Other Forage

Forage is the foundation of all diets for ruminants. In addition to supplying nutrition for many different types of livestock, forages contribute to healthy biosystems and the overall ecosystem, providing shelter and food to animal species and preventing the erosion of soils and the contamination of waterways and other riparian habitat.

In recent years, cover crops have gained popularity throughout many parts of the nation. Much research has been done evaluating their use in cropping systems and their utility in improving soil health. More recently, more research has started investigating their usefulness as a forage source.

Have you thought about planting cover crops this year, but don’t know where to start?

As more and more farmers experiment with cover crops for the first time, a number of questions come up. The following are some of the most frequently asked questions I hear.

Is there someone in your life who occasionally reorganizes your possessions without prior consultation? If so, you are probably familiar with the joy of rediscovering prized possessions.

The forage sorghum family of plants plays a huge role in summer forage production across much of the country. The most common ones used in forage agriculture are forage sorghum, sudangrass and sorghum-sudan hybrids.

Small-grain winter annual grass crops are commonly used as forages across the U.S. in many livestock production systems as grazed and stored (hay and silage) forages. Small- grain crops include wheat, oats, rye, triticale and barley.