Amber Friedrichsen

The author is the managing editor for Hay & Forage Grower. Amber Friedrichsen joined the Hay & Forage Grower staff as an associate editor in May 2023. As of July 2024, she has assumed the role of managing editor. Friedrichsen also served as the editorial intern in 2021 and 2022. She graduated from Iowa State University in May 2023 with a double major in agricultural communication and agronomy. Friedrichsen grew up and worked on her family’s diversified crop and livestock farm in eastern Iowa near Clinton.


June 3, 2025
Just like haymaking and grazing rotations are seasonal in nature, so too is the work of an agricultural journalist — especially those of us in the hay and forage business. As farmers enter hayfields...

June 3, 2025
Despite their name, stable flies can now be found beyond the barn and in the field. Historically an issue for dairies and feedlots, these pests have emerged as a problem in pasture systems to the detr...

May 27, 2025
The Northeast Kingdom of Vermont stands out from the rest of the state in more ways than one. Geographically, it comprises three counties wedged between the Connecticut River and the Canada bord...

May 27, 2025
Maybe your spring starts on March 1 according to the meteorological calendar...

May 27, 2025
I’m usually the one posing questions to farmers, but I recently found myself on the receiving end of such an exchange. The conversation led me to consider one step of the haymaking process that seem...

May 27, 2025
Unless you run a John Deere tractor or root for the Green Bay Packers, yellow and green don’t make the best color combination by most standards. It’s especially an eyesore in pastures and hayfield...

May 20, 2025
As haymakers tackle first cutting and grazing livestock relish in lush pastures, it may seem a bit early to think about seeding summer annuals, let alone harvesting them. But having a plan for these f...

May 20, 2025
Over time, what once was a monoculture of perennial grass may turn into a mixed stand of grasses, legumes, and even some unwanted species. But just because a pasture isn’t what it used to be doesn�...

May 19, 2025
According to Matt Makens, 1998 is also when farmers started a decades-long wrestling match with high-frequency drought...

May 13, 2025
Sorghum has long resided in the shadow of corn grown for silage. Even though the former species is often touted for its drought tolerance and water-use efficiency, sorghum silage has rarely been a dai...