Testimony presented by USDA chief economist Joe Glauber to a Senate Ag Committee hearing on the impact of the drought highlights the harm high feed costs are causing for the nation’s dairy farmers, according to Jerry Kozak, president and CEO of the National Milk Producers Federation.

In the most recent FG poll, we asked readers "How much time do you spend on the Internet each week for forage-related information?"

Enjoy this short slideshow of some of the things we saw at World Ag Expo 2013, and watch your March 1st print issue of Progressive Forage Grower for more details!  FG

It usually happens when you’re by yourself. You’re trying to load a bunch of cows in the one-ton. It should hold 12 head but with four to go, they plug up. You’re slappin’ them with the BQA-approved paddle, you chunk a piece of wood at the one in the gate. You’ve actually turned around and leaned up against the last cow in the loading chute and you’re pushing like you were trying to jumpstart your car.

Two years of drought have forced adoption of new technology and management practices in crop irrigation, according to a Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service specialist in Amarillo. Nich Kenny, AgriLife Extension irrigation specialist, said the key factor moving into the 2013 season will be for producers to concentrate on their irrigation management. “There are new water pumping regulations in place, and we are coming off two years of pretty significant drought,” Kenny said. “What that means is on two fronts, these guys are limited to how much water they have available.”

The National Corn Growers Association has announced that the enhanced Compliance Assurance Program, which includes on-farm refuge assessments, an online survey and IRM education and awareness, is seeing strong success and an increase in the number of growers planting their corn refuge.

Phosphorus in manure is a valuable resource for crop production when applied correctly and has proven to improve crop yield to higher levels than commercial fertilizer. In contrast, inappropriate use of animal manure has been reported to negatively impact the environment. It's important to understand the forms of phosphorus in manure and how manure interacts with soil before improved manure management strategies can be developed.