Articles

Does Oilseed Radish Provide Nitrogen Credits?

There has been considerable interest in growing oilseed radish as a cover crop in Wisconsin due to claimed benefits such as alleviating soil compaction and scavenging excess plant nutrients. 

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.

Frosted alfalfa

Alfalfa may start growing in the spring while some freezing nights are still occurring.  This has caused many management questions among farmers.

 

Milk2016 (ALFALFA-GRASS): Index Combining Yield and Quality

Undersander et al. (1993) developed a method for estimating milk per ton of forage dry matter (DM) as an index of forage quality of alfalfa and grasses. The milk per ton index of Undersander et al. (1993) is based on energy content of the forage predicted from acid detergent fiber (ADF) content and DM intake potential of the forage predicted from neutral detergent fiber (NDF) content.

Growing high-quality grass for dairy rations requires attention to detail

As interest grows in adding grasses to dairy rations (to add digestible fiber and improve cow performance and health), many dairy producers find themselves learning about a feedstuff they haven’t grown or used in many years. This Fact Sheet will explore some reasons for feeding grasses, discuss some of the agronomic considerations producers need to think about when growing grasses for […]