Summer Annual Forages: Diversify your feed
Maximizing your forage supply is key to having a well-fed, productive herd. One way to accomplish this is by identifying and incorporating summer annual and brassica forages in your crop rotation.
Alternative Forages
▶ Watch: Focus on Forage Cover Crops
The third Focus on Forage webinar in the 2025 series, Focus on Forage Cover Crops, features research-based resources and management strategies to keep forage systems productive over time.
Growing successful late-summer and spring planted forage crops
The decision to utilize late-summer planted forage crops as a feed source may be necessary when in-season crop yields fail to meet expectations or opportunities exist in the current crop rotation. One should evaluate the decision to plant and harvest late-summer planted forage crops carefully.
Prussic acid and nitrate toxicity in sorghums
Sorghum plants such as sudangrass and sorghum-sudan hybrids are tropical summer annuals well adapted to drought conditions with leaves and stems with a waxy covers that limits water losses. They are widely grown for grazing, silage as well as green chop in areas that are too dry for corn.
Focus on alternative forages
The third Focus on Forage webinar in the 2023 series features alternative forage production information. Presenters are Bill Halfman, UW-Madison Division of Extension Beef Outreach Specialist; Dr. John Jones, UW Madison Soil Scientist; and Jason Cavadini, UW-Madison Division of Extension Grazing Outreach Specialist.
Alternative Forage Crops
First, we should put things into perspective by stating that alfalfa is still the best choice, in most cases, for long-term production of high quality, high tonnage harvested forage. We also expect to see increased use of corn silage, where topography and farm plans permit in dairy rations, in the alfalfa-based rations.
Growing Double Crop Forage after Small Grains
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 tilled late summer to control weeds are left vulnerable […]
Alfalfa Grass Mixtures
Research is developing new understanding of forage, fiber, and the animal’s ability to use them. We have also increased understanding of the genetics of alfalfa to allow improved variety selection methods and enhanced performance for the farmer. This paper will consider both topics. Growing Alfalfa/Grass Mixtures Generally dairymen have perceived grasses to be too high […]
Fall Forage Rye for Dairy Heifers and Dry Cows
Introduction Many dairy and heifer rearing operations are looking for increased feed production on a limited acreage for their operation. Planting fall grain rye and harvesting the crop as forage the following spring can increase forage yield per acre and reduce forage production costs. Double cropping fall grain rye following soybean or early corn silage […]
Emergency forage options
The optimum crop to plant for emergency forage should be determined by 1) when and how it will be utilized, 2) the forage quality needed, and 3) seed availability and cost. In 2003 and 2004, emergency forage trials were conducted at 5 locations across Wisconsin, Michigan and Minnesota. Trials were seeded at each of three […]
Soybeans for Hay or Silage
Soybeans can be harvested as a hay or silage crop. This option is often considered either when forage is short or when the soybean crop is damaged for harvest as a grain crop (for example. following hail damage or an early frost). Soybean forage, like most legumes, tends to be high in protein and low […]
Sorghums, Sudangrass, and Sorghum-Sudan Hybrids
What are the different types of sorghum and sudangrasses? Sorghum 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 categories: Grain Sorghum – also called milo, used for grain production […]