Mike Rankin, Senior Editor
Mike Rankin

The author joined Hay & Forage Grower as the managing editor in April 2015. Since July of 2024, he has transitioned to senior editor. He had previously served 27 years as the Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin crops and soils agent with the University of Wisconsin Cooperative Extension Service. He also worked eight years on a large dairy and grain farm in southern Illinois.
Get the most from grazed winter annuals
Forage Flash

Jan. 21, 2025
BY Mike Rankin, Senior Editor
Controlling feed costs is often the shortest and most meaningful road to beef cow profitability. This often entails an extension of the grazing season to limit supplemental feeds and their associated...
Take care of the baby
Forage Flash

Jan. 21, 2025
BY Mike Rankin, Senior Editor
Proper care and nutrition for the human infant or bovine calf is often pontificated upon as a critical step toward the optimum development of the young adult or cow. In other words, the future is only...
US hay stocks continue to rise
Forage Flash

Jan. 14, 2025
BY Mike Rankin, Senior Editor
The USDA makes its assessment of dry-hay stocks in May and December of each year. Last May, spring hay stocks rocketed 47% above the previous year, or about 6.7 million tons.The rising stocks trend co...
Stored hay never gets better
Forage Flash

Jan. 7, 2025
BY Mike Rankin, Senior Editor
Few things in life are certain, but one of those things is that stored hay quality never improves and most often declines, depending on the initial baling moisture and storage conditions.Althoug...
Hay north, young man
Farm Visits

Jan. 6, 2025
BY Mike Rankin, Senior Editor
Making dry hay is much easier in some regions of the United States than in others...
What’s the future of dairy forage?
Dairy

Dec. 31, 2024
BY Mike Rankin, Senior Editor
Earlier this month, I was asked to speak on the future of forage in the dairy ration. Futuristic talks are both good and bad. On the one hand, it’s difficult to know what will happen before it happe...
Moldy hay or baleage poses risks
Forage Flash

Dec. 24, 2024
BY Mike Rankin, Senior Editor
Hopefully, no haymaker puts up a crop that they know will mold; however, many haymakers have pushed the moisture limit and hoped the mold fairy wouldn’t pay a visit. Sometimes, she just comes uninvi...
Relative maturity may not be relative
Forage Flash

Dec. 17, 2024
BY Mike Rankin, Senior Editor
The relative maturity rating of a corn hybrid is often one of the first characteristics considered when selecting what will be planted. This maturity metric has been around a long time, but its utilit...
Marrying cows, grass, and trees
Forage Flash

Dec. 10, 2024
BY Mike Rankin, Senior Editor
On most grazing operations, woodlots are separated from pastures and cows in the same way that bird dogs typically aren’t housed with the chickens. The latter will probably never change, but the for...
Don’t blame the cows
Hay Quality

Dec. 3, 2024
BY Mike Rankin, Senior Editor
As our collective digestive systems worked overtime during the past week, perhaps bathroom scales across the nation did the same, indicating a pound or two of fleshy bulk might have been added. Geneti...
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