Forage Foundations

By Kate McAndrews, Vita Plus sales manager
Cellphone use while operating equipment is a form of distracted driving and it is extremely dangerous. If you don’t have a safe communication system in place for you and your farm crew, developing a plan in the offseason would be time well invested. 

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.

By Nathan Hrnicek, Vita Plus forage consultant
It is important to have the correct storage space for all of your forages. If you are considering new storage structures, keep in mind the amount of space and feed you need now, as well as in the future, and how it works into your feedout strategy.

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. Michelle Chang-Der Bedrosian, Vita Plus forage products and dairy technical specialist
While most producers are concerned about moisture content around harvest time, it can be beneficial, as well as profitable, to measure moisture content at these seven times throughout the year. 

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 La Crosse Seed
August and September give many producers across the Midwest another window of opportunity to establish perennial forages, and seeding in late summer offers several advantages compared to spring.

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. Limin Kung, University of Delaware professor of animal and food sciences
Silages start to spoil when exposed to air. Because total mixed rations (TMR) contain silages, they are also prone to further spoilage in the feed bunk, and the consequences of feeding these feeds can vary depending on several factors.

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 Dr. Michelle Chang-Der Bedrosian, Vita Plus forage products and dairy technical specialist
Preserving as much true protein quality as possible in your homegrown forages is an important part of ensiling, and utilizing that protein efficiently will lead to greater overall profitability. One way to achieve both of those goals is with a research-proven forage inoculant.