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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.
It’s not uncommon for purchased feed costs to equal 50% of a dairy farm’s budget. Nearly 20 years ago, Jon Bansen of Double J Jerseys near Monmouth, Oregon, was in the same boat.
It may be too early to conduct an export year in review but, given the roller coaster ride of 2020, exporters should be forgiven for wanting to look forward to a new year and a clean slate. So far, this has been a year of challenges and risks, requiring new skills and methods.
When it comes to efficiency, it’s tough to beat soil testing. What else can you do for less than a dollar an acre that has such a large potential impact on crop yield, quality and farm profitability?
The U.S. Dairy Forage Research Center (USDFRC) is a research center of the USDA devoted to the optimization of the use of forages in improving dairy cattle production and sustainability. The center employs 20 research scientists and 40 support staff, and hosts another 40 students, post-docs and visiting scientists.
The largest expense for most stockman is winter feed or supplements. The more time that cattle can graze without needing hay, the better. Today there are new forage varieties that can fill some gaps in the grazing calendar, enabling cattle to graze for more of the year.
It can be difficult to make the right decisions when it feels like everything is on the line. Times of uncertainty can impose pressures that cause the decision-making process to malfunction.
The word “sustainability” is used often in today’s society, and it has a different definition for different groups. Successful farmers and ranchers practice sustainability in their operations every day.
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