Other Forage

Producers have many forage options that can be looked at as tools in their toolbox. Since every farm has different circumstances, there isn’t a “one-size-fits-all” forage option.

Soil health will be a fundamental component of sustaining family farms and rural communities in the long term.

According to the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), approximately 60 million acres of forage are harvested annually in the U.S. Lower commodity grain and oilseed prices coupled with high pasture rental rates and/or difficulty finding range and pasture to rent, have led some crop producers to consider ways to incorporate more annual forages into their crop rotations.

Summer annuals in a double-crop system can return more dollars per acre, but not all summer annuals return the same value or yield.

Ask any farmer or rancher to give an example of an “alternative forage,” and you can expect a wide range of answers. That’s because, at its core, an alternative forage is any species that is different from the forage base for a given producer’s operation.

Every profession has special tools – auto mechanics, surgeons or sheep shearers. You know, those weird gadgets craftsmen pull out of their toolboxes when they need a whatchamacallit to fix a thingamabob.