Common Issues

Beyond testing: Practical approaches to mycotoxins

tyler_bramble@diamondv.com — Mon, 18 Aug 2025 00:00:00 -0400

Residual mycotoxin load isn’t limited to drought years or visible mold – it’s a systemic risk that persists across geographies and seasons.

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.

Alfalfa: A misunderstood crop in the West’s water crisis

emeccage@foragegenetics.com — Thu, 10 Apr 2025 00:00:00 -0400

Nationwide, 14.6 million acres are cultivated for alfalfa. Critics argue this is too much for regions with limited water, yet they fail to compare these numbers to other staple crops.

Seedbed preparation for stand establishment

Tue, 18 Feb 2025 00:00:00 -0500

Seedbed preparation is one of the most fundamental management practices that can make or break our yield goals.

Leave the stubble, keep the stand

jkubesch@uada.edu — Thu, 16 Jan 2025 00:00:00 -0500

It’s hard to tolerate waste in agriculture. As such, it’s understandable that we might expect to minimize waste when grazing and cutting hay. That desire for extra forage can become quite pressing as we get into slumps in our forage programs.

Yeasts in silage

rschmidt@lallemand.com — Thu, 14 Nov 2024 00:00:00 -0500

Just like we don’t want to eat moldy bread, cows can’t thrive on contaminated silage. If you want better outcomes for your herd, it’s crucial to focus on feed quality. Clean, high-quality feed minimizes the risk of contaminants and harmful microbes that can compromise cattle health and performance. Among these microbes, spoilage yeasts are particularly concerning due to their significant impact on silage quality and animal well-being.

New report shows mycotoxins are on the rise in common feed ingredients

aldo.rossi@amlan.com — Mon, 16 Sep 2024 00:00:00 -0400

Cows that consume feed contaminated with mycotoxins – which include natural toxins made by various species of molds – may suffer a host of various metabolic disruptions that lead to a loss of milk production, hormonal imbalance and reduced reproductive performance.

Effective fall and winter grazing for cheatgrass management

hudsont@wsu.edu — Mon, 26 Aug 2024 00:00:00 -0400

Invasive plants have created novel rangeland landscapes, requiring novel responses in vegetation management. We cannot turn back the clock to a time before cheatgrass, medusahead and ventenata – invasive annual grasses that are part of the new normal in the western U.S.

Effective weed control in an uncertain regulatory environment

Thu, 16 May 2024 00:00:00 -0400

Every day, farmers deal with variables out of their control, from weather to mechanical issues to weed pressure. In recent weeks, a new variable has affected many U.S. growers.

Dormant-season grazing is key to controlling invasive annual grasses

scottj@uidaho.edu — Thu, 04 Jan 2024 00:00:00 -0500

In most instances, the dormant season (late fall and winter) provides the best opportunity to remove litter and germinating annual grass seedlings without negatively affecting perennial plants.

Embracing failing wheat acres

Mon, 27 Nov 2023 00:00:00 -0500

With winter approaching, it may be hard to watch the weather destroy your winter wheat crop. Fortunately, being prepared and having a backup plan may save your sanity.

Ensiling and preparing to feed weather-challenged crops

rschmidt@lallemand.com — Thu, 07 Sep 2023 00:00:00 -0400

Erratic weather patterns across the U.S. have stressed many silage crops in the field. Some regions and forage crops have experienced prolonged high temperatures and drought.

Corn silage for beef cows: Nutrient considerations

rkern@wardlab.com — Mon, 14 Aug 2023 00:00:00 -0400

In the dairy industry, corn silage is often fed to gestating and lactating cows. In big dairy states such as Wisconsin, New York, Pennsylvania and Minnesota, corn silage production and feeding has been optimized by forage and dairy producers alike.

Hay, baleage or haylage?

djunders@wisc.edu — Mon, 15 May 2023 15:19:28 -0400

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.

Drought-stressed corn silage: What you can expect

bruce.ziegler@hubbardfeeds.com — Thu, 10 Nov 2022 15:48:10 -0500

The 2022 growing season has been quite variable in many parts of the country.

Evaluating grazing risk in a drought year

rkern@wardlab.com — Mon, 07 Nov 2022 16:07:22 -0500

This year, with the severe drought taking hold in many areas, producers grazing sorghums, sudangrasses and millet varieties were cautious about nitrate and prussic acid toxicity.

On-farm analytics for troubleshooting forage challenges

jwinchell@alltech.com — Mon, 31 Jan 2022 14:00:01 -0500

Many of us are either just opening 2022 corn silage, while some have already begun feeding this season’s corn silage harvest.

The curveball of PFAS

dustin_sawyer@rockriverlab.com — Mon, 31 Jan 2022 14:00:01 -0500

Hold on to your hats, folks: There’s another thing we need to be worried about. Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are one of the more recent environmental concerns to crop up in agriculture.

The challenges of finding feed

Mon, 31 Jan 2022 14:00:01 -0500

I’ve had calls from two friends lately. “We’re out of hay, I don’t know what to do, can you help us?”

Keeping milk-quality forage coming throughout harvest season

jmagnuson@dlfna.com — Wed, 29 Sep 2021 04:12:50 -0400

God’s given us 54 organic acres to work with on a grazing system and 110 cows to milk. Four years ago, we put up 55 bales of baleage. Last year, we stacked 400.

Setting, adjusting stocking rates to meet production goals

gaiken@ufl.edu — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 07:00:00 -0400

Management decisions that impact forage availability, such as forage species/cultivar to plant, fertilizer and weed control needs, along with herd genetics, are very important to the bottom line of any cattle farm.