Meeting the needs of the animal and forage plant through grazing management

UW-Madison Extension provides tips for sound grazing management that meets the requirements of the animal and also those of the forage plant.

What species work best for Frost Seeding?

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.

Spring Grazing Challenge

UW-Madison Extension provides tips for preparing pastures for grazing in the Spring.

Choosing a Pasture species or Mix for Spring Planting

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

Easy Transition to Spring Pastures

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.

Ryegrasses for Pastures

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.

Pure live seed

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 […]

Moldy Hay for Horses

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.

Late summer cutting management of alfalfa

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 […]

Corn plant density for maximum grain and silage production

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.

Planting Corn for Silage after a First-cut Alfalfa Harvest

Introduction It’s early May, you’re looking at a rather marginal alfalfa stand, the haylage silo is nearly empty, and you generally use some corn silage in the dairy ration. Here are the options: Kill (plow or spray) the alfalfa stand now and plant a full-season corn hybrid, control perennial grasses and broadleaves with a post-emergence […]

Alfalfa maturity stage is only part of the forage quality story

“Cut alfalfa at late bud for optimum quality.” We’ve heard this statement, or a similar one, many times over the past 10 to 15 years. Although forage quality is strongly correlated to morphological stage (for example, late-bud or first flower), many years of monitoring the forage quality of a standing crop has taught us that environment plays an important role in what the actual forage quality might be at a specific stage of maturity.