“If you still think relative feed value (RFV) is a good measure of forage quality, I’m not going to be able to help you today.” That was the opening disclaimer offered by Duarte Diaz, extension...

Many years ago, during my extension agent days, I got a phone call from a large dairy producer. The conversation went something like this:DP: “Mike, these seed salesmen are beating me up and I don�...

Grass — any grass — is somewhat peculiar in that a specific species or variety likely will perform differently depending on what region or state it is grown in. That was just one of the take-home...

Alfalfa has not been a “go to” forage in the South for a long time, but for many forage producers that line of thinking is starting to change. A combination of recent research and extension effort...

As the autumn days grind by, most of the alfalfa decision making is in the rear-view mirror. However, there are two considerations that might still be on the proverbial table for some fields.One of th...

Even if you’re just a casual reader of forage-related information, hopefully you’ve been able to grasp the concept that forage fiber digestibility is now a big deal. To be sure, the total fiber c...

With the impending Labor Day weekend nearly upon us, it’s a sure sign that alfalfa’s physiological game plan is about to change in central portions of the United States and points north...

Without question, one of the most agriculturally intensive regions in the United States is that of the Central Valley in California. What sets it apart from other such areas is its sheer vastness, about 18,000 square miles.I recently spent a few days in the valley, traversing from Sacramento to south of Tulare. I’ve been in the region previously but never in the summer.While there, I made these observations that won’t be news to those who live and farm in the Central...

There is growing interest in alfalfa-grass mixtures across the northern United States. Grass tends to be considerably higher in neutral detergent fiber digestibility (NDFD) than alfalfa...

Aside from alfalfa, perhaps no forage species is more widely utilized across the U.S. than ryegrass. It’s grazed extensively from north to south and also is harvested as hay, baleage, and silage...