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
uNDF240, the New Lignin
One of the biggest advancements in feed analysis from our forage testing labs has been the addition of uNDF240 as a measure of indigestibility. While NDFD30 is an estimate of the amount of fiber digested in 30 hours of contact with rumen fluid, uNDF240 is the amount that is undigested in 240 hrs. The concept is that after 10 days in rumen fluid the remaining fiber will not digest further. This Continue Reading
Little by Little
Little by little, the dairy industry is being compelled to move in other directions due to many market forces. With inflation and its effects on the cost of everything, plus the comparatively small ramp up in milk prices, the squeeze is on. Forage Innovations has been an outside-the-box thinker and leader on almost all aspects of surviving in this brave new world of animal Continue Reading
Where have all the alfalfas gone? We may soon be wondering!
By Larry Hawkins, PAS I guess maybe it is just being old, (and my fractured syntax), but the reference is from a song by Peter, Paul and Mary (in 1962 – seems like yesterday!) Where have all the flowers gone? Yes, especially in the Upper Midwest and NE, we may soon or perhaps already are wondering, what happened to our alfalfa? The combinations of little snow in some areas, dry conditions and Continue Reading
Grasses — The Roots of Regenerative Agriculture
by Larry Hawkins, PAS The benefits of alfalfa roots are well known and understood. This article will be about the benefits of the roots of both cool and warm season grasses. With the emergence of Regenerative Agriculture, grasses play an important and almost necessary role. We will look at grasses and their root systems and especially their ability to increase and improve organic matter I Continue Reading
Forage Shortage
by Larry Hawkins, PAS 2021 has a brought some good news, but a problem is looming for dairy farmers in some parts of the country. I am referring to forage shortages before new crop can be harvested and cured. If you see that you will be running out of corn silage before your usual March 2022 silo opening time, here are a few things to consider. How Corn Silage Changes During Continue Reading
Efficiency – Everybody wants it!
By Larry Hawkins, PAS It seems in these times everybody is talking about being more efficient. We want to spend less time and money getting things done. For many, the pandemic solved a big problem. Getting to work became a lot more efficient. Instead of spending 30 minutes or an hour fighting rush hour traffic and then another 15 or 20 minutes finding a parking spot, the commute Continue Reading
The World of Warm Season Annuals: Sorghum, Sudan, Millet, Oh My!
By Daniel Olson, Founder of Forage Innovations The world of warm season annuals is a new one for many farmers and so is the terminology associated with them. In this article, I will try to define some terms and characteristics of different annuals. Sorghum, Sudangrass, sorghum X Sudan, and millet. Probably the most common of these three is sorghum. We will be focusing on forage types, Continue Reading
Fresh Forage, not your Father’s Green Chop!
So, what is “Fresh Forage”? It might just be a new name for “green chop”, but it is really much more than that. Fresh Forage refers to an actual balanced-in forage ingredient for high-producing dairies. It was covered in one of Daniel Olson’s (lead forage specialist with Forage Innovations) earliest Zoom discussions during the new way to interact with you during Covid 19, but Continue Reading