Producer Features

When progressive forage growers hear the words “New Zealand,” they instantly think of rolling pastures and intensive grazing management. Those who are also in the dairy industry are likely to think about the volume of milk produced in such a tiny country.

Within 24 hours of the first hay bale hitting the ground, buyers from California were driving to Denio, in northwestern Nevada, to get a look at the hay and talk purchase contracts.

A Midwestern perspective

Daniel Funke, owner and operator of Funke Custom Baling and Hay Sales in Larchwood, Iowa, has been wrapping hay since 2010 – a year he had more ruined hay than good hay.

The hay production industry received new contenders in 2014 when Alforex Seeds debuted the first conventionally bred lower lignin alfalfa variety at World Dairy Expo in Madison, Wisconsin.

For those who know Oscho and Eric Deal of China Grove, North Carolina, they know they are not only great cattlemen, but exceptional pasture managers as well.

What’s a two-bucket gal? A two-bucket gal is a woman who can do two or more things at once: helping on the farm, no matter what the job; wash the family’s greasy clothes; have lunches ready; run the tractor, grain cart or whatever needs running; manage the house; and be the glue of the family.