Forage Foundations

Just as tractors aren’t what they used to be, the custom harvester business has grown more complex. The four gears on the old tractor kept in the corner of the machine shed aren’t enough to meet the needs of your business today. Gary Sipiorski with Vita Plus helps shift the gears through your custom harvesting

There are four types of dry matter loss – fermentation loss, loss from leaching, surface spoilage loss and feedout loss. Dr. Ken Griswold, Penn State Cooperative Extension, conducted a study to measure losses from fermentation and leaching, with an objective to refine the relationship between density and loss. Griswold worked with four relatively small bunker

Dr. Matthew Digman with the U.S. Dairy Forage Research Center and Jason Schiebout with Scherer Corrugating & Machine, Inc. led an open discussion on chopper adjustments and particle size in harvesting corn silage. “There is a lot of debate about proper length of cut and roll gap and how the two interact,” Digman said. The

A group of custom harvesters came together to discuss the latest applicator technology at the Vita Plus Custom Harvester Meeting 2011. Led by Jon Urness, Vita Plus national forage specialist, the discussion featured two new-to-the-market inoculant applicators. Gordon Marley, from Ecosyl Products Limited, first outlined the development and advantages of ULV (ultra low volume) applicators.

With all of the factors that influence forage quality, Chris Wacek-Driver said “it’s pretty amazing we produce as many high quality forages as we do.”  Wacek-Driver, Vita Plus forage program manager, congratulated harvesters for doing such a good job during her breakout session presentation at the Vita Plus Custom Harvester Meeting 2011. Wacek-Driver said, “It’s

The Orr family has been farming since 1946 in Apple Creek, Ohio, but the origins of silage in production agriculture dates back another 80 years to 1860. James and Jonathan Orr, the father-son team that makes up Orrson Custom Farming Ltd. related the history of silage farming, intertwining the past with their own stories of

Plenty of activists groups and journalists are putting their emotionally charged and often scientifically inaccurate messages into mainstream media. Marjorie Stieve, marketing services manager with Vita Plus, said it’s the responsibility of everyone involved in agriculture to balance the discussion. Stieve offered the following tips for Vita Plus Custom Harvester 2011 attendees to use when

Snaplage is becoming a popular alternative to high moisture corn in some portions of the U.S. Dr. Matthew Digman at the U.S. Dairy Forage Research Center has been working field and feeding trials to learn more about this potential feedstuff. High moisture corn feeds well and can be kept in low-cost anaerobic storage. However, its

In his role as a nutritionist for Vita Plus, Dr. John Goeser developed a report card as a means to track his performance for each dairy operation he services. This report card helps him show those dairies how well he is working for them. Goeser adapted his report card to the forage industry to help

Dr. Ken Griswold has made a career out of forages as a part of the Penn State Cooperative Extension dairy team. While that does mean he’s an expert in the field, it doesn’t mean he’s immune to the dangers that come with putting up high quality forages. This past September, Griswold was working in an