Harvest Considerations

Mitigating mycotoxins: The three-legged milking stool approach

kebr@novonesis.com — Fri, 13 Jun 2025 00:00:00 -0400

Challenges with growing seasons, weather-related harvest delays and subpar silage storage can lead to mycotoxins in stored forages. Our three-legged milking stool for mitigating mycotoxins includes: a research-proven silage inoculant, binders from multiple classes added to the TMR and effective probiotics fed to the cows to help them help themselves.

Timing is everything: How to optimize wrapping time for high-quality bale silage

jessica.williamson@agcocorp.com — Fri, 16 May 2025 00:00:00 -0400

Making strategic decisions around moisture content, weather conditions and equipment performance not only helps protect forage value and animal performance but also supports better outcomes across the entire operation.

Mycotoxin risks within the 2024 corn crop

mhawkins@alltech.com — Sun, 23 Mar 2025 23:00:00 -0400

Corn silage has a risk from multiple mycotoxins, with type B trichothecenes being the greatest risk. Stored corn grains may be at greater risk due to damaged kernels and a higher percentage of foreign matter.

Harnessing the power of crop residue

Thu, 12 Sep 2024 00:00:00 -0400

For decades, the agricultural industry has been at the forefront of innovation, continually adapting to meet global demands and environmental challenges.

Invest in quality and tonnage to maximize on-farm forage use

lkrentz@vitaplus.com — Wed, 14 Aug 2024 00:00:00 -0400

Maximizing homegrown forages is appealing to many dairy producers, especially as they face tough market conditions.

Maximizing corn silage quality: Key decisions for a successful harvest

ashley.knapton@corteva.com — Thu, 18 Jul 2024 00:00:00 -0400

The growing season has a large impact on our corn silage, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have options to manage the variables.

Building a strong foundation for your feed program begins with high-quality silage

kzm175@psu.edu — Mon, 15 Jul 2024 00:00:00 -0400

The foundation of most diets fed to dairy and beef cattle includes forages, but making them into high-quality silage that can be fed year-round is a challenge.

The long or short of it: Silage is a good investment

Mon, 06 Nov 2023 00:00:00 -0500

Silage is a critical feed for livestock, especially ruminants like dairy cattle. This high-quality feed is created by harvesting crops like corn, sorghum, cereals, alfalfa and grass and storing them in a manner that allows them to ferment and maintain their quality.

Don’t leave money in the field

mark.scuffham@claas.com — Mon, 23 Oct 2023 00:00:00 -0400

By concentrating on improving bale density, producers can significantly enhance their return on investment.

Key drivers to corn silage yield

Tue, 05 Sep 2023 00:00:00 -0400

Krull identified several key drivers of corn silage yield and quality, including management, environment and genetics. Poor management will not compensate for poor genetics or adverse weather conditions and vice versa.

Strategies for corn silage success: Focus on management

kimmo@novonesis.com — Thu, 11 May 2023 15:58:40 -0400

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.

Choosing the correct corn maturity

david.sass@pioneer.com — Thu, 12 Jan 2023 10:59:53 -0500

20-60-20, do you recognize that ratio? Clue: corn hybrids. Here's some advice for you as you plan your corn crop this year.

Don’t underestimate alfalfa’s potential

dairyteam@hubbardfeeds.com — Tue, 18 Oct 2022 21:04:44 -0400

The last couple of years have led to uncertainty in commodity market pricing, and this year has been no different, with commodity prices skyrocketing. This has been especially true for byproduct protein sources, such as soybean and canola meal.

Hay cubes for the back country

Wed, 05 Oct 2022 13:18:36 -0400

Sometimes the farm focus has to change and bend a little to negotiate marketing curves. But it's better to bend than break.

How much ‘dirt’ is in your forages?

dan.schauff@agriking.com — Fri, 08 Jul 2022 21:47:32 -0400

Minimizing soil content of forages should be the goal of every forage producer and dairy farm. This is because soil contamination of forages can add to the total ash or mineral content, which dilutes the energy and nutritive value of forages.

Tips for maximizing forage quality from start to finish

jessica.williamson@agcocorp.com — Thu, 31 Mar 2022 13:00:01 -0400

Delivering the highest-quality hay is a complicated race against time.

Raise your hay standards

askidmore@lallemand.com — Thu, 31 Mar 2022 13:00:01 -0400

Spontaneous combustion of hay bales is just about the worst-case scenario for any livestock producer putting up hay. That’s not the only bad outcome when it comes to hay storage.

How to handle hay following a hurricane or flood

vacorriher@ag.tamu.edu — Wed, 29 Sep 2021 05:00:06 -0400

Flooded hay

Stretching forages through a drought

rkern@wardlab.com — Wed, 29 Sep 2021 04:33:02 -0400

Drought conditions encompassing the entire western U.S. have producers concerned about declining hay and forage inventories.

Are hay preservative applicators worth it?

Wed, 29 Sep 2021 03:44:30 -0400

Weather during harvest can be the biggest challenge in putting up high-quality hay. If hay is still a bit wet but a storm is coming and you want to get it baled and stored before the rain, you might consider using inoculants and hay preservatives.

Adverse weather and hidden danger of moldy feed

bravomelissa@yahoo.com — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 21:21:34 -0400

Over the summer, the western drought and heat wave continue to intensify.

How to safely succeed in custom harvesting

barnold@lallemand.com — Fri, 09 Jul 2021 21:42:41 -0400

There’s a lot of pressure on custom harvesters. In a small window of time, they are rushing to get multiple clients’ forages ensiled – often across many states with a dog-tired crew by the end of the season.

Lean on me

Fri, 09 Jul 2021 21:25:33 -0400

There is no adrenaline rush quite like trying to get a field harvested before a storm hits or the anticipation of waiting for a field to dry out so you can run an implement through.

Managing silage losses at feedout

usjatu@chr-hansen.com — Fri, 09 Jul 2021 21:11:39 -0400

It’s well known that some loss of dry matter (DM) and nutrients during the ensiling process is unavoidable. However, during the process of harvesting and ensiling, there are choices to make and management practices to utilize that may minimize those losses.

Don’t focus on pin-up forages

Mon, 01 Feb 2021 14:00:01 -0500

“Many variables require many plans but only a few basic principles,” said Alltech representative John Winchell at an Ontario Forage Council 2020 webinar.

5 strategies for silage success

karen@agproud.com — Tue, 18 Aug 2020 18:39:01 -0400

North American farmers can show impressive year-over-year gains in corn and alfalfa yields, but if silage isn’t managed correctly, it could just mean more and more feed loss each year.

5 adverse silage scenarios and how to deal with them

Tue, 18 Aug 2020 17:52:53 -0400

When weather and growing conditions are less than ideal, it can be hard to know what steps to take to make the most of a subpar forage crop.

Understanding forage quality: Reducing ash content

Fri, 22 May 2020 20:06:08 -0400

Forage quality is critical to a producer’s operation. The quality of forage – good or bad – will affect an operation’s bottom line.

Equipment Hub: Self-propelled forage harvesters

Thu, 30 Apr 2020 13:00:01 -0400

Forage equipment is traditionally used to harvest and package crops such as grass, alfalfa, triticale, wheat, barley, oats, corn and sorghum. When harvesting grass, alfalfa or triticale, the product is most often cut with a swather or mower.

Equipment checkpoints for optimal drying

hartschuh.11@osu.edu — Tue, 31 Mar 2020 13:00:01 -0400

The primary purpose of our haymaking equipment is to dry hay to the optimum moisture for storage, then package densely. This winter, our shop has been a staging ground for improved hay drying.