Other Forage

Birdsfoot trefoil has been commercially available in the U.S. since the 1930s. Every student of forages learns that it is one of the few bloat-free legume options for pastures.

Summer annuals are an excellent option for growers looking for high-quality tonnage and fit well in the total forage plans of many livestock producers. They can provide valuable forage during a season when high temperatures and short-term drought stress is common.

The backbone of the dairy feeding program continues to be centered on perennial forages, mostly alfalfa or alfalfa-grass mixes, and our favorite annual forage: corn silage. While it is unlikely that the reliance on these two crops will decrease greatly in the near future, the impact regularly occurring droughts in recent years have had on corn yields are causing producers to wonder about other crops that might be grown in place of or in addition to corn silage.

Crop rotations may benefit from high-yielding forages that are harvested as silage or hay and marketed to livestock producers. Traditionally, producers have focused on a few common crops for forage and silage production, such as corn and alfalfa, and for good reason.

Farmers in Washington harvest alfalfa on average four times a year, costing about $256 per acre for swathing, raking and baling.

Most cropland in the northeastern U.S. is better suited to perennial grass production than to legumes or row crop production.