Forage is an indispensable part of dairy cow diets. However, due to its bulkiness and the inherently low levels of fiber digestibility, cows are limited in how much forage they can consume

In my many years spent as a county extension agronomist in one of the largest dairy counties in Wisconsin, I heard a lot of reasons to grow brown midrib (BMR) corn and a lot of reasons not to

A number of years ago one of my kids came home with their report card and presented it to me. Embedded alongside the list of class names and numbers were a few B’s and a couple of C’s

Visual characteristics of BMR hybrids include a darker stalk and leaf mid-rib. The brown mid-rib (BMR) corn silage market is still nowhere close to that of conventional silage corn, but hyb

Jason Felling wasn’t expecting the letter he received in the mail stating their farm, Felling Dairy LLC, was a finalist in World Forage Analysis Superbowl held at this year’s World Dairy Exp

Ferraretto is a research associate at the Miner Institute; Shaver is a dairy nutritionist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The main purpose of ensiling forages is to maintain the n

Weather conditions in 2015 across many regions of the U.S. ranged from early monsoons to late summer dryness. That, of course, excludes Southern California where the ongoing drought continues to

For those who have been stomping around cornfields long enough, you’ll remember when corn silage processors first entered the scene. There was a flurry of discussion whether this new technology was

The author is a partner in Orrson Custom Farming Ltd., Apple Creek, Ohio. He currently serves as president of the U.S. Custom Harvesters Inc

Corn silage harvest presents a relatively narrow window to optimize feed quality.Pull the trigger too early and you have a wet mess that is sour and seeps. Pull it too late and molds can develop and digestibility

In years when early-season monsoon rains cause delayed planting of corn, there is often more than the usual amount of late-maturing standing corn that gets sold for silage harvest

I think, but am not entirely sure, that Congressional Republicans and Democrats would agree on the importance of water for agriculture. For folks in the business of crop production, there is nothing to

Many regions of the U.S. (sans West Coast) have received copious amounts of rain following the start of what was a pretty ideal early planting season.

Twin row has emerged as an approach to boost yields without high equipment-switching costs given twin-row compatibility with postemergence herbicide or side-dress nitrogen applications and existing

Research has consistently found that crop rotation results in higher yields. A recent study in Illinois concluded that corn grown in rotation with soybeans yielded 25 bushels per acre more than did continuous

Producers who have concerns about molds or mycotoxins should begin preventative measures when looking through seed catalogs. Most seed companies provide resistance ratings for Fusarium, Gibberella and