Writer Amber Friedrichsen | Hay and Forage Magazine

Amber Friedrichsen

The author is the past managing editor for Hay & Forage Grower. Amber Friedrichsen joined the Hay & Forage Grower staff as an associate editor in May 2023. 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.

A tough year for hay and forage

Hay

Nov. 11 2025 The colder months ahead require farmers to winterize hay equipment, take inventory of stored forages, and draw up plans to feed livestock. As we wrap up forage production for 2025, it’s a good time

Hay with a side of vitamin A

Forage Flash

Nov. 11 2025 Slow pasture growth due to drought conditions limits more than forage yield and grazing potential — it can reduce beta carotene levels in plants and raise the risk of vitamin A deficiencies in

Grass seed and girl power

Farm Visits

Nov. 7 2025 It’s tough being a teenage girl. Take it from me — I used to be one. It’s also tough harvesting grass seed all day when the heat spikes and dust clouds hover during the hottest stretch...

Convenience pays in the hay business

Hay

Nov. 4 2025 There are few businesses that I appreciate more than a trusty convenience store. The best ones are located right along the highway or near an offramp to minimize detours. They earn my repeat business

Support your drought-stressed forage

Forage Flash

Nov. 4 2025 Generally speaking, wet spring conditions evolved into a dry summer and fall for a large part of the central U.S. While those early rains may have interfered with new alfalfa seedings and the first ha

Beware of these forage disorders

Alfalfa

Oct. 28 2025 Though the calendar isn’t always a reliable resource to determine planting dates and harvest schedules, many farmers have an idea where their annual activities typically fall within those 12 pages

Calves benefit from forage, too

Forage Flash

Oct. 28 2025 In any debate, there are often two camps that form on either side of the issue and support opposing views of the topic at hand. Then, there are the people who sit on the fence. Over time, that fence g

Tiny seeds

First Cut

Oct. 27 2025 Out of the percentage of our population that pursues higher education, only a small fraction of those students choose to study agriculture. Smaller yet is the number of people interested in crop and soil...

Take cover crop seeding to the skies

Forage Flash

Oct. 21 2025 Photo: Shannon Beck at the University of Missouri Greenley Memorial Research Farm in Novelty, Mo. Shannon Beck at the University of Missouri Greenley Memorial Research Farm in Novelty, Mo.Grazing cove

Put new corn silage on the Christmas list

Forage Flash

Oct. 21 2025 Best corn silage feeding practices include removing only a day’s worth of material from storage to limit spoilage and ensure animals always receive fresh feed. But in order to maintain this feeding

Control resistant weeds with alfalfa

Alfalfa

Oct. 14 2025 Farmers can add weed control to the long list of benefits gained from growing alfalfa in crop rotations. According to Mark Renz, being a dense stand of perennial forage that is cut several times a year...

‘Tis the season to graze cornstalks

Forage Flash

Oct. 14 2025 Cornstalks are an economical forage source to take advantage of for fall and winter grazing. Provided some supplementation, cattle can thrive on corn residue, and research has debunked previously held

The sun won’t set on their stargrass pastures

Dairy

Oct. 9 2025 Ten Mile Grade Dairy started baling dry hay and making baleage in 2024 — two jobs that had been hired out until then. Hayfields are seeded to limpograss, which was established after taking a sod...

Greenchop is a game-changer at Woldt Farms

Grasses

Oct. 7 2025 Kelsey Woldt is the oldest of the five daughters who were born and raised on Woldt Farms in Brillion, Wis. Now serving as the farm’s human resources manager, Woldt and her sisters have all been invo

Illinois baleage wins Forage Superbowl

Forage Flash

Oct. 7 2025 A total of 232 entries from 16 states represented the competition at the 41st World Forage Analysis Superbowl. The winners of each of the 13 categories were presented last week at World Dairy Expo in

Adaptability goes a long way in the winter

Grazing

Sept. 30 2025 The reality of planning things is that things rarely go as planned. That’s not to say preparation isn’t valuable, though. If a plan can’t be followed to the letter, it can at least provide...

Forage digestibility improves in the afternoon

Forage Flash

Sept. 30 2025 The time of day cool-season grasses are harvested can affect forage nutrient concentrations, and thus, animal intake and digestibility. The driving factor of this fluctuation is the amount of nonstruc

Tall fescue establishment must-dos

Forage Flash

Sept. 23 2025 Tall fescue pasture renovation takes months of preparation, especially if farmers convert toxic forage to a novel-endophyte variety. After killing the existing crop and cleaning the slate for the next

Will hay prices beef up?

Beef

Sept. 23 2025 Whenever hay prices are put under the microscope, it’s important to acknowledge the interacting factors that influence the cost. For one, hay prices are largely regional and driven by local weather

Stay out of the no-cut zone

Alfalfa

Sept. 16 2025 When you turn your smartphone on “do not disturb” mode, it quiets all activity, from texts to calls and other app notifications. It won’t ring, vibrate, or even light up the screen, which...

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