By Dr. Michelle Windle, Vita Plus forage products and dairy technical specialist Moving and re-ensiling silage is never ideal because it exposes the silage to oxygen and predisposes the feed to spoilage. However, you can minimize the impact of this practice with a few preventative steps.
By Jon Urness, Vita Plus national forage specialist In a couple months, we'll be counting on our forage inoculant applicators to apply inoculants reliably and accurately. How we ease them into service could have a huge impact on how they perform throughout the harvest season.
When spring comes around, farmers get anxious to get the planter out and hit the fields. Before you can start putting seed in the ground, make sure you give your planter a proper preseason check. Don Seltzner, Mid-State Equipment, said these are some of the key areas you should check before hitting the fields.
By John Grabber, USDA ARS research agronomist Alfalfa has typically been replaced in rotations with corn, partly due to the greater dry matter yield. However, new research has found interseeding alfalfa into corn can jumpstart production of alfalfa the following year and increase yields.
By Jon Urness, Vita Plus national forage specialist For the past 40 years, Midwest corn growers have increased plant populations in an effort to find that happy place where optimum yield and quality meet. At the Wisconsin Custom Operators and Midwest Forage Association Symposium, Dr. Joe Lauer, University of Wisconsin-Madison, spoke about research conducted to find that 'sweet spot.'
Posted on January 25th, 2018 in Forage Foundations
By Jon Urness, Vita Plus national forage specialist It can be frustrating when you feel like you did everything correctly to put up quality forages and then the fermentation analysis shows a volatile fatty acid profile that is far from perfect. In this particular case, the producer had unusually high acetic acid levels and we sought an answer.
Posted on January 25th, 2018 in Forage Foundations
By Dr. Damon Smith, University of Wisconsin-Madison assistant professor and extension specialist Treating field corn or grain with fungicide has become a common practice in the Midwest. More recently, research has been done on its application to corn for silage. While it may not increase yield, it may help improve feed conversion.
Posted on January 25th, 2018 in Forage Foundations
By Dr. Michelle Windle, Vita Plus forage products and dairy technical specialist Each year, inoculant companies and their representatives vie for your business. Decisions should be based on proven facts rather than marketing, smoke and mirrors. To help, we'd like to share some myths we've heard as well as some scientific responses to help "clear the smoke."
Posted on January 25th, 2018 in Forage Foundations
By Pat Hoffman, Vita Plus dairy technical specialist Anyone who has worked with lactating dairy cows has likely made a comment about loose manure and passage rates, but what do we really know about forage passage rates and how can that help us formulate better diets for our lactating dairy cows?
Posted on January 25th, 2018 in Forage Foundations
By Dr. Luiz Ferraretto, University of Florida assistant professor While ensiling has been a well-established tool to store forages without compromising nutrient availability, recent research trials have reported some alterations in the nutritive value of silage occur with extended storage length.
Posted on January 25th, 2018 in Forage Foundations
Each year, the University of Wisconsin Department of Agronomy and UW-Extension holds Wisconsin Agronomy Update Meetings throughout Wisconsin. Department professors provide seed hybrid and variety performance, review last year's growing season, and give their recommendations for field crop production.
Posted on November 20th, 2017 in Forage Foundations
By Dr. Michelle Windle, Vita Plus forage products and dairy technical specialist While the sealed silo may look peaceful during storage, the bacteria in the silo are hard at work making high-quality feed. In fact, research has shown length of storage has a bigger impact on starch digestibility than kernel processing.
Posted on November 20th, 2017 in Forage Foundations
By Jon Rasmussen, Vita Plus dairy technology specialist This is an important question to consider and you can answer it in many different ways. Regardless of how you answer the question, it is important to periodically take inventory of your forages throughout the year to help make several high-value decisions.
Posted on November 20th, 2017 in Forage Foundations
By Pat Hoffman, Vita Plus dairy technical specialist While the weather allowed most corn silage and crops to be harvested before a killing frost set in, the planting of winter cereal forages were delayed or not accomplished. If you are questioning if it is too late to plant your cereal crops or if they will make it, this article seeks to provide some tips on winter cereal crop evaluation.
Posted on November 20th, 2017 in Forage Foundations
Most all dairy producers share similar headaches during harvest season whether they own their own mchinery or hire custom harvesters. So what is the better option? Two producers shared their thoughts and insight on the strategies that best fit their business model.
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