Forage Types

High-quality corn silage and alfalfa is often used for feeding dairy heifers. These can work well for young heifers up to about 8 to 12 months of age depending on forage quality.

What comes to mind when the words “alternative forages” are mentioned? I often think of warm-season annuals of sorghum and sudangrass hybrids, pearl millet, and forage sorghum; or cool-season annuals of wheat, barley, ryegrass and crimson clover, just to name a few.

“Raised right, made right, stored right, fed right – that’s the key to success when it comes to growing feedstuff,” says Kendall Guither, an Illinois forage grower and six-time World Dairy Expo Forage Analysis Superbowl champion in the Baleage Division.

Winter is right around the corner, and if you’re dreading traditional hay feeding, there are other alternatives for you to consider.

There are a wide variety of forage crops you can choose as you improve your forage system. Choices include grasses, legumes and forbs (both annuals and perennials).

In the last several decades, two grazing management strategies have become the go-to for most pasture-based livestock operations: rotational and mob grazing.