Many producers throughout the country keep enduring tough weather conditions.

In the last five years, the region has experienced five different records or near-records for the last 40 years.

We have faced the driest, the wettest and the warmest fall, the coldest spring and the most extreme winter-spring temperature changes.

About me
My name is Tulsa Torres-Moe, and I am 14 years old in 8th grade at Belle Fourche Middle School in South Dakota.

I live on a ranch where we raise hay and cattle.

At our recent science fair, I did a project called ‘The Perfect Stack’.

Many farmers in this area were impressed with and interested in my project. I explained to them how it worked, and why the winning hay stack was the best choice.

Small-grain crops are used extensively in some areas for various types of forage production and animal feeding operations.

Small grains used to the greatest extent are wheat and triticale; however, rye, barley and oats are utilized also.

All of these species have the potential to fill gaps between summer crops to supply year-round, high-quality feed to meet the constant and high nutritional demands of lactating dairy cows.

When it comes to alfalfa, many growers believe they have to choose quality, yield or productivity and that increasing one element will automatically reduce the others.

Fortunately, you don’t have to trade one for the other, if you keep a few fundamentals in mind:

• Cut later. Many recent studies have shown the best time of day to cut alfalfa to achieve maximum quality is in the afternoon.

The economical use of original high-quality cutting components and wear parts can be considerably improved by proper maintenance and handling.

The available performance potential of the entire machine is negatively influenced by inadequate maintenance and handling.

In the agricultural sector, chopping and harvesting are the tasks which require the most energy. Chopping corn and wilted grass are on top of the list.

Pervasive cheatgrass has long posed a threat to ranchers and their communities in the intermountain West.

Edging out native perennials and taking over entire rangelands, the annual weed compromises forage value for livestock, destabilizes soil, increases risk of wildfire and diminishes wildlife habitat.