Throughout spring and summer, we’ve seen a variety of weedy plants in irrigated cool-season perennial pastures. Often, the first question we’re asked is, “What do I use to kill ____?”

Native warm-season grasses have long been considered “low-input” forages, having the ability to yield high quantities of forage while requiring limited fertilizer and at lower pH than many of our other common forage species.

Beef cattle production systems are dependent on forages, which are often of low quality, and the impact of forage quality on cattle performance becomes greater as the percentage of forages in the ration increases.

Owning and operating a business with a spouse can be one of the most rewarding challenges a couple can undertake. As with everything in life, success leaves clues.

Forages are the foundation of all ruminant diets. The fermentation of forages in the rumens of cows, goats and sheep (and the hindgut of horses) is necessary for both meeting the energy and protein needs as well as maintaining a healthy population of microbes in the rumen or hindgut.

Protecting water in the agricultural context means not only the most obvious large and vulnerable bodies of water, such as the Chesapeake, the Great Lakes or the Gulf of Mexico, but also the smallest streams and the groundwater closest to your farm that aren’t distinguished along property lines.

From TMRs and chop length to oxygen exposure and inoculants, a producer’s understanding of silage production and qualitative indicators has never been greater.

Hay producers often ask, “Why are forage quality test results for the same haystack different among laboratories?” There are significant sources of variation, or error, hay producers and consumers should realize.

As I sit here in the barn thinking of what I should write about and reflecting on our annual show, which just concluded, I’m trying to think of a very unique piece of equipment to discuss.