In the September 25, 2024 Badger Crop Connect webinar, Monica Schauer, the UW NOPP Research Director, discussed an ongoing grant program that funds Wisconsin farmers to do on-farm nitrogen application rate research.
Published: Sept. 20, 2024 Cutting alfalfa when the weather is good can be tempting, but late fall cuttings could be damaging to long term alfalfa productivity and stand persistence. Why it might be bad to cut now As a perennial crop, one must manage alfalfa with not just this year but the next year in […]
From various research efforts into the physiology of alfalfa winter survival, it appears that many of these root reserve compounds are positively linked to winter survival, so preserving them can aid our alfalfa stand in surviving winter and thriving the following spring. Manipulating the time of fall cutting allows us to control the stores of these compounds to give the best chance at winter survival of our alfalfa stands.
The August 14 Badger Crop Connect webinar featured Scott Newell, alfalfa outreach specialist with the UW–Madison Division of Extension. This year (2024) has been very challenging to manage alfalfa with rain throwing many cutting schedules off the rails, leaving producers with lower quality forage than expected and trying to catch up with higher quality harvests. Scott Newell discusses the potential implications of this and the importance of managing for persistence in alfalfa to maximize overall productivity.
As we head toward the end of summer, we are closing in on time for a late summer alfalfa establishment. Commonly in Wisconsin, this is done following a wheat crop in the spring. This can lead to a few challenges to consider: residual herbicide carryover and the effects of volunteer wheat on successful establishment.
True armyworms (Mythimna unipuncta) are a species of moth that lays their eggs in lush, green grasses. They mainly affect corn and wheat production. Pastures and grassy hay fields can also be at risk of damage.
Alfalfa (Medicago sativa) is a valuable forage crop in Wisconsin, that supports dairy and livestock production. However, alfalfa production can be threatened by the alfalfa weevil (Hypera postica), a beetle pest that can significantly damage alfalfa foliage if left unmanaged.
Pricing standing alfalfa requires an open conversation between buyer and seller, with both parties understanding the inherent value of the forage as well as the cost and risks of harvesting.
The April 24 Badger Crop Connect session features Scott Newell, Extension’s Alfalfa Outreach Specialist.
As we move into alfalfa planting season in Wisconsin, it is important to double-check herbicide records for the field you will be planting into. Many common herbicides used for commercial crop production contain restrictions on the label when rotating to alfalfa. A rotation restriction is the interval between herbicide application and when alfalfa planting can […]
The third Focus on Forage webinar in the 2024 series, Focus on Annual Forages, features discussions around annual forage crops for Wisconsin farms, the nutritive value of and strategies around feeding annual forages on dairy farms, the nitrogen demand of cereal forages, and nitrogen carryover and rate planning considerations for 2024.
The recordings from the second Focus on Forage webinar in the 2024 series, Focus on Alfalfa, feature Scott Newell, Dr. Kim Cassida, Dr. Mark Renz, and Dr. Emily Bick.
