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Something stirs inside a man to use large tillage or hay and forage harvesting equipment. It’s a feeling of controllable power. One person can manage an incredible amount of work from the best equipment the world has ever known.
We had a carefully orchestrated plan for the first week of October. We had to be in Panguitch, Utah, for the National Senior Pro Rodeo Finals by Tuesday night, but we couldn’t leave until we finished pregnancy testing the cows on Monday.
Many forage growers have recently had “sticker shock” at their ag-supplier’s counter. The best varieties are considerably more expensive than what most growers have grown accustomed to paying. Consequently, some forage growers have been tempted to either use inferior varieties or substantially reduce seeding rates in the superior varieties to save on seed costs during establishment. But, there is a difference between cutting costs and cutting corners.
Seth Hoyt, Western hay market analyst, said the bottom line for the 2018 hay market projection is that “export buyers could be more of a driver in the alfalfa hay market in the West in 2018 than dairy buyers – similar to the 2017 season.”
Using tillable acres to provide feed for cattle while still harvesting a cash crop is becoming a popular goal for producers. A growing question from farmers is, “What options do I have for producing forage in the off-season?” In the Midwest, the most popular choices are cereal rye, triticale and wheat.
A farmer has hundreds of corn hybrids from which to choose, and those are just the ones within the relative maturity (RM) range appropriate for where he or she farms. An acceptable range in maturity is usually about 10 days of RM – for instance, a range of 100 to 110 days RM.
Good fences make good neighbors, but they also can lead to a good contracted grazing setup. New farmer Amy Fenn is using contracted grazing for her neighbor Christopher Baird in southwest Wisconsin.
Finances in a farm family are a revolving battle between using the money to replace the rickety old washing machine you’ve had since the ’90s or replace what’s soon to become a one-wire fence.
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