May 16, 2017
Harvesting hay from the road right-of-way is a common practice in many parts of the United States. While the phrase “It’s better than feeding snowballs” is often associated with road ditch hay...

May 8, 2017
Never, ever complain or worry about a dry late winter and early spring.We’ve probably all done this and perhaps still do, but more often than not Mother Nature evens the score in May and June...

May 2, 2017
It could be said that cereal forages don’t have a maturity window for harvesting high-quality forage but rather a harvest peephole...

April 30, 2017
There was a day not too many years ago when virtually all fermented forage in the Midwest was stored in permanent, upright silos. These days, a significant percentage is stored either under or w...

April 30, 2017
Perhaps no physiological phenomenon is more important to the livestock industry than that of plant regrowth. Where would we be without it? Regrowth occurs each spring after winter dormancy, foll...

April 30, 2017
Long-time nutritionist Steve Woodford (left) and Tom Kestell regularly discuss forage quality tests and associated ration adjustments for Kestell’s high-producing dairy herd...

April 25, 2017
Cows aren’t the only creatures that like to eat alfalfa; count alfalfa weevils in that group as well.Entomologists across the U.S. are either filing reports of already severe alfalfa damage from wee...

April 18, 2017
Here we go — the start of another growing season. In some areas of the U.S., the initial cutting of alfalfa is underway; for others, it is near, while some are just starting to watch the first signs of growing plants.The initial spring cutting of alfalfa can make or break a harvest season. It’s a fascinating study of how forage quality can change ever so quickly, or how it may change at a tortoise-like pace.Why?No cutting of alfalfa grows under the environmental...

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, the...

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...