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.
3Toxic_ph
A toxic alfalfa situation
Forage Flash
March 11 2025 It doesn’t matter what variety of alfalfa you plant. It doesn’t matter how much your seeder cost. It doesn’t matter if you nail the correct planting depth. It doesn’t matter if...
2SpringFlush_ph
Win the spring forage-flush war
Forage Flash
March 4 2025 Graziers have always been challenged by the spring flush of forage, but most wouldn’t give it up unless there was an assurance of consistent growth throughout the summer, which never happens.The...
1USDA-Cuts_ph
A chaotic week for USDA employees
Other
Feb. 25 2025 Efficiency — it’s a word we throw around a lot as a reason for making a change. Every time farm prices tank, the rally cry from many different sources is to “become more efficient.”...
3Mama-cows_ph
Watch new mama cows on spring pasture
Forage Flash
Feb. 18 2025 With the front half of February in the rearview mirror, pastures will soon start greening up from south to north. Regardless of where you hang your hat, spring-calving cows on lush pastures demand clo
2Baler_ph
Double baler unveiled this month
Forage Flash
Feb. 11 2025 IN YET another innovation for the small square bale commercial hay producer, AGCO Corporation recently announced the release of the Hesston by Massey Ferguson SB.1436DB baler. The baler produces two r
3NativeGrass_ph
Plan for native grass establishment success
Forage Flash
Feb. 11 2025 The use of native warm-season grasses such as the bluestems, indiangrass, and switchgrass in pasture systems is on the rise. Establishment of these grasses is often challenging, and failures are often
2PuttingNumbers_ph
Putting numbers behind round-bale feeders
Forage Flash
Feb. 4 2025 As the Super Bowl approaches, offensive and defensive coordinators will pour over film in an effort to either score points or prevent points, respectively. Truth be told, farmers should be doing the s
3FrostSeeding_ph
It’s time to think frost seeding
Forage Flash
Jan. 28 2025 One of the great advantages of a pasture-based feeding system is that tillage is rarely or never required. That said, even the best of pastures occasionally need freshened up with an influx of legumes
3WinterAnnuals_ph
Get the most from grazed winter annuals
Forage Flash
Jan. 21 2025 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
2Baby_ph
Take care of the baby
Forage Flash
Jan. 21 2025 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
2HayStocks_ph
US hay stocks continue to rise
Forage Flash
Jan. 14 2025 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
3HayStore_ph
Stored hay never gets better
Forage Flash
Jan. 7 2025 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
18-Theme-web
Hay north, young man
Farm Visits
Jan. 6 2025 Making dry hay is much easier in some regions of the United States than in others
1FutureForage_ph
What’s the future of dairy forage?
Dairy
Dec. 31 2024 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
2MoldyHay_ph
Moldy hay or baleage poses risks
Forage Flash
Dec. 24 2024 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
2RelativeMaturity_ph
Relative maturity may not be relative
Forage Flash
Dec. 17 2024 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
2Marrying_ph
Marrying cows, grass, and trees
Forage Flash
Dec. 10 2024 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...
1BlameCows_ph
Don’t blame the cows
Hay Quality
Dec. 3 2024 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
2TastesGreat_ph
Quality hay tastes great and is less filling
Forage Flash
Nov. 26 2024 Who can forget those old Miller Lite beer commercials when a variety of celebrities were enlisted to tout the product as either tasting great or being less filling? Of course, in the eyes of the Mille
2HayDays_ph
Are you ready for a hay-feeding winter?
Forage Flash
Nov. 19 2024 I’m a big believer in no Christmas preparations or activities until after Thanksgiving. So, when it was suggested that I hang the Christmas lights on the house last week, my response was a hard “n
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