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Sound forage establishment and management practices are critical to realizing a profit in hay or forage-based livestock production. In many instances, the existing forage base may be adequate for a given enterprise, and fine-tuning management is all that is required.
Sunshine – a word producers have not said for a while during the winter/holiday season. As we start to climb into the calendar year, experience the beloved time change in March and see longer days filled with sunshine, it means hay season is not far away.
As spring approaches, you are sitting at your office desk thinking about the next hay season and what you can do to make the job easier and do it in less time.
Baled silage, or baleage, is forage baled at a higher moisture content than dry hay and then stored in sealed plastic wrap. The high moisture level and air-tight environment create favorable conditions for anaerobic fermentation and production of lactic and acetic acids that preserve the forage.
Having the correct amount of moisture in harvested alfalfa at the time of baling is critical to maximizing economic return. In many of the areas of the western U.S., moisture levels of alfalfa hay in the windrow can dry to the point that leaves and stems will shatter during the baling process.
Most hay producers in the Southeast irrigate their hayfields on a set schedule to provide 1/2 – 1 inch per week. Unfortunately, in a drought year, this level of irrigation may not be sufficient to replace water lost through evapotranspiration.
Alfalfa is undoubtedly the most important forage crop grown in the U.S. It is easy to see why it gets the title “Queen of the Forages,” with hundreds of thousands of acres planted across the country.
All good things come in threes: three stars in Orion’s belt, “on your mark, get set, go,” three sides of a triangle, three races in the Triple Crown and three flavors in Neapolitan ice cream. Why threes? It combines brevity, continuity and rhythm.
Let’s talk about water – irrigation water – specifically, the things affected by irrigation water: summer forage, business risks and the possibilities for change.
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