“Diversify” seems to be a buzzword around agriculture these days. Any commodity conference is bound to have a workshop on the topic. Yet what do they really mean for a forage grower?

At some point or another, many producers toy with the idea of starting another business or adding a business component to the production model. Some parents require that children coming back into the operation bring an additional business with them, to make limited resources stretch.

The primary agriculture enterprise in the Southern Great Plains (particularly southern Oklahoma and northern Texas) is forage-based beef cattle systems (e.g., cow-calf, stockers). These profitable operations perform well but not without obvious challenges.

Root and plant diseases that affect alfalfa yield and quality are nothing new to farmers. Diseases can be difficult to identify and manage, and it can be hard to understand their impact on plant health.

Alfalfa weevil (scientific name Hypera postica) is one of the most damaging pests of alfalfa grown nationally, and recommendations to manage its damage have remained unchanged for several decades. During the last few years, however, alfalfa producers in the Western region have reported increasing problems managing this pest.