By Dr. Daniel Undersander, University of Wisconsin-Extension forage agronomist
Lignin is the key plant cell wall component that gives a plant strength to stand up and prevent water from leaking during transport from the root to the leaves. This may be good for the plant, but lignin also reduces plant cell wall digestibility in mammals. For these reasons, we want to find the proper balance of lignin to support the plant without drastically reducing digestibility.
For the most part, this crop season is starting nicely throughout the Midwest. Here’s a look at corn planting progress and alfalfa conditions as of May 17 at several points in the Vita Plus market area.
Justin Brown is an agronomist with Ag Partners Coop based in Goodhue, Minnesota. He works with producers throughout southeast Minnesota and western Wisconsin.
By Pat Hoffman, Vita Plus dairy technical specialist It is not uncommon to receive a forage analysis for corn silage that reports a crude protein content less than 6.5 percent. In fact, we sometimes see crude protein content of corn silage dip below 6.0 percent. In contrast, when we examine crude protein book values for
By Chris Wacek-Driver, Vita Plus forage program manager Lignin is the primary fiber component that reduces fiber digestibility in ruminant diets. Because alfalfa contains high lignin concentrations (greater than 6.0 percent), alfalfa fiber digestibility is often compromised as compared to low lignin forages such as BMR corn silage (with a 2-percent lignin concentration). As a
By Pat Hoffman, Vita Plus dairy technical specialist Producers used to only plant small grains in the spring for forage when they faced alfalfa winterkill or needed a companion crop for alfalfa seedings. Times have changed and small grain forages are now commonly and diversely used to augment a wide array of forage needs. In
By Stan McGraw, Vita Plus Dodgeville agronomist Fall and spring are the best times to assess alfalfa stands and evaluate the stands for yield potential in the cropping system. Fall is a great time to decide if alfalfa field needs to be replaced or left for another year. During spring, we try to assess winterkill,
By Jon Urness, Vita Plus national forage specialist The strategy of applying fungicides to growing corn has received a lot of attention in recent years and producers have been asking themselves, “Should we get on board with this or is it a waste of my crop input dollars?” Like many new technologies, the answer seems
Diane Beels, Vita Plus Loyal agronomist Central Wisconsin’s progress report for the spring of 2014 is “quiet as a mouse” at this time. We were getting down to the last of our snow banks when the rain turned to snow again. We have not had any tillage work in the fields, just preparation for it.
Jon Urness, Vita Plus national forage specialist Some dairy producers in the eastern U.S., particularly in areas of eastern Pennsylvania and parts of New York, regularly fall-seed rye and triticale as mainstays of their lactating dairy rations. Conversely, here in the upper Midwest, such crops are generally regarded as emergency forages reserved for times when