Sorghums, Sudangrass, and Sorghum-Sudan Hybrids by Dan Undersander What are the different types of sorghum and sudangrasses? Sorghums and sudangrasses are warm weather crops and will perform best in years when the growing season is characterized by higher than average temperatures. Cool conditions will severely limit productivity. Sorghums are diverse but generally fall into the following […]
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Fall-Grown Oat Forages: Unique Quality Characteristics by Wayne Coblentz and Mike Bertram Introduction For the dairy industry, the options for producing a late-summer emergency forage crop are limited, mostly because the growing season is relatively short. Recent research has shown that oats, seeded in late-summer, can provide an excellent source of emergency forage before winter. Furthermore, fall-grown oats […]
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Grazing Management for Fall-Grown Oat Forages by Wayne Coblentz1, Nancy Esser2, Geoff Brink3, Patrick Hoffman4, and Michael Bertram5 1US Dairy Forage Research Center, Marshfield, WI 2Superintendent, Marshfield Agricultural Research Station 3US Dairy Forage Research Center, Madison, WI 4Department of Dairy Science, University of Wisconsin-Madison 5Superintendent, Arlington Agricultural Research Station Introduction For the dairy (or beef) industry, the options for […]
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Forage Options Following Alfalfa Winterkill by Dan Undersander What are the best forage choices for planting mid-April to mid-May? A small grain-field pea mixture is the best choice for those needing forage in early/mid summer. The primary benefit of peas mixed with small grains is to improve quality; yield effects are variable ranging from 0 to […]
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Cereal Forages for Spring Planting by Mike Rankin Introduction Planting cereal crops in the spring for forage is a common practice in Wisconsin when forage supplies are short, hay prices are high, or there has been a high degree of alfalfa winterkill. This Focus on Forage will discuss management considerations for spring planted cereal crops, primarily […]
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Growing Double Crop Forage after Small Grains by Nick Schneider Introduction From 2006 to 2010, Wisconsin averaged 282,000 acres of harvested wheat (USDA-NASS, 2007-2011). After harvest some of these fields are planted with late summer alfalfa and a few more receive manure, but many sit fallow for the rest of the growing season. Fields that are […]
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Prevent Hay Mow and Silo Fires by R.L. Tormoehlem, R.G. Koegel, H.D. Bruhn and D.V. Jensen Numerous barn and silo fires occur annually in Wisconsin. Barn fires, usually caused by spontaneous ignition of hay, occur during and after the haying season. Silage may spontaneously ignite when it is ensiled at less than 40 percent moisture. Barn and silo […]
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Drive-Over Silage Pile Construction by John M. Roach and David W. Kammel This fact sheet provides management tips to enable farmers to properly locate, make, and manage a silage pile for short-term silage storage. Farmers have been making silage pile for years, but some methods have allowed huge storage losses. Typically, a pile is constructed by unloading silage […]
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Adding Anhydrous Ammonia to Corn Silage by Ronald T. Schuler Introduction Application of anhydrous ammonia (NH3) is a low cost method of adding non-protein-nitrogen to your corn silage. If you have a shortage of high protein feed, such as good quality alfalfa silage or hay, adding anhydrous ammonia to corn silage may be appropriate. Anhydrous ammonia […]
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The Relationship between Corn Grain Yield and Forage Yield: Effect of Moisture, Hybrid and Environment by Joe Lauer, Corn Agronomist Summary Arriving at a fair and equitable price for corn silage is difficult due to the number of factors involved that are dynamic and biologically variable. Grain equivalents are quite variable to the extent that one predetermined […]
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