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Farmers harvesting corn in the Mississippi Delta region need to beware of aflatoxin contaminated grain.
Aflatoxin contaminated corn may develop this year because drought was severe. Damage to corn by drought can enhance the development on corn kernels of the mold that produces aflatoxin.
All corn farmers – even those that irrigated their crop – should take some precautions to avoid problems with aflatoxin.
With high corn prices and increasing input costs, farmers are looking for ways to maximize yield potential while keeping costs in line.
Increasing plant populations is one option to move yield upward but comes at a cost with high price seed.
The dry weather of 2012 has left most livestock producers in the Midwest scrambling for more hay. First-cutting hay yields were down 20 to 40 percent in much of Michigan and with the dry weather intensifying, total hay yields for the year could be off by 50 percent or more.
In order to feed ruminant animals such as beef cattle, sheep and others through the winter season many are looking for ways to stretch their feed resources.
Farmers across the country are always looking for ways to minimize crop input costs whether they grow corn, soybeans, small grains, alfalfa, clover or specialty crops due to the high costs of fertilizer, seed, fuel and land rental rates.
The entry deadline for the 29th Annual World Forage Analysis Superbowl and last chance to win more than $22,000 in cash prizes is just around the corner.
Silage entries for standard and brown midrib corn silage categories must be received by Aug. 16. All other forage samples – including dairy hay, haylage, baleage, commercial hay and grass hay – must be submitted by Sept. 6.
Call (715) 758-2178 or click here for rules, the entry form and further details of the contest.
Governor Scott Walker has directed the state Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) and Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) to take immediate steps to assist drought-stricken farmers.
Due to prolonged drought conditions, DATCP Secretary Ben Brancel has called on WisDOT to authorize issuance of Agricultural Emergency Permits that will allow the transport of heavier loads of hay bales along most state and local roadways.
Some soybean producers may be considering harvesting severely drought-stressed soybean fields for forage this summer. This is not an easy decision and producers should consider the value of the soybean grain compared to the value of the soybean forage.
Other considerations include impacts on crop insurance payments, federal disaster aid and feeding restrictions for all pesticides applied to the soybeans.
Dairy nutrition company Volac has acquired ECOSYL Products Ltd, the U.K.-based silage additive market leader with subsidiaries in the U.S. and Canada.
The deal includes the North-Yorkshire-based company’s laboratory and manufacturing facilities.
The acquisition will strengthen Volac’s position in the international silage additive marketplace and complements the existing Volac offering, which includes Megalac and milk replacers.
Livestock producers concerned about the availability of hay and haylage this year need to scout and potentially treat alfalfa fields for potato leafhoppers.
Potato leafhoppers damage alfalfa plants by piercing the leaf surface with its stylet and sucking out plant juices. As it probes, potato leafhoppers injects a salivary toxin that affects plant cells and disrupts vascular tissue.
I think many of our producers could and should be considered “experts” in their craft. Years of experience have given them opportunities to learn what works and what doesn’t. They have made improvements on their farms based on those lessons and hopefully will continue to do so in the future. But what do you do when presented with a new challenge, perhaps something you’ve never seen or experienced before?
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