It was the second dead cow that really got our attention. Earlier that week, I had received a call from a rancher who had found one of his cows dead in a pasture.

Chelates are strange creatures. They are synthetic hybrids of metals and proteins or parts of proteins, and we can include them in cattle feeds.

When we have excess forage and want to preserve it for future use, we really have only three practical choices. We can let it remain in the field as standing dry vegetation.

Of course we want to increase production. Experts, teachers and industry leaders have been telling us for years: Increase production, increase profits. We just need to learn some new things – a straightforward task. Or is it?

Let me take you on a wild ride. Every hour during the growing season, a most extraordinary phenomenon occurs in our fields: nitrogen fixation. Modest legume plants with their tiny root nodules quietly extract nitrogen gas from the air and convert this nitrogen into compounds that plants use to create proteins.

When I teach my course on pasture management to livestock producers and get to the topic of grazing, the ranchers ask very practical questions, such as: When should I open the gate to let the animals into a field?

“Green grass at last! These first beautiful days of spring; deep blue skies, white puffy clouds, a delicious warmth in the sunshine. And look at that grass! Emerald green, 3 inches high, like those legendary green hills of Ireland.