The impact that wet weather has on your silage dry matter content depends to a great extent on where it’s stored. Tower silos aren’t affected much at all; neither are silage bags as long as you do like many farmers do and fold a hunk of bag plastic over the feeding face.

The 2011 American Forage and Grassland Council Conference was held June 12-15 in French Lick, Indiana.

U.S. beef exports slowed slightly in April when compared to the all-time record highs of the previous month, but still performed well above last year’s pace. April beef exports totaled 103,213 metric tons valued at $429.7 million – increases of 25 percent and 38 percent, respectively, according to statistics released by USDA and compiled by the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF).

To celebrate June Dairy Month, dairy farmers across western Iowa are inviting the public to a family-friendly event at VanEss Dairy near Sanborn, Iowa. The event will include a dairy farm tour, free food and kids’ activities from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, June 29. The farm is located at 2996 Sorrel Ave (2 miles east of Sanborn on Highway 18, then 2 miles north on Sorrel Ave/CR-L50). The June Dairy Month Celebration is sponsored by the Western Iowa Dairy Alliance and Midwest Dairy Association.

The Semex Alliance is committed to providing a high-quality product to our customers. Part of that dedication is ensuring that each of the 1,600 Semex sires, housed on five separate continents, are cared for in facilities that maximize their production and comfort. At Semex this is part of our Semex Gold Standard, which dictates excellence in all areas of production, ensuring Semex customers receive the highest-quality product available.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced a $1.1 million Conservation Innovation Grant (CIG) to the Dairy Research Institute (formerly known as Dairy Science Institute, Inc.), an affiliate of the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy. The funding will support the development of a Dairy Farm Stewardship Toolkit for dairy producers to evaluate their production techniques and identify potential improvements in management practices. These improvements could increase profitability or reduce costs on the farm. “This grant will help take the industry’s heritage of dairy stewardship to a new business level,” said Bob Foster, owner, Foster Brothers Farm in Middlebury, Vermont. “As dairy producers, we know that consumers want products that are not only nutritious and good-tasting, but also environmentally friendly. We have long been committed to stewardship, but have not had a science-based tool to identify and measure practices that reduce costs and environmental impact.”