Calculating Production Costs Per Acre, Ton, Bushel, Etc. by Gary G. Frank1 Introduction Enterprise budgets are used to calculate production costs. Enterprise budgets record the income or revenue, expense, and returns for a single crop or livestock production process. An enterprise is any coherent portion of the general structure of the farm business that can be […]
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Diagnosing and Managing Winter Injury by Dan Undersander Winter Injury occurs someplace in Wisconsin every year. Being able to diagnose and manage winter damaged stands may help prolong stand life and increase production. Below is a brief discussion on diagnosing and managing winter damaged alfalfa. Diagnosing Winter Injury Slow Green Up One of the most evident […]
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Soybeans for Hay or Silage by Dr. Dan Undersander Soybeans can be harvested as a hay or silage crop. This option is often considered either when forage is short or when the soybean crop is damaged for harvest as a grain crop (for example. following hail damage or an early frost). Soybean forage, like most legumes, […]
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Emergency Forage Options The optimum crop to plant for emergency forage should be determined by 1) when and how it will be utilized, 2) the forage quality needed, and 3) seed availability and cost. In 2003 and 2004, emergency forage trials were conducted at 5 locations across Wisconsin, Michigan and Minnesota. Trials were seeded at […]
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Emergency Forage Plantings by Paul Peterson, Marcia Endres, Doug Holen, Craig Shaeffer, Vince Crary, Doug Swanson, Joshua Larson, and Jim Halgerson University if Minnesota Perennial forage crops are the foundation of ruminant livestock feeding programs in the North Central USA. Unfortunately, because of the harshness of the region’s climate, perennial forage crops, and particularly alfalfa, occasionally winterkill, […]
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Photosensitization of Sheep and Goats from Switchgrass Hay by Dan Undersander, Extension Forage Agronomist I have had a couple reports of photosensitization of sheep from feeding switchgrass hay. After feeding the hay a week or two, the sheep started exhibiting extreme sensitivity to light and muscle tremors/twitching. The sheep would seek out the darkest locations. Animals may […]
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Fall Seeding Grasses by Dr. Dan Undersander, UW-Extension Forage Agronomist Late-summer/fall establishment of grass is often desired in the Midwest. Most farmers do not realize how much fall seeding date affects the yield of the grasses the next year. We seeded six forage grasses at several late summer dates at three sites in Wisconsin (River Falls, […]
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Nitrogen Management for Grass Pastures by Greg Cuomo, University of Minnesota/West Central Research and Outreach Center In most grasslands, the two factors that most limit growth are moisture (rain) and N. There is not much we can do about the weather; however, we can manage N to improve productivity on pastures. Nitrogen deficiency in pastures is common. […]
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Overseeding Ryegrass on Pasture by Dan Undersander, Carl Fredericks, and Laura Paine University of Wisconsin and Grassworks Inc. The perennial bluegrass, bromegrass, quackgrass provide a dependable ground cover and source of forage. However, none of these species are as high in forage quality as ryegrass which lacks winterhardiness for long-term stands in Wisconsin. Therefore, trials have been conducted […]
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Ryegrass Types for Pasture and Hay by Dan Undersander and Michael Casler Increased awareness of ryegrass as a potential forage has occurred in the upper Midwest. Ryegrasses are excellent, high quality forage, establishing rapidly and producing good yield in the seeding year if cool (50 to 75°F) exist and adequate moist is available. Ryegrasses have low tolerance for […]
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