Alternative Forages

Cover crops and manure timing: Start with the ‘why’

dsa@iastate.edu — Wed, 08 Apr 2026 00:00:00 -0400

Cover crops and manure are both tools. When they are aligned, they improve nutrient efficiency, protect water and can even add forage value. When they are not aligned, they create management friction, yield drag and frustration.

Benefits of sainfoin in pastures include less risk for bloat

Thu, 14 Aug 2025 00:00:00 -0400

Exploring sainfoin and other forage options, researchers are weighing nutrition, adaptability and bloat risk.

Homestead Acres Ag: Sustainable hay, crops and livestock done naturally

Tue, 27 May 2025 00:00:00 -0400

Homestead Acres Ag is a part of the Lerwicks' management transition process.

Methods to circumvent autotoxicity in mature alfalfa stands

jsagers@uidaho.edu — Tue, 06 May 2025 00:00:00 -0400

Sainfoin presents a compelling alternative for forage producers seeking to thicken old alfalfa stands or diversify their forage systems.

Cow and calf grazing behavior on rangeland

sprinkle@uidaho.edu — Wed, 29 Jan 2025 00:00:00 -0500

Stories abound concerning cow behavior on Western rangelands in both historical and contemporary accounts by the men and women who spend their days with livestock.

Pastures and radishes: Renovating with cover crops

Mon, 23 Dec 2024 00:00:00 -0500

At some point, every pasture or hayfield needs to be renovated. Although there are many useful approaches to improving a piece of land for forage production, some cover crops offer distinct advantages and disadvantages.

Benefits of integrating crops and livestock

dschwab@iastate.edu — Wed, 16 Oct 2024 00:00:00 -0400

Livestock enterprises can use crop acres seeded to cover crops and crop residue to stretch the grazing season and save on feed costs. Crop operations benefit from the nutrient value added through livestock manure and to help with pest management.

Using alfalfa-grass mixtures

djunders@wisc.edu — Wed, 19 Jun 2024 00:00:00 -0400

There are several benefits to seeding alfalfa-grass mixtures rather than pure alfalfa stands, starting with biodiversity.

10 feet tall with BMR: A new era of grass

woody@woodylane.com — Mon, 13 May 2024 00:00:00 -0400

Sorghum-sudangrass is a C4 (warm-season) annual. It can easily grow 10 feet tall and yield more than 5 tons of dry matter per acre during the hot summer.

Filling the holes in your forage calendar

woody@woodylane.com — Mon, 22 Jan 2024 00:00:00 -0500

Feed costs comprise 60% to 80% of the typical farm budget. If we can reduce those costs by 20% or even 10%, it will happily lower our break-even price. Read more about some grazing strategies to lessen the need for stored feed.

Soybean forage – what was old is new again

dustin_sawyer@rockriverlab.com — Thu, 05 Jan 2023 11:09:56 -0500

We may not think about it much, but there’s an interesting story behind how the soybean became a pillar of U.S. agriculture. A long-time staple in eastern parts of the world, soybeans originally came to the states in the early 19th century as ballast in cargo ships that were returning from the Far East.

Canola fills forage gaps

Mon, 30 May 2022 01:47:42 -0400

While canola is typically grown as an oilseed crop, there are emerging uses as an alternative forage crop that may prove useful for dairy producers in some situations.

Standing up to drought: No-till cover crops build resilient soil for managing water

Mon, 10 May 2021 16:05:13 -0400

South Dakota farmers slogged through two wet years before the rain shut off in the middle of last growing season. Now a warm start to winter without much snow cover has farmers heading into the next crop year short on moisture.

Red seaweed for reduced methane in grazing systems: Does it work?

kathy.soder@usda.gov — Tue, 01 Dec 2020 14:00:01 -0500

Historically, dairy and beef producers have been focused on maximizing animal outputs. This has been achieved through the adoption of new management systems, improved animal and crop genetics, and large-scale mechanization and automation of operations. However, new challenges face the 21st century producer.

Selecting forages using game theory models

sakrogman@noble.org — Mon, 31 Aug 2020 13:00:01 -0400

Ask any farmer or rancher to give an example of an “alternative forage,” and you can expect a wide range of answers. That’s because, at its core, an alternative forage is any species that is different from the forage base for a given producer’s operation.

Red clover: The other highly digestible legume

tfk1@cornell.edu — Mon, 09 Mar 2020 16:50:31 -0400

In today’s tight dairy economy, every acre, just like every cow, needs to be profitable. Adding red clover in a tight economical rotation, teamed with winter forage, can do that.

A specialist’s grass

woody@woodylane.com — Sun, 01 Mar 2020 14:00:01 -0500

Every profession has special tools – auto mechanics, surgeons or sheep shearers. You know, those weird gadgets craftsmen pull out of their toolboxes when they need a whatchamacallit to fix a thingamabob.