Bernie Erven, professor emeritus at Ohio State University and owner of Erven HR Services LLC, was a keynote presenter at the annual symposium hosted by the Midwest Forage Association in Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin, earlier this year.

Sometimes, I wonder if reacting to Mother Nature or man-made errors in judgment are not the most stressful part of choosing a career in farming. While waiting for the rain to stop is fretful enough when the hay is ready, the worry over what to do when it stops raining is even more so. One of those worries is the effect of heat stress on grazing systems.

As most dairymen know, the dairy industry is coming under increasing pressure to address comprehensive environmental concerns.

Each summer, nearly every farmer spends weeks making hay or silage and then during the rest of the year either feeds it to animals or sells it to willing buyers.

Although vertical tillage equipment has been around for many generations, aerators have become very popular as an efficient way to retain more moisture, alleviate compaction and hardpan and stimulate plant growth.

The past year has seen some interesting, and frankly troubling, developments in the world of commodity pricing.

There are two schools of thought when it comes to adding nitrogen to mixed stands of legumes and grasses. The first school of thought is this: legumes provide all the nitrogen that the accompanying plants need, so additional nitrogen fertilizer is not needed.