Forage Foundations

The challenges to establishing a healthier and diverse soil environment can be overcome by breaking the big picture into small, manageable, bite-size steps.

Mold spores are everywhere - in the air, on your skin and on the plants we harvest for animal feed. Certain weather conditions during the growing season can promote the growth of molds.

Two Vita Plus silage inoculants – Crop-N-Rich® MTD/1® and Drive – preserve silage quality and quantity by improving fermentation efficiency through the production of lactic acid and a more rapid drop in silage pH.

Maximizing homegrown forages is appealing to dairy producers, especially as they face tough market conditions. Many considerations should be made to ensure you don’t lose money in the quest to save it.

It is no secret that forage quality can make or break the productivity — and profitability — of a herd. When we accurately identify feed hygiene challenges, we can take steps to minimize negative outcomes and prevent future occurrences.

Spoilage is a challenge that all producers face at some point and the cost of not addressing it can be high.  For example, if corn silage is worth roughly $40 per ton, a 5,000-ton pile is worth $200,000.  Even a 1% loss on this pile means a loss of $2,000 worth of feed.  Typical losses from spoilage easily exceed this number.  Preventing spoilage means feed stays in the pile and money stays in your pocket. 

Fecal starch is a major quantifier of a TMR’s starch digestibility, which can make or break a dairy’s feeding program.  The key to determining the cause of a suboptimal fecal starch percentage is to examine the individual starch sources in the diet.

Selecting corn hybrids is an important step in shaping the nutritive value of corn silage, which directly impacts the productivity and profitability of a dairy operation for the next year or more. However, many factors should be considered during hybrid selection, including multiple nutrients and other traits related to yield, plant health and drought resistance.

It is time to get our choppers in top condition to successfully complete corn silage harvest. The overwhelming feedback that I receive is that alfalfa, grass and cover crops are tough on the choppers. Most of this is due to the choppers picking up lower-yielding crops that tend to gather more stones, dirt, and other debris.

The final step of harvest – and one of the most critical steps – is to effectively cover and seal our bunkers and piles to limit oxygen and protect forages. We depend on bacteria to ferment and preserve forage, and virtually all these bacteria need a low-oxygen environment to efficiently do the job.

By Katelyn Goldsmith, Vita Plus | With spring’s arrival comes the anticipation of field work.  This is the perfect time to review the tools to optimize crop outputs.  Three simple tools and practices can be used to assess your alfalfa stands, predict quality, and estimate harvest timing.

By Cody McCary, Vita Plus | It is an exciting time of year!  In northern states, fields are greening up and life seems to be coming back from what may feel like a frozen tundra at times. In southern states, warmer temperatures have returned and, in many areas, annual crops have been planted, providing hope for the year to come.

By Michelle Chang-Der Bedrosian, Vita Plus | A rapid decline in pH is crucial to achieving an optimal silage fermentation, preserving silage nutrients, and maximizing the feed’s value. Research-proven bacterial inoculants are valuable tools in driving this rapid pH decline amidst the variables that can affect the ensiling process.

By Michelle Chang-Der Bedrosian, Ph.D., Vita Plus | When harvesting and storing forage, getting everything right results in better yields and high-quality forages.  But stars must align for success.

By Brock Irwin | Tips provided for building a supportive farm culture, recognizing mental health challenges and having discussions about mental health.