Hay Market Report 01-09-2017
FULL REPORT previous HAY MARKET REPORTS
Read More...Factors Affecting Bunker Silo Densities
Factors Affecting Bunker Silo Densities by Brian J. Holmes1 and Richard E. Muck2 1Biological Systems Engineering Department, University of Wisconsin – Madison 2USDA, ARS, U.S. Dairy Forage Research Center April 12th, 1999 Introduction Attaining a high density in a silo is important for two primary reasons. Firstly and most importantly, density and dry matter content determine the porosity of […]
Read More...Preserving Baled Hay with Organic Acids
Preserving Baled Hay with Organic Acids by Mike Rankin Introduction Weather patterns in the upper Midwest often make it difficult to field-cure hay below 20 percent moisture on a consistent basis. In some cases, growers may desire to harvest hay at higher moisture levels to reduce harvest losses from mechanical leaf shattering and improve forage quality. […]
Read More...Contract Feed Production Arrangements
Contract Feed Production Arrangements by Joe Stellato, Crops and Soils Agent Shawano County UW-Extension Introduction Economic necessity and a desire to manage risk are causing many Wisconsin farm operators to rethink their ways of doing business. All farm operators can reduce business risk by minimizing their investment in capital assets that do not produce a high rate […]
Read More...Comparing Forage Dry-down Rates Using a Super Conditioner in Wisconsin
Comparing Forage Dry-down Rates Using a Super Conditioner in Wisconsin by Matt Hanson1 Introduction Producing quality dry hay is an ongoing challenge that producers face each year. Some producers attempt to take the bad weather out of the dry haymaking process by building on-farm hay driers, using hay preservatives at harvest or making additional passes over […]
Read More...Ramblings from an Old Scissors-cutter
Ramblings from an Old Scissors-cutter by Mike Rankin, Crops and Soils Agent Fond du Lac County – UW Extension Getting old has its disadvantages. With each passing day there are aches and pains in new places resulting in more visits to the doctor than ever seemed possible or desired. Change becomes increasingly more difficult but necessary to keep […]
Read More...Planting Corn for Silage after a First-cut Alfalfa Harvest
Planting Corn for Silage after a First-cut Alfalfa Harvest by Mike Rankin1, Joe Lauer2, and Mark Renz3 1UW-Extension Crops and Soils Agent, Fond du Lac County 2UW-Extension Corn Agronomist, Dept. of Agronomy, UW-Madison 3UW-Extensin Weed Management Specialist, Dept. of Agronomy, UW-Madison Introduction It’s early May, you’re looking at a rather marginal alfalfa stand, the haylage silo […]
Read More...Measuring the trade-off between: Alfalfa yield and quality across four harvest periods
Measuring the trade-off between: Alfalfa yield and quality across four harvest periods Our improving knowledge of the relationships among alfalfa yield, quality, and persistence has greatly influenced harvest recommendations made to farmers. Consider this timeline of how alfalfa harvest management has evolved through the years (Figure 1). We know that: When we give the plant […]
Read More...Change in Yield and Quality of Alfalfa
Change in Yield and Quality of Alfalfa by Dan Undersander, Extension Forage Agronomist Many growers are asking about the tradeoffs in alfalfa yield and quality as they enter quality pricing contracts for hay or haylage. This is difficult to assess since both alfalfa growth and forage quality vary considerably depending on environmental conditions. The USDA-Dairy Forage Research […]
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