After being brought to the forefront by studies done at the Noble Research Institute (Ardmore, Okla.), crabgrass began gaining favor as a high-quality forage alternative. Many farmers are now consider

The traditional ways of getting hay to dry haven’t changed in a decade, but the weather patterns are changing more each year . . . and frankly, not for the better. With conditions being wetter than

This spring has not been a kind one to farmers; it’s wet, and the forecast continues to call for more rain. Fields are being left unplanted, and hay is losing nutrition with each passing day.If current

With winter resulting in substantial winterkill and a wet spring delaying harvests, a lot of high-quality forage has been turned into, at best, heifer feed. There is justified concern about forage inv

Transitioning some of your grazing acres to native, warm-season perennials can pose a utilization challenge. Pat Keyser, director of the Center of Native Grasslands Management at the University of Tennessee,

Warm-season perennial grasses are the most used forages in the South but require nitrogen fertilization to maintain productivity and nutritive value. For this reason, warm-season forage legumes are be

With the rising cost of raising and feeding dairy heifers in confinement, there has been more interest in putting young stock out to pasture. Rotational grazing can lower expenses, minimize labor for

Damaged forage stands from a harsh winter, deteriorating stands from a wet spring, and the approaching warm summer weather have left farmers questioning what options they have for growing forage this

With late planting of corn now a given and more than the usual amount of alfalfa winterkill, this might be a year to think about planting summer annuals such as sorghum and sorghum-sudangrass hybrids

Hay & Forage Grower is pleased to announce that Michaela King has joined the team as our 2019 summer editorial intern. King just completed her sophomore year at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities

As stored forage supplies start to run low, more and more producers are turning their livestock out on pastures earlier than they would like. With this advanced start to the grazing season, it i

From time to time, the question is raised about fertilizing alfalfa with nitrogen (N) to either boost yields or improve crude protein (CP) concentration. With alfalfa being a

Sometimes new machinery technologies solve one problem but create a new one. That might be the case when it comes to disc mowers, which have largely replaced sickle-bar mowers on most haymaking operat

A combination of meager hay supplies and low wheat markets has set up a situation where grazing or haying winter wheat may have more value than if harvested for grain. In the University of Nebraska-Li

It’s been taking numerous regions of the U.S. by storm and, in many cases, nothing is being done to stop the invasion. Once an occasional nuisance, poison hemlock has officially become a

“Weather permitting, if there was ever a year to focus on hay quality over quantity, this has to be it!” says Stan Smith, Ohio State University extension program assistant in Fairfield County.

Investing in fertilizer to enhance the growth of native grass pastures and hayfields has long been theorized as a questionable practice. Eddie Funderburg, senior soils and crops consultant for the Nob

Aside from crude protein, perhaps no forage analysis metric defines its quality more so than neutral detergent fiber (NDF). A compelling argument could be made that NDF is even more important than cru

Not to be mistaken with rotational grazing or ultra-high stock density (UHSD) grazing, high stock density (HSD) grazing is the practice of intentionally grazing livestock at higher concentrations than

For spring calving herds, getting cows bred in the late spring and early to midsummer on toxic tall fescue pastures can be a challenge.“I personally prefer fall calving, but I also believe that we