An interview with Dr. Garry Lacefield, Extension Forage Specialist, University of Kentucky Q. How did you get started in the forage industry?

It was during World War II. Al was driving an army truck. Some form of army “brass” was riding with him. He was following his sergeant in another truck.

Early on in my career as a hay hauler, I found myself hauling distances that made it impossible to sleep in my own bed at home every night. We were running from southwest Idaho to the Portland, Oregon area. To make matters worse, we often found a back-haul of freight that took us in the general direction of home, if you can count Salt Lake City, Utah or Billings, Montana “in the general direction” of southwest Idaho.

Old bridges are part of trucking hay or cattle in the backcountry. Leo told of hauling cattle out of a backcountry ranch and questioning the bridge. The usual response from the ranchers was that the bridge had been holding up big loads for all their lives. They had no idea when or why the bridge in question had been posted for a ten-ton load limit.

Manure can contain significant amounts of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K) and other essential plant nutrients.

Preventing molds and mycotoxins in dairy cattle feed is imperative to keep a herd healthy and on track to meet operational goals. Since there are few ways to overcome issues once mycotoxins are present, it is essential to prevent them from creeping into the ration.

Value added, or the process of increasing the economic value and consumer appeal of a product, has been utilized for many years in agriculture. Forage analysis is one example of “value” that has been “added” to hay, haylage or other forages.

Alfalfa is one of the world’s most versatile crops, growing in environments ranging from the cold northern prairies to the blistering western deserts. Alfalfa grows on soils ranging from beach sands to heavy clays. It can be grazed, fresh fed, baled, cubed, pelletized or turned into silage.

Ready or not, 2009 is already a month old and not getting any younger. Compared to the beginning of 2008, we have a very different set of parameters headed into this growing season.

What was the best and worst part of operating in 2008? “The best part for me was the weather. We didn’t have any rained- on hay, and the timing was good for all cuttings. Not too much went wrong with the year.