Forage Types

Hay producers often ask, “Why are forage quality test results for the same haystack different among laboratories?” There are significant sources of variation, or error, hay producers and consumers should realize.

“Mooove me!”

You’ve probably heard those words bellowed as an anxious herd stood at the gate ready to move to greener pastures. But as Dave Pratt of the Ranching for Profit School teaches, the decision to move the cattle to a new paddock shouldn’t be left to the bovines.

For the past half-century, farmers and ranchers have been depending on chemicals for fertilizer and pest control.

It’s not the milk check or calf price that makes or breaks an operation; it’s the feed quality for livestock that determines pounds of products for sale.

Wasted time typically means wasted money in the dairy business. That includes the time needed for your corn silage to fully ferment and be ready for feeding to your herd.

Due to the drought tolerance and water efficiency properties of forage sorghum, its use will increase as crop irrigation water becomes less available. Both forage sorghum and grain sorghum are good substitutes for forage and grain corn in livestock feeds.