You may wonder what a day in the life of an on-farm forage specialist looks like, so I’m here to share my story. The late founder of Alltech, Dr. Pearse Lyons, always said everyone is in sales, and that is very true.

Sometimes finding a hay market that fits your system isn’t about taking the easiest or most popular route; you may have to find the road less traveled.

Sandy Ridge Farms Inc. (SRF), located in Newsoms, Virginia, raises over 1,400 acres of corn, soybeans, cotton, peanuts and a few cows.

I know just enough about social media to be dangerous. I don’t spend a lot of time online, but I do belong to some forage groups, and I enjoy following some of the questions and debates. Recently, a fertilizer discussion caught my eye.

Miles and Caleb von Stein grew up making hay on a small scale for family and neighbors in northwestern Ohio, and they thought expanding might be a way to get into farming as young people where most land is in corn and soybeans.

Kelly Garrett, in western Iowa, is the first producer in the U.S. to market carbon credits for a large payment. The credits were determined by the amount of carbon stored in soil on his farm.

Long-term profitability, preparing for the next generation and fostering human, plant and animal health all hinge on managing the farm for soil health improvement. Everything revolves around healthy soil for Burton Heatwole.

In the same way that stores take inventory to assess their performance, plan for the future and detect any unaccounted-for loss of product, on-farm forage inventories can reap similar benefits for farms. During his webinar, “Tools for Helping to Determine On-Farm Forage Inventories,” presented by the University of Wisconsin – Madison Extension as part of their Growing & Feeding Alternative Forages webinar series in April, Kevin Jarek shared helpful tips on how to assess forage inventories and how they can be useful.

The valley was breathtaking. Driving across a twisting mountain road, I could see the green strip far below.