April 11 2017 It’s that time of year when some hay, livestock, and dairy producers will seek available hayfields to bolster their own forage supplies.When you sit in an extension office as I did for 27 years,...
April 5 2017 Mike Rankin Most major league baseball teams have what they like to term a utility player — a guy who can start at multiple positions or pinch hit for just about anyone in the lineup at any poi
April 4 2017 Having just returned from Oklahoma and Texas, I was reminded of the challenges that spring pasture management can pose. It’s really a good news-bad news situation.The good news: There is more than...
March 28 2017 When ordering pizza, I’m partial to mushrooms ... and only mushrooms.Don’t try to complicate the issue with the likes of pepperoni, sausage, pineapple, peppers, onions, or any other item on...
March 21 2017 It’s once again time to take a tour around the country to see what’s going on in the world of farm custom rate surveys. As I’ve mentioned previously, these documents were invaluable during...
March 14 2017 There was a day when spring-seeded alfalfa and an oat (or other small grain) companion crop went hand in hand. Though maybe not to the extent of the rotary phone, companion crops are now much le
March 7 2017 There’s good weather and there’s bad weather. Then there’s also strange weather — events far outside of the normal but without clear human understanding of future ramifications.I’m...
March 3 2017 Hay & Forage Grower talks with Neal martin, a former Minnesota forage extension specialist and director of the U.S. Dairy Forage Research Center
Feb. 28 2017 In many parts of the U.S., March marks the ideal frost-seeding time. Though not always a sure bet, frost seeding pastures has shown to be a time-proven practice for maintaining an effective level of l
Feb. 21 2017 Landing in Milwaukee last Friday after a week in California at the World Ag Expo, I had the usual February expectation of frigid air and perhaps blowing snow. That’s the Upper Midwest norm.Instead
Feb. 15 2017 Perhaps more than any other season, winter is a period for reflection. The USDA helps in this regard with their bevy of January production reports. I, like many people, have sometimes looked at
Feb. 14 2017 For the moment, let’s put harvest timing aside, though it plays a primary role in harvested forage quality. We’ll also leave alfalfa genetics on the sideline, reduced lignin or not
Feb. 7 2017 Here’s the thing about biological systems: stuff happens.Such was the case for Steve Orloff in the spring of 2014. The extension farm advisor in Siskiyou County, Calif., was on a farm to troubleshoo
Jan. 31 2017 It’s not for everyone and probably needs to be viewed as a grazing system tool that is situation specific. Those seemed to be the take-home messages from a discussion session on mob grazing at last
Jan. 26 2017 It was difficult to attend a forage meeting in the past 12 months that didn’t have reduced-lignin alfalfa somewhere on the agenda. The HarvXtra trait is the second transgenic offering to alfalfa...
Jan. 24 2017 The weather geeks at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) tell us that 2016 was the second warmest year for the U.S. in the 122 years of record keeping. It was the 24th wettest y
Jan. 17 2017 After a year of prognosticating what might be the case, we now know what is the case ... or at least as close to knowing as we can be.The USDA’s Crop Production and Crop Production Annual Summary...
Jan. 15 2017 Everybody has a unique story of how and why they made agriculture their chosen career. I developed my interest by making, stacking, throwing, walking on, and feeding small square bales. My assor
Jan. 15 2017 HFG: Did you always aspire to be an alfalfa breeder, or did that opportunity just open up once you completed graduate school at New Mexico State University? DM: During college, I had no
Jan. 10 2017 Though short of the discussion dedicated to Donald Trump, it’s been interesting to note the amount of dialogue dedicated to bale net wrap during the past few months. However, it’s safe to say...
