Over time with many common farming practices, we start to lose some of those minerals to insolubility, erosion or crop exportation. As with sentences, a soil's integrity can deteriorate as these minerals are depleted, leading to reduced plant health, more pest pressure and overall harvest productivity decline.

Effective management, including the use of proven inoculants to manage the ensiling process at the microbiological level, safeguards your investment, maximizes time and resources, and is critical for optimizing your bottom line.

For the first time, we welcome Progressive Forage’s Joy Hendrix to the podcast studio as she visits with Katie Raver from Rock River Laboratory for a regional analysis of forage quality and what to keep in mind for the 2024 growing season. Then Tyrell and Elanco’s Frank White discuss the results of a recent study analyzing the benefits of monensin products in a cow-calf setting. Finally, don’t miss out on an absolutely riveting conversation on the perils of importing exotic wildlife testicles from overseas.

Forage analysis is the first step to understanding animal protein supplementation requirements. Most producers are familiar with crude protein and understand how this value compares with livestock needs.

Like the fall leaves, your pastures are undergoing similar changes in plant maturity as the plant prepares itself for the harsh, cold winter months.

Every year, I discuss the importance of high-quality forages with the dairymen I work with. Most years, we see above-average forage value. However, the 2023 crop year brought on some new challenges we hadn’t experienced for quite a while.

As the majority of the cow herds enter the late-gestation stage of production with rapidly increasing nutritional requirements, the lasting impacts of drought conditions become a priority and major influence on supplementation strategies.

Except for forage producers using hay analyses for marketing purposes, the real advantage of hay testing is not simply getting the results, but using those results to make meaningful decisions and make the hay feeding period more efficient.