfalfa growers of the impending arrival of potato leafhoppers. This is done with good reason. In many alfalfa-growing states, the potato leafhopper has the distinction of being its number one alfalfa pest in terms of economic loss. ...

Selecting grasses for pure stands is much different than species selection for pastures. With pastures it’s “the more the merrier”: A diversity of species, both grasses and legumes, on average s...

Your hay storage needs to balance storage cost and forage loss.Given the value of hay today, the economic loss from large round bales stored outside, without cover, on the ground can be excessive. Thi...

At on time, we cut hay and laid it in a wide swath for drying behind the cutter bar. When conditioners became commonplace, many growers came to think that a wide swath was no longer important when mak...

Selecting grasses for pure stands is much different than species selection for pastures. With pastures it’s “the more the merrier”: A diversity of species, both grasses and legumes, on average s...

The use of a foliar fungicide on alfalfa has been a popular topic at winter forage meetings and internet chat rooms as producers attempt to reconcile university research with the experience of many al...

Many bales of expensive hay in big stacks is a recipe for financial disaster that is present to some degree on every dairy in the West. But it is a risk that doesn’t have to exist, says University of Idaho extension forage specialist Glenn Shewmaker, who has 11 strategies for dairies to reduce the risk of hay fires. They don’t center around buying expensive equipment, but making time to take samples frequently, keeping records and learning what to look for...

A cousin to alfalfa, red clover can produce yields equal to or exceeding alfalfa for two to three years. Wide swath plus tedding greatly enhances dry down...