Fall Seeding Grasses

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

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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Establishing and Managing Switchgrass

Establishing and Managing Switchgrass by Mark Renz, Dan Undersander, and Mike Casler Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) is a vigorous warm season, native perennial grass adapted to Wisconsin and planted for many purposes including livestock grazing, wildlife cover, and as a biofuel crop. Switchgrass begins growth in late spring and continues through the summer if moisture is available. It grows […]

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Alfalfa Grass Mixtures in Dairy Rations

Alfalfa Grass Mixtures in Dairy Rations by Dan Undersander Benefits of mixing grass with alfalfa: 30 to 40% grass mixed with alfalfa gives equal or higher yields than pure stands of alfalfa Improved yield in seeding year. Better yield in later years if alfalfa injured by winter, insects, disease. Alfalfa grass mixtures provide stand and yield […]

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Overseeding Ryegrass on Pasture

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

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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Selecting a Good Grass Variety

Selecting a Good Grass Variety by Dan Undersander Select high yielding varieties to get up to 4 t/a additional yield per year Check UW Extension publication A1525 Forage Variety Update for Wisconsin Check website for more detail (https://fyi.extension.wisc.edu/forage/) Traditional species to avoid: Smooth Bromegrass – high yield but 60 to 70% of yield in first cutting with […]

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Understanding Autotoxicity in Alfalfa

Understanding Autotoxicity in Alfalfa by John Jennings Extension Forage Specialist University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Specialist Alfalfa can remain productive in stands from four to ten years or more, but as plant population declines renovation eventually becomes necessary. Alfalfa is commonly grown in rotation with grain crops, however continuous production is desirable in many areas, particularly […]

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Effect of Seedling Year Stress on Future Alfalfa Yields

Effect of Seedling Year Stress on Future Alfalfa Yields by Dan Undersander Stress in the seeding year reduces future yields of alfalfa. This occurs because the seeding year determines the stand plant density as well as individual plant size and vigor. The following paragraphs will show that autotoxicity, potato leaf hopper, cover crop, and, possibly, drought […]

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Mycotoxin Effects on Dairy Cattle

Mycotoxin Effects on Dairy Cattle by Bill Seglar, DVM, PAS Nutritional Sciences Manager Pioneer Hi-Bred Intl., Inc., Box 1150 Johnston, IA 50131-1150 Introduction Mycotoxins are toxic substances produced by fungi (molds) growing on crops in the field or in storage. Only a few mold species produce mycotoxins out of the thousands of molds that grow on […]

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