Forage harvesting

By Stacy Nichols, Vita Plus dairy technical specialist
Producers are often enticed to take a late-season alfalfa harvest after a freeze or frost because it helps boost forage inventories, does little harm to the plant, and often has high crude protein levels and low fiber content. Despite these benefits, this alfalfa rarely feeds well, and we have some theories.

By Dr. Zach Sawall, Vita Plus dairy nutritionist and technical services specialist, and Pat Hoffman, Vita Plus dairy technical support specialist
“What else can we fit into our crop rotation to get more tonnage from the acres we have to work?” Italian ryegrass can be an effective forage option whether you’re looking to rescue a winterkilled alfalfa field or wanting to put up a grass forage.

With Glen Jantzen, Raph Jolliffe and Jon Orr
The 2020 harvest season was a year unlike any other, but many U.S. custom harvesters adapted and chopped quality forages for their customers. We caught up with three U.S. Custom Harvesters, Inc. board members to get their reflections on this year’s harvest.

By Dr. Luiz Ferraretto, University of Wisconsin-Madison assistant professor and extension specialist
Recent corn silage field studies have addressed whether fermentation can make up for inadequate processing at harvest.

By Mark Case, Vita Plus dairy specialist
Depending on who you ask, you can get drastically different answers regarding how to tell if high moisture shelled corn and snaplage are ready for harvest, so we consulted the experts to make sure we get it right.

By Dr. Matt Digman and Dr. Kevin Shinners, University of Wisconsin-Madison Department of Biological Systems Engineering
Corn residue, or stover, is often harvested as dry bales for roughage feed or bedding. However, the window of opportunity for drying is limited at this time of year. An alternative harvest option is to chop and ensile it as stalklage.

Stephanie Jens, Lallemand Animal Nutrition, joins Dr. Michelle Chang-Der Bedrosian, Vita Plus, to provide high moisture corn management tips to store and prevent spoilage in the silo, as well as feed it.

Across most of the Midwest, corn silage harvest is complete. Vita Plus staff across the area provide a quick recap of this year's corn silage harvest and a preliminary quality assessment.

By Dr. Luis Ferraretto, University of Wisconsin-Madison assistant professor and extension specialist
As you make final preparations to harvest this year's corn crop, make sure you are using the best inoculant for the crop you are harvesting, this includes corn silage and other fractionated corn silages, such as earlage.

Part of a successful corn silage season is having a fine-tuned kernel processor. To help you get prepared for this year's harvest, we walk you through how to check if your kernel processor is ready to hit the fields.

The 2020 corn crop looks good in much of the Midwest.  Vita Plus staff across the area provide a quick recap of this growing season and estimated corn silage harvest start dates.

Stephanie Jens, Lallemand Animal Nutrition, joins Michelle Chang-Der Bedrosian, Vita Plus, to offer a few tips to harvest and store high moisture corn, including choosing the right inoculant, keeping inoculant lines from freezing, and grinding the corn to optimize starch digestibility.

By Stacy Nichols, Vita Plus dairy technical specialist
The goal of managing alfalfa through harvest should not be to maximize relative feed quality (RFQ). Instead, it should be to achieve a balance between digestible fiber content and effective fiber. 

By Dr. Michelle Chang-Der Bedrosian, Vita Plus forage products and dairy technical specialist
Warmer temperatures create the perfect environment for spoilage in your forages. Chang-Der Bedrosian explains how a forage inoculant with L. buchneri 40788 can help prevent spoilage, as well as when you are better off not using it.

By Steve Murty, Vita Plus forage products specialist
Customers ask this question each year before planting season, and it may still be asked several times per year on the same acre. To answer this question, you need to examine the various components that make up the soil environment.

By Dr. Matt Akins, University of Wisconsin-Madison assistant scientist
Last year’s growing season was difficult for many forage growers, and several producers made the decision to try sorghum forages with varying success. If you are looking to continue growing sorghum forages this year, keep these tips in mind.