Plants can adapt to extreme shifts in water availability, such as drought and flooding, but their ability to withstand these extreme patterns will be tested by future climate change, according to a study by U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientists and their cooperators. The study was published in Nature by a team of Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists led by Guillermo Ponce Campos and Susan Moran and an Australian team led by Alfredo Huete from the University of Technology, Sydney (UTS).

As forage production costs continue to escalate, hay producers are looking more closely at their bottom line. Many have questions about how to determine their bale weight, feed value and selling price.

When you meet the 2012 recipient, you will be greeted with a smile and an outstretched hand. His life could have provided the lyrics to country singer Craig Morgan's popular "international Harvester" song. "Son of a third-generation farmer, married to the farmer's daughter, lifelong sponsor of the FFA, two sons in 4-H, God-fearing man, making a lot of hay for little pay and chugging along in the combine with cars lining up behind him in the urban area he lives in."

The farm he and his wife now own has been in the family for over 162 years. This family never kept their "eggs" in one basket. The farm has continually made changes as the next generation came along. Growing up, eggs and potatoes were king. After school, he collected eggs for 10 cents a basket.

Another drought year ahead or not, adding more forages to the grazing mix helps during the annual summer slump, says a University of Missouri Extension forage specialist.

Rob Kallenbach advocates more alfalfa, although the legume called “the queen of forages” has fallen out of favor with some farmers.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has announced a new microloan program from the USDA designed to help small and family operations, beginning and socially disadvantaged farmers secure loans under $35,000. The new microloan program is aimed at bolstering the progress of producers through their start-up years by providing needed resources and helping to increase equity so that farmers may eventually graduate to commercial credit and expand their operations.

Landmark Services Cooperative will be hosting its annual farm management workshops Feb. 4 in Deforest, Wisconsin, and Feb. 5 in Janesville, Wisconsin.

“The 2013 farm management workshops will provide useful planning and production tools for agriculture producers of all scopes and sizes,” says Kristi Lange, communications and events coordinator for Landmark Services Cooperative. “As this year’s theme – “Every farm has a history: Managing your farm for the future” – suggests, discussions will help producers combine lessons learned with new industry tools to plan for a successful year.”

The value of lablab, an annual tropical legume, as potential quality forage has long been known, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be made a lot better, said a Texas A&M AgriLife Research plant breeder. Gerald Smith, plant breeder at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center at Overton, is currently working with hundreds of crosses looking for superior qualities. “We need a new forage crop in Texas that fits our seasons and works for us in the summer,” Smith said.

Farmers continue to utilize the practice of exchanging machine work between farms, which has been and will continue to be a useful management tool. The “Farm Machine Work Rate for 2012 – 2013” summary report is now posted on Michigan State University Extension educator Dennis Stein’s website. The tool provides mid-Michigan farms a reference in establishing a value for machine work being exchanged between farms. Click here to visit Stein's site.

The Mosaic Company’s Nutrient Removal App was selected by AgProfessional editors as one of the 10 best and most innovative products introduced by the industry in 2012. Since its debut in January 2012, the Nutrient Removal App has been downloaded over 6,500 times by farmers and retailers.

To assist with the costs of traveling to the 2013 International Grassland Congress, the Forage and Grassland Foundation will make available limited funds ($2,000) for early career scientists (MS or PhD graduate student, post doc, and assistant professor within 6 months of hiring) and producers.