Effects of Rain Damage on Wilting Forages by Wayne K. Coblentz1 and Richard E. Muck2 1US Dairy Forage Research Center, Marshfield, WI 2US Dairy Forage Research Center, Madison, WI Introduction One of the most common problems faced by hay or silage producers is how to manage production schedules around unfavorable weather. Inevitably, some wilting forage crops […]
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Seeding Alfalfa Fields Back Into Alfalfa by Dennis Cosgrove and Dan Undersander Introduction In certain instances such as after a failed seeding, winterkill or in an attempt to thicken thinning stands, producers may be interested in following alfalfa with alfalfa. This practice has met with varied success due primarily to compounds produced by older alfalfa plants, which inhibit […]
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Seeding into an Existing Alfalfa Stand by Rhonda Gildersleeve, Dan Undersander, and Tim Wood Introduction Extensive alfalfa winter injury can upset forage inventories, make dairy ration formulation difficult and result in the need to purchase hay, which can be expensive. Crop rotations also suffer when farmers switch to other crops to replace damaged alfalfa stands. In […]
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Italian Ryegrass as a Companion for Alfalfa Seeding by Nick Schneider and Dan Undersander Introduction Italian ryegrass is a high quality grass that has become popular as a companion crop for alfalfa seeding. Italian ryegrass is native to southern Europe and includes a range of types from non-winterhardy perennials to annual types. The entire category is […]
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What is the “Cost” of Seeding Low-Cost Alfalfa Seed? by Daniel Wiersma, Ken Barnett and Mark Feuerstein Introduction When milk prices are low, dairy producers begin to look for ways to reduce the direct input expenses of growing alfalfa. One option that growers have is to purchase lower cost alfalfa seed. Alfalfa seed of modern varieties can cost […]
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Making Quality Silage Bales by Jerry Clark Introduction Humid conditions during the summer in the upper Midwest can make it difficult to harvest good, quality, dry hay. Many dairy producers have turned to large bale silage as a method of harvesting their hay crop either as their main storage option or to store surplus hay. Putting […]
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Relative Forage Quality by Dan Undersander, John E. Moore, and Nick Schneider Introduction Relative Feed Value has been widely used for ranking forage for sale, inventorying and allocating forage lots to animal groups according to their quality needs, as well as determining when to harvest. With the introduction of the new approaches to determining animal requirements […]
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Field Drying Forage for Hay and Haylage Dr. Dan Undersander and Craig Saxe University of Wisconsin How does forage dry? If we understand and use the biology and physics of forage drying properly, not only does the hay dry faster and have less chance of being rained on, but the total digestible nutrients (TDN) […]
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Potassium in Forages by Keith Kelling, John Peters, Mike Rankin, and Dan Undersander Introduction The potassium (K) content of harvested forage has become an increasingly important issue in recent years. As most dairy producers already know, a high level of K in forages has been identified as the causative factor for milk fever in […]
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Getting a Good Forage Stand by Dan Undersander Introduction Some farmers always get a good forage stand and some always fear seeding because of difficulty getting good stands. A good stand is crucial to profitability. If the stand is thin, it will never yield well and will be weedy. Additionally, if the stand is so […]
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