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.
Sept. 16 2025 Air fryers are the best thing since sliced bread. They are perfect for cooking frozen foods, roasting vegetables, and reheating that leftover piece of pizza in your fridge without making the crust sog
Sept. 16 2025 Bruce Lackman hasn’t always rotationally grazed his cattle. It wasn’t a widely adopted practice when he was growing up, and it still isn’t popular in his region of central Missouri today
Sept. 16 2025 As of this writing, I can officially check the Pacific Northwest off my list of regions to visit. Even though I was in Oregon to visit grass seed farms during the thick of their harvest season, I was intrigued...
Sept. 9 2025 In a recent Hoard’s Dairyman webinar, John Goeser compared the corn silage growing season to a football game. Metaphorically speaking, he said farmers had the ball going into the fourth quarter,...
Sept. 9 2025 Before you utilize the annual forages you seeded this summer to boost your stored forage supplies or extend the grazing season, consider if these plants could be toxic to livestock. Sorghum, sorghum-s
Sept. 2 2025 Traffic gets slower this time of year if your commute includes a county road in farm country. As we approach the busy season for corn silage, grain harvest, and later cuttings of alfalfa, both sides o
Sept. 2 2025 Between chopping corn silage, cutting the last crop of hay, and stockpiling fall forage this time of year, pasture maintenance and renovation projects can fall through the cracks. But making time for
Aug. 26 2025 Is your alfalfa lacking persistence? Have you experienced a high frequency of winterkill in the past? Are your stands susceptible to insect damage and disease pressure? If you answered “yes”...
Aug. 26 2025 Cows don’t want to eat moldy feed, and farmers don’t want to feed moldy silage. The solution seems simple enough until all of the other factors of corn silage harvest and storage are added...
Aug. 19 2025 The U.S. drought monitor is virtually clear across the eastern half of the country thanks to ample rain. What the map doesn’t show are the negative effects excessively wet forecasts have had o
Aug. 12 2025 At last month’s International Silage Conference held in Gainesville, Fla., keynote speaker Kenneth Kalscheur kicked off the opening session with an overview of silage utilization in the U.S. Kalsche
Aug. 12 2025 Dealing with annual weeds in pastures and hayfields is grueling enough before prickly plant parts are added to the mix. Stiff hairs, thorns, and spines on stems and leaves not only deter livestock fro
Aug. 12 2025 Hay producers, cover your eyes and plug your ears — the following includes 10 reasons to stop making hay.To be sure, the list comes from Carson Roberts, the state forage specialist with Univer
Aug. 5 2025 Stockpiling forage is a practical strategy farmers can use to extend their grazing season. The accumulation of late summer growth can provide livestock with high-quality forage into the fall and throu
Aug. 5 2025 You can’t always have it all, especially when it comes to forage quality and yield. This trade-off is often debated to determine harvest timing, but it exists in terms of cutting height, too.At the
Aug. 5 2025 Register for Grazing School to take your grazing operation to the next level! Over two days, attendees will take part in classroom and in-field instruction covering a wide range of topics including the...
July 30 2025 The best way to put a big plan in action is to start small. Starting small ensures each step is a sure-footed stride in the direction of your goals, rather than a random stab at the unknown. And
July 29 2025 Last week, the 20th International Silage Conference made its way to the United States for a five-day event in Gainesville, Fla. The agenda was as full and diverse as the convention center ballroom tha
July 23 2025 The event was made possible by funding from the NCR SARE partnership grant and NCR SARE research and education grant in collaboration with Lincoln University, Jefferson City, MO