The decision to take a late summer or fall cutting of alfalfa should be considered carefully. A farm should evaluate current forage needs, economics, stand health, and timing to make the best decision for their individual situation. Although the need for more forage may override some other factors, the timing of harvest is still critical. […]
While farming in the ‘North’ brings the benefits of growing some of the best forages like alfalfa and cool-season grasses, it also carries the weight of fall decisions that will ‘make or break’ your profit due to risks of winter injury. Fall decisions regarding alfalfa production include proper harvest timing and providing adequate potassium, leading to strong plants that can survive a severe winter and come back the following year with good yield potential.
UW-Madison Extension provides tips for sound grazing management that meets the requirements of the animal and also those of the forage plant.
UW-Madison Extension provides tips for surface broadcasting of seed in late winter or frost seeding, which is a common practice that minimizes equipment expenses and erosion concerns over tillage practices.
UW-Madison Extension provides tips for preparing pastures for grazing in the Spring.
UW-Madison Extension provides guidance in management and adaptation aspects of choosing and using forage grasses or legumes in rotation with productive fields of cultivated crops, or keeping erodible land in permanent grass/legume pasture
UW-Madison Extension provides several strategies that can ease the transition into spring, and help you avoid common mistakes associated with going too fast from dry, austere hay feeding to lush green grass grazing.
UW-Madison Extension provides information about using various types of annual and perennial ryegrasses as cool-season forages that make for a good addition to a pasture mix.
We have paid little attention to Pure Live Seed (PLS) in the Midwest because we have generally had high quality seed (greater than 90% germ and 98% purity). But the short forage seed supply has caused some low quality seed to come on the market. To avoid being caught paying market price for low quality […]
When haymaking conditions are poor hay may be rained on or left lying in the field for prolonged time periods due to cool and humid conditions which reduced drying rates. The long drying periods with high humidity allow field growth of mold on the hay.
Difficult alfalfa harvesting conditions sometimes result in farmers being off schedule for late summer harvesting alfalfa. This raises the question of best cutting management of alfalfa harvest as the end of summer approaches. If we want good winter survival and rapid greenup for good yield next year, alfalfa must either: This has resulted in the […]
The plant density that maximizes corn grain and silage yield has been increasing through time. The economic optimum plant density is a function of corn yield and quality responses, seed cost, and grain or silage price. The economic plant density is lower than the plant density that maximizes yield.
