Developing high-performance replacement heifers for any beef cow herd is an important enterprise, but one that is often neglected. Heifers don’t make the operator money until their first calf is sol...

At some point every winter or spring, feeding hay to pastured cattle is going to result in the creation of mud. Mud can have a profound impact on animal stress and productivity, according to Jere...

Seeding grass along with alfalfa has always been standard operating procedure in some areas of the U.S., including the Northeast. Although it’s less common to see in other regions, the popularity of...

It’s common knowledge: Headlands look worse and yield lower than the interior sections of most fields because of excessive field traffic, greater pest pressure, and tree lines that block sunlight an...

In checking his list, we have it on good authority that Santa gave forage producers and their crops high marks in 2020.Thinking back about six months ago, we were given the news that May 1 hay invento...

Photo: Jeff Graybill, Penn StateBy definition, cover crops are planted to protect the soil and contribute to improved soil health. However, often these annual forages are also grazed or harvested as l...

The average price of U.S. alfalfa hay held firm at $171 per ton, exactly the same as the September price and $7 per ton lower than one year ago. The latest USDA Agricultural Prices report pegged other...

In the southern Great Plains, wheat is by far the most common annual forage that is utilized by cattle operations. Thousands of winter wheat acres are used as dual-purpose grazing and grain crops or g...

The age-old battle of determining the optimum corn silage hybrid maturity has always been a bit like playing Russian roulette. The higher yields promised by pushing the maturity higher for a give...

A chill is in the air, and the choppers are tucked away for winter maintenance. Out of the silos comes the fruits of the summer’s labors in the form of (hopefully) high-quality silage and haylage...