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“If they positioned the dipstick under a cow’s tail on a loader, then maybe the herdsman and his helpers would check the oil.”
I asked a dairyman what his pet peeve was pertaining to mechanical things at his dairy. The above quote was his first response. He went on to say that if a person can’t handle gates and free-stalls being mangled by loader buckets without having a meltdown, then maybe they shouldn’t be in the dairy business.
A few weeks ago, an Ohio producer commented that this was a year like no other. He lamented that he finally took his first cutting of alfalfa July 4 and his second growth, after 30 days, was only 6 inches high and discolored.
Some folks, I suppose, look at a forage test and see only a list of numbers. That’s kind of like looking at a map of Wyoming and seeing only a patchwork of roads.
This quote can be applied to outside hay storage because a substantial portion of the often-large losses that occur when large round bales are stored outside can be avoided when various practices are implemented.
Plant breeders may soon be able to develop new plant hybrids that possess enhanced insect defense responses, which might allow pesticide use to be reduced. To develop pest-resistant plants, breeders have to know how plants detect and respond to insect attack.
Click here to read Loretta's article "Plants know which insect is attacking"
In another recently published study by Appel, she and collaborator Rex Cocroft studied how plants respond to vibrations caused by caterpillar chewing action.
As Ellen Langer points out in her book The Power of Mindful Learning, one plus one does not always equal two; it depends on the context. While one plus one equals two in the base-10 number system, if the context changes, it may not hold true.
Low-pH soils can limit plant production in about half of the U.S. Soil pH is a measure of soil acidity or alkalinity. The pH scale ranges from zero to 14, with 7 as neutral. Numbers less than 7 indicate acidity while numbers greater than 7 indicate alkalinity.
I’ve been writing articles for farm publications such as Progressive Forage Grower for more than 40 years and sometimes feel like a parent nagging his kids about doing their household chores. Do this. Do that. And do it now. But reminders are useful – to farmers as well as children – so here are a few forage-oriented chores you should be considering as the crop season winds down.
