Forage Types

Single or mixed species of small grains such as barley, wheat, oats and triticale are being used more frequently as rotation forage crops in the West, especially during drought years, as small-grain forages typically require less total irrigation than corn, and the timing of their irrigation needs (April – July) often better synchronizes with water availability from snowmelt, or “high water,” than corn in some areas of the West.

It’s been a long time since the USDA added a new plant to the list of official agricultural crops. That’s exactly what happened with the 2018 Farm Bill, when hemp became officially separated from its less (or more) desirable cousin, marijuana.

Discussing grazing management can easily be just as problematic as other controversial topics such as politics, religion and sports. Everyone has a style, “mine is better than yours” and “this is the right way.”

Pasture improvement would be simplified if we just had a silver bullet to increase forage growth, improve nutritive value, control pasture weeds and graze longer throughout the year.

Concepts about grazing management continue to evolve, but the fundamental principle of short grazing bouts followed by relatively long rest periods doesn’t change.

If you’ve spent any amount of time studying successful dairies, you quickly realize one of the common denominators is: They are not only great forage producers but also great forage managers.