As with planting corn or drying hay, so much of the daily grind of growing and harvesting crops is as much an art as it is a science. Nowhere is this truer than when building a silage pile or packing
Who doesn’t like oats? In 1930, there were nearly 40 million acres of oats harvested for grain in the United States. By contrast, the 2017 Census of Agriculture pegged harvested oat acres at ju
While on a farm visit last week, I found myself wandering around the dairy farm’s feed center with camera in hand. I got about 60 feet away from the center face of a bunker silo full of corn silage
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
Sorghum-Sudangrass is an important crop worldwide. It has value as a forage resource and is cheaper to grow compared to many other summer annuals such as corn
Although they’re still sometimes referred to as “alternative forages,” winter cereals have reached mainstream status on many dairy and beef operations. Farmers have found that winter
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
Coming upon nearly 100 years of silage science, researchers and farmers have long recognized that successful fermentation will preserve forage and grain long into the future
Anderson is a senior research associate and Xue-Feng Ma is an assistant professor at the Noble Research Institute, Ardmore, Okla.Small grains are often grazed during vegetative stages or harvested as green
Coming upon nearly 100 years of silage science, researchers and farmers have long recognized that successful fermentation will preserve forage and grain long into the future
Availability of high-quality forages to dairy cattle is essential to maintaining rumen health and animal production. Although corn silage is the predominant forage used to feed dairy cows in the United
In a basic view, the ensiling process consists of the conversion of simple sugars to organic acids — specifically, lactic acid — under anaerobic conditions. However, the exposur
Moving from a dry hay system to baleage involves additional capital investment. In fact, it’s a major reason why many hay producers don’t make that switch.Even with the additional cash outlay
Forage quality is often discussed and written about. Often, through experience, we understand improved fiber and starch digestibility to mean more energy available per pound of silage fed
AS I travel around, I see a lot of silage in uncovered piles, many for use by cow-calf or backgrounding operations. Looking at the amount of surface spoilage and knowing about the other major so
Until recently, it’s been a challenging year on the crop side of the ledger. In the rearview mirror are events such as widespread alfalfa winterkill in some regions and relentless rain events in
Seeding spring oats for a fall harvest is a beautiful thing. It’s rare to hear about a bad experience with the practice. We’re now approaching the optimum time to seed oats for fall forage
