DON (deoxynivalenol or vomitoxin) is a mycotoxin produced by the fungus responsible for Fusarium Head Blight (FHB), a common and economically important disease in small grains. DON is a problem because it is toxic to humans and animals. Grain grown on-farm and fed to livestock should be managed properly to avoid negative effects.
The July 10 Badger Crop Connect webinar featured Jose Franco, a research agronomist with the U.S. Dairy Forage Research Center (USDA). Jose summarized current research efforts at the U.S. Dairy Forage Research Center on cover crops and continuous living cover. Ongoing research includes cover crop breeding efforts, work on alternatives to winter cereal rye following corn silage and some of the benefits of including flowering cover crops, and a whole systems approach to dairy forage systems evaluations.
Tools are available to help corn growers and dairy and livestock producers negotiate a fair price for corn silage.
Each year the question “Should I clip my pasture?” rekindles an age-old debate at a pasture walk. The debate is never quite settled because there is no straightforward answer.
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.
Farming is a business that cannot avoid weather risks. A significant challenge farmers face is dealing with excessive water, especially flooded and saturated soil.
The explosive growth of solar sites, especially large, utility-scale (>100 MW) sites that require state approval, has put solar in competition with agriculture for land use. Solar grazing increases land use efficiency, yielding two outputs—sheep products (meat/dairy/wool) and solar electricity—where there would otherwise be just one.
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 […]
A grower’s perspective. This is one of a nine-part video series on the basics of planting corn and soybean into a green living cover crop. Rodney Webb, director of the Pierce County Land Conservation Department, and Tom, a Pepin County farmer, discuss establishing cover crops. They talk about the techniques and management strategies needed to […]