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

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.

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

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.

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. 

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.

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.

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.