When the acres of pasture, grass hay, alfalfa, corn and sorgum silages, and grazing wheat in the plains are all added up, forages account for by far the most acreage of any US crop. In fact, land used for grazing is over 780 million acres – equal to 40% of the entire land area of the US and nearly double the land used for other crops of all types. Add to that the 61 million acres of alfalfa, 15 million for corn and sorghum silages, then add in the grass hays and others, and you can see that forages comprise the vast majority of US cropland. And yet, it could be said that forages continue to be neglected when it comes to fertilization.

As temperatures began to drop below freezing, southern Idaho livestock producer Justin Place of Place Farms had doubts about the field of cold-tolerant berseem clover he was trialling as a break crop and whether it would survive.

For farmers, innovation is the name of the game, and no one knows that better than Richard Knight, owner and operator of Knight Farm in upstate New York.

It is difficult to prevent fumonisin contamination of corn when conducive environmental conditions occur; however, selecting the right crop hybrid and using good cultural practices reduces severity.

As a Wisconsin farm kid, one of my most loved and despised memories of growing up happened during haying season – the love of the smell of hay and the dislike of repeatedly losing the hay mow stacking competition to my much taller brothers.

In the Northern Great Plains, 70 to 75 percent of annual precipitation is received between April and the end of June. Rainfall during this period is critical in order to have a “normal” or “above normal” year in terms of forage production.

Forage plant improvement programs in ryegrass, small grains and forage legumes have been and continue to be an integral part of beef production research.

Peachland, North Carolina: It’s quiet, it’s picturesque, and it’s the home of Brent Stegall Farms and their unexpectedly successful alfalfa operation.