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.


Feb. 25, 2025
With a week of warmer-than-average temperatures displayed on my weather app following a sub-zero cold snap, I’m a little concerned about alfalfa injury and winterkill. This isn’t the first time te...

Feb. 21, 2025
According to the USDA’s Crop Production Annual Summary released last month, the nation’s forage production appeared to have ended on an overall positive note in 2024...

Feb. 18, 2025
Hay exports in 2024 totaled 3.179 million metric tons (MT). According to the USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS), this was down less than 1% from the previous year. Despite a strong start to t...

Feb. 18, 2025
Alfalfa seedbeds are typically prepared with tillage and a cultipacker to reduce residue and create a smooth soil surface, but this can leave fields more susceptible to erosion. One alternative is to...

Feb. 11, 2025
Why are we always talking about La Niña? Doesn’t she get tired of thwarting crop growth with dry weather and threatening farmers with drought conditions? According to Matt Makens, the c...

Feb. 4, 2025
Hot topics, current issues, controversies, trends — whatever buzzwords grab your attention, the intention is to generate discussion. Though what qualifies as a hot topic to one person may be irrelev...

Feb. 4, 2025
Despite already being one month into the new year, some farmers are still staring down a long road of winter hay feeding. This may not be as daunting where opportunities exist to graze winter pastures...

Jan. 29, 2025
One of the favorite parts of my job is getting to visit farms all over the country...

Jan. 29, 2025
When I grew up, I wasn’t going to be an ag journalist. In fact, I wasn’t going to work in agriculture at all. I was going to be the lady at the department store who played the piano...

Jan. 28, 2025
“If there ever was a wonder legume, it’s probably red clover,” said Chris Teutsch at the American Forage & Grassland Council’s annual conference earlier this month in Kissimmee, Fla...