The author was the 2020 Hay & Forage Grower summer editorial intern. She currently attends Mississippi State University and is majoring in agricultural education, leadership, and communications.
As a warm-season grass, pearl millet is given its due credit for producing ample amounts of high-quality forage when other cool-season species are not, but it is often underutilized on cow-calf operations. The summer annual can be used for hay or silage, but Mark Mauldin, an extension educator in Calhoun County, Fla., addresses its qualities as a grazing forage in the University of Florida Extension’s Panhandle Ag e-News.“There are periods in a mature cow’s production...
Cattle-ingested forage seeds can potentially pass and disperse across pastures, but the journey through the digestive tract is hazardous for the seeds.While past studies show that this natural process of overseeding works, the rates of viable seeds producing plants are extremely low, which is why University of Arkansas Extension Forage Specialist John Jennings prefers frost seeding to feeding seed to cattle. Jennings cites a 1991 Auburn University study that examined...
Whether you’re considering a liquid or limestone calcium supplement, Charles White, an assistant professor of soil fertility and nutrient management at Penn State, suggests you calculate the calcium...
There is no debate that replacing a Kentucky 31 (KY31) tall fescue stand with a novel, nontoxic fescue variety improves livestock performance. In a recent webinar, Leanne Dillard mentioned two key components to consider before renovating KY31 pastures. The Alabama extension forage specialist said that plants must be actively growing for herbicides to effectively kill existing stands, and she has observed better establishment results from stands planted on or near September...
Legumes offer many advantages when added to perennial or annual grass pastures.Mississippi State University Extension Forage Specialist Rocky Lemus shared his experiences with adding legumes into a mi...
During the dog days of summer, cool-season grasses slack off in productivity, but this period is prime performance time for summer annuals. Supplementing your permanent pastures with summer annu...
Photo: Dennis HancockSometimes the difference between a solid stand and one with patterned skips is taking extra time to double check that the equipment has been properly serviced and calibrated...
When purchasing horse hay, one must be mindful of a number of considerations before any money exchanges hands. Krishona Martinson, extension equine specialist at the University of Minnesota, provides...
It’s June, and in previous years, this signifies that cool-season forage production has peaked. However, for many farmers this year, that isn’t the case. Cool, cloudy weather this spring has impac...
Cutting height can severely affect forage crops if they are cut too low when being harvested. Penn State Extension Educator Dwane Miller explains in a blog why cutting heights are so important.�...
