Forage Production
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What is the probability that yield will increase if we apply fertilizer?

Soil test results and the law of diminishing returns

March 30, 2017

Dustin Sawyer

A recent look at some agricultural statistics showed that, as of 2014, roughly half of the farmland in Wisconsin is being actively managed through soil testing. Given that you’re likely already engaged in soil analysis on a regular basis, this article may come across as review.

The matter that really matters

March 29, 2017

Laura Nelson

They considered themselves to be good farmers. “We were getting just under 19 inches of moisture in a year, and we were wasting it. We’d plant winter wheat on black fallow and get 50 bushels an acre and be tickled to death,” Dan Forgey says. “But we thought we were good farmers.”

Cover crop ‘carpet’ prevents weeds, protects soil

March 6, 2017

Organic farmers have to make hard choices between protecting soil from erosion and controlling weeds. For example, large-scale organic farming relies heavily on tillage. Tilling breaks up the soil to kill weeds and prepare for planting.

In the South, irrigating hay isn't a common occurrence

Is irrigating hay in the South feasible?

February 28, 2017

Melissa Beck

“Worst Drought in 1,000 Years Predicted for American West” – the headline in a 2015 National Geographic Magazine caught readers’ attention.

Adding IAE to your day

February 28, 2017

Andy Overbay

Ugh! Another article telling me (the manager) about all the things I am doing wrong. Well, not exactly – because as a professional dairy farmer when I was a younger man, I appreciate the fact that farm owners and operators work very hard to provide food and fiber.

Weathering financial challenges

February 28, 2017

Damona Doye and Derrell S. Peel

Cattle producers have experienced an incredible rollercoaster of market prices with historic price increases in 2013 and 2014, followed by an equally unprecedented correction downward in 2015 and 2016.

Uses soda bottle as a funnel and directs the spary into a bucket

Make weed and brush management pay

February 28, 2017

Robert Fears

Weeds and brush ruin harvested forage quality and reduce grazing capacity. The best way to manage unwanted plants in cultivated crops and improved pastures is to prevent them from occurring with a balanced fertilization program and timely applied treatments for insects and disease.

Evaluating the 2016 production numbers for silage and hay

February 28, 2017

Robert C. Goodling

During 2016, the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) estimated 58 million tons of alfalfa hay and 125 million tons of corn silage were produced in the U.S. With that volume of forage being produced annually, there are a wide variety of production and price levels nationwide.

I’m sorry I missed your drought party

February 28, 2017

Troy Bishopp

Word on the street says you gain experience just after you really need it, and you’re supposed to learn from past experiences in an effort to not repeat it. After 32 years in the managed grazing business, I’m not supposed to be surprised anymore.

Making alfalfa great again

February 28, 2017

Robin Newell

A crop with all the benefits of alfalfa should be in a good position to compete well with other crops. But alfalfa has been losing ground to row crops in the U.S., with U.S. acreage down about 20 percent during the past two decades.