This DFA will make you money! Previously, we talked about increasing yield by using polycultures. This month, we are going to talk about evaluating the yield of any forage crop and a new way of looking at the results. Of course, when a new metric is introduced, you also have a new acronym! We naturally choose one unique to the dairy business so as not to have anyone confused. Our Continue Reading
Mixing It Up – The Power of Polycultures
In some circles, it is always a struggle between yield and quality when it comes to forage production. Well, which one is more important? Here at Forage Innovations (FI), we have a difficult time choosing ourselves! Obviously, you cannot be effective with a high-forage diet (and this is always our goal) if the quality (read---digestibility) is lacking. And at the same time, you cannot feed a Continue Reading
Oh no! Not another budget to worry about?
Well, this saga gained substance at the 2023 World Dairy Expo (WDE) while looking at the prize winners at the Forage Analysis Superbowl (FASB). Since Forage Innovations clients make up a fair percentage of the finalists, it is a yearly ritual to look over “ours” and “theirs!” The samples are judged in two ways. First and most obvious, is the feed sample report. Dr. Dan Undersander, UW-Madison Continue Reading
Better than BMR and the Watrin Family
Autumn is here and it is time to begin analyzing last year’s hybrids and begin planning which ones to plant next year. This, of course, is the most important decision of the year. Mundane topics such as who to vote for and whether to root for the Packers or someone else (people actually root for teams other than the Packers!?!?), pale in comparison. It is also a good time to revisit the Better Continue Reading
Repeat Winners at the 2023 World Dairy Expo
The 2023 World Dairy Expo (WDE) just wound up with some notable repeat winners. First of all, Erbacres Snapple Shakira ET, a Holstein cow who lives in Quebec, but was bred in Illinois (just a few miles south of me here in Wisconsin) claimed her second Supreme Champion awasrd for Ferme Jacobs and partners. Shakira last won the WDE Supreme Champion award in 2021 The other championship repeat Continue Reading
Nitrogen – Not to be Wasted!
The Chesapeake watershed, including most of Maryland, Virginia, and Delaware, plus even parts of West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York, and the real swamp, Washington DC, through the James, York, Rappahannock, Potomac, Paturxent, Patapsco, Susquehanna, Pocomoke, Wicomico, Nanticoke, Choptank, and Chester (that was a mouthful!) rivers, has long been carefully watched and managed. Likewise, with Continue Reading
Feeding Weeds, Chapter Two
In the last newsletter, we questioned why somebody at a major Agronomy Journal (back near the turn of the century!) thought Italian Ryegrass was a weed. And in that article, we documented research that established some exceptionally good reasons why this particular weed---Italian ryegrass---is a good weed to grow from an agronomic standpoint. This work was done by Dr. Dan Undersander, UW-Madison Continue Reading
Hey, Finally Something Good About Alfalfa!
If you have been reading our newsletter and listening to Daniel’s Facebook site you may not expect this from us, but here goes. For the last twenty years or so, Daniel and some others at Byron Seed, LLC (where most of the seed used by Forage Innovations clients get the seed) have been working on an idea that has finally earned its due. I guess it already had believers from our side and with the Continue Reading
Photoperiod Sensitive – What’s the Scoop?
Photoperiod Sensitive (PPS) Sorghum Sudan (SxS) crosses are a useful forage for dry cows and heifers. PPS is a Non-GMO trait of the sorghum family. The trait prevents the plant from going reproductive (heading out) until the daylight gets shorter than 12 hours and 20 minutes. This occurs each year about mid-September (depending on your latitude). If we want the highest dairy-quality forage, SxS Continue Reading