Forage Crops

Quality forage is not quality feed until it reaches the cow's mouth. From planting seeds through harvesting, each step affects the profitability of forage production. The following resources can help maximize the nutrients in order to optimize profitability for our county’s dairy farms.

Forage Production

Common Weed Seedlings of the North Central States: This 21-page pdf from the University of Michigan, describes each problem weed seedling for accurate weed identification.

Crop Scout Guide: This 70-page pdf from the University of Missouri College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources explains how to identify weeds and avoid herbicide injury. 

Hay Quality: This fact sheet from Maryland Cooperative Extension describes how to determine hay quality. 

Hayfield Renovation: This fact sheet from the University of Maine Cooperative Extension describes how to renovate hayfields. 

Managing Pasture as a Crop: This 71-page resource from the University of Vermont Cooperative Extension details the production and management of pasture crops.

Malting Barley: This 1-page Cooperative Extension fact sheet give quick tips for growing and malting barley. 

Measuring Corn Silage Yield: This 2-page Cornell Cooperative Extension fact sheet describes how to accurately measure corn silage.

BMR Sorghum Sudan: This 2-page Cornell University fact sheet discusses the benefits of and how to grow Brown Midrib Sorghum Sudangrass.

Species Selection- Hay vs. Pasture: This Natural Resources Conservation Service guide sheet describes how to plant and grow pasture and hay. 

WBC: This resource from Michigan State University describes identification techniques and the lifecycle of the Western Bean Cutworm.

Weed Management in Pasture Systems: This Penn State fact sheet describes how to identify weeds in pasture systems.

Western Bean Cutworm Damage: This two-page bulletin from the MSU Field Crops Entomology Program shows the location and size of western bean cutworm in corn.

Forage Storage

Forage Inventory:  This Cooperative Extension resource explains how to total your forage inventory using simple mathematic techniques.  

Forage Quality Testing: The four page resource from Penn State explains the why how and where components of forage quality testing.

Quality in Bunk Silos: This two page agronomy fact sheet from the Cooperative Extension explains how to maximize forage quality in bunk silos.

Last updated July 26, 2019