June 1, 2023

June 1, 2023 Progressive Forage digital magazine

June 1, 2023

Forage Market Insights: The hay market heats up

May 9, 2023

As the weather warms up, the demand for hay is also warming. While producers anxiously await the ability to turn cattle out to graze, the slow exit of winter weather is demanding more hay to be bought.

You’re thinking about selling carbon credits – what next?

Industry jargon, combined with a long and confusing string of middlemen, obscure the process and make it seem overwhelming to the person who is ultimately storing the carbon.

May 15, 2023

Scott Fleming and Dustin Sawyer

Carbon sequestration, carbon capture, carbon farming – call it what you will, it all comes down to one concept: We can use plants to convert CO₂ from the atmosphere into physical forms of carbon that are locked away in the soil.

Virtual fencing: When to make the switch

Virtual fencing is not intended to replace all physical fencing, and in high-liability areas such as along busy roads, a physical perimeter fence is recommended.

May 9, 2023

Kelli Boylen

Virtual fencing allows graziers to control livestock placement and movement without physical fences.

Grazing: Economies of scale to lower overhead costs

A three-pronged strategy puts cows out to rotationally graze well-managed pasture forages, focuses on labor efficiency and takes advantage of economies of scale to minimize the overhead costs per hundredweight of milk.

May 4, 2023

Tamara Scully

Milk production per cow will be somewhat decreased on pasture when compared to feeding in confinement. Per cow costs of milk production also decrease when dairy farms turn to managed rotational grazing and maximize cow numbers per acre.

Alfalfa production tips following a cool, wet spring

May 3, 2023

Donald R. Miller

The cool spring temperatures that are good for the snowpack, when combined with a wet spring, may present some potential problems for alfalfa stands.

Hay, baleage or haylage?

There is significant opportunity for economic growth in forage production if we are willing to meet the market.

May 15, 2023

Dan Undersander

With input costs and cattle value both at high levels, it might be worthwhile to consider some alternatives. Both energy and protein are more valuable than previously, and higher cattle prices indicate the greater value of higher calving percentage and more rapid weight gain.

Selecting a conditioner for optimal drydown and quality retention

Field study results for single, double and unconditioned field conditioners.

May 15, 2023

Jessica Williamson and Matt LeCroy

How much value conditioning can add depends on crop, field conditions and other hay processes.

Useful traits of sorghum

Summer pastures can offer a cornucopia of traits due to the three useful traits of sorghum that are present in the summer.

May 5, 2023

Woody Lane

Three traits have revolutionized the game of sorghum breeding.

Strategies for corn silage success: Focus on management

May 11, 2023

Kimberley Morrill and Keith A. Bryan

As spring progresses to summer, the percentage of haylage and small grains in TMR often increases to stretch corn-silage inventories or to dilute corn silage if the quality isn’t as good as we had hoped.

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Silage and sustainability

Reducing plastic for a better product and a healthier planet.

May 11, 2023

Meghan Gebhardt

Typical silage loss can run up to 20%. Using a product that is environmentally friendly and that prevents oxygen ingress cuts that loss in half.

How soil contamination and clostridia damage silage quality

Preventing silage contamination requires attention to detail and good management practices, and although it goes a long way in ensuring cattle health, it isn’t the only piece of the puzzle.

May 5, 2023

Renato J. Schmidt

Clean, hygienic, high-quality silage is crucial to cattle health and is dependent on understanding its proper management. However, contaminated silage remains a huge problem in the industry, with some of the biggest concerns being soil contamination and its consequences.

Irons in the Fire: Eagles and man buns

May 5, 2023

Paul Marchant

One late January day, as I was flaking hay off the truck to the horde of hungry bovines that surrounded and followed me, each cow acting as though she herself was entitled to every tiny stem and leaf, a strange dark figure on the fenceline a hundred yards in the distance caught my eye.