When Henk and Linda Sevenhuysen emigrated from the Netherlands 19 years ago, they had one thing on their minds. “We wanted to milk cows no matter what,” Henk says. “At the time, we didn’t really think about quotas or regulations. We just did it and adapted to whatever came across our path. I like to make my plans along the way.”

Goats offer a natural alternative for control of invasive species, even for hard-to-manage brush such as red cedar and multiflora rose.

Most farmers begin planting cover crops to revitalize the soil, increase plant productivity or to offset feed costs. For Kansas grower Bill Buessing and his family, however, the change in management was a little more personal.

Are you wasting time? Do you feel you are working all day long and accomplishing nothing? Perhaps time thieves are getting the best of you.

1. Balance forage supply and livestock demand 2. Manage for plant communities adapted to the soil and climate

Since hybridization of corn maize became popular in the 1930s, yields have made a steady increase.

Farmers deal with many variables when it comes to raising a crop, be it changes in the weather or changes in unsettled markets, but the act of harvesting can be one ray of stability when left to professional custom harvesters.

Custom harvesting of forage crops today is akin to the old thrashing days when a community would pool its money and buy a community thrasher because no farmer could afford to own it by himself.