Forage Types

Haymaking was difficult this year in many regions of the country. Now is the time to analyze what happened and think about what could be done differently for next year.

The winter of 2018-19 was one of the worst years in memory for winter cattle feeding in much of the eastern U.S. Near-record rainfall during the winter months kept pastures and drylots saturated and turned areas where cattle were concentrated into mud pits.

Why cover crops?

Each farm is different, and therefore the way you use cover crops can differ too.

“Farming is a business. If you try to run it just on passion, you’ll lose. You have to find the profit margins and adjust to make that work,” says Steve Pittman.

One can hardly read an article about forage management without encountering some variation of the “3-inch rule.” If you have somehow escaped it, the rule states that 3 inches of residue is required after harvest to maintain a healthy stand of grass.

With 14 to 15 million salt-affected acres in the U.S., it’s clear managing saline soils is a big challenge for some farmers.