Like any good subculture worth its salt, the buckaroo community of America’s Great Basin has its share of quirks and unique traditions.

Eighty years is a long time, in some cases too long – such as when agricultural fertilizer pollutes groundwater. That’s how long nitrates could leach into groundwater after their initial use, according to new research recently published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The National Alfalfa & Forage Alliance (NAFA) has released its 2014 edition of "Alfalfa Variety Ratings – Winter Survival, Fall Dormancy & Pest Resistant Ratings for Alfalfa Varieties.” Low-resolution copies are available to download for free; hard copies are 50 cents.

Over the past several months, Vermeer Corp. has made a number of strategic moves, which include Vermeer family succession and leadership planning along with an expanded biomass and dairy market focus.  

The company also restructured the forage solutions sales territories and developed a new training department to further support these opportunities moving forward.

Farmers in Central Valley, California, are trying something new: Overhead center pivot irrigation systems. The overhead system, popular in the Midwest and Texas, is considered a water-saving alternative to flood irrigation.

Recently, I was asked to speak at a chopper school in Turlock, California, hosted by Mycogen Seed. We talked about two main points: Corn silage comes in during one period of time each year and requires intense management because you will feed that for the next 12 months or more, and kernel processing will help or hurt your feed cost and ultimately your bottom line – it’s your choice. Finally, are we doing what the cows need as we improve technology at harvest?

“Sometimes you have to spend a little money to make money” applies perfectly to testing stored forages like hay and silage. Sometimes “making money” actually means saving money when appropriate or spending money to ensure optimum production.