May 26, 2020
My wife does most of the cooking at our house. She is more skilled and discerning than I am when it comes to preparing a meal. My rule of thumb is that if you have to mix two or more ingredients toget...


March 17, 2020
It’s time to take inventory of the current state of sorghum species as a forage resource in more humid regions of the United States. Of course, sorghums will always be a go-to crop in semi-arid area...


Nov. 27, 2019
How forage particle size and NDF digestibility interact to affect dry matter intake (DMI) and milk yield is a hot topic among dairy nutritionists...


Feb. 21, 2019
Producers in the Midwestern, Western, and Northern states are no strangers to the benefits of alfalfa. They know alfalfa is an excellent source of protein and digestible energy for livestock...


Jan. 29, 2019
Generally speaking, trends in the forage industry develop at a sluggish pace. There are probably good reasons for this lack of alacrity. It takes time for technologies to develop and even more time fo...


Aug. 31, 2018
Over two-thirds of all agricultural land in the U.S. is grasslands, with a large economic value as well as many ecosystem benefits. Forage crop systems enjoyed maximum popularity in the middle of the 20th century after the Dust Bowl era, with pastures and hayfields recognized for their soil conservation benefits. In those times, the land-grant college system provided significant funding, infrastructure, and support for a relatively large number of forage crop scientists...


March 1, 2017
The combined effects of feed ingredients and nutrients included in dairy cow rations, diet physical form (particle size), and the cow’s level of dry matter intake (DMI) all combine to influence fiber digestibility in dairy cattle...


Nov. 1, 2016
When I moved to Wisconsin in 1988, one of the things I noticed in short order was that baling hay of any size, shape, or type was a minimal, if not nonexistent summer activity on most dairy farms. Thi...


Nov. 1, 2016
Fermentation is a wonderful process, and fermented feeds can be successfully stored for years. For example, following a drought and lesser forage inventories within the Midwest several years ago...


July 21, 2015
With the wet conditions and challenges in making dry hay this year, there’s been a lot of discussion and ink dedicated to making baleage. Round and square bale silage certainly has become as c...