Managing For High Quality Forages,
Part 2: The Plant
Added June 4, 2012. In his first article on grazing dairy cows, Gary Zimmer emphasized that the soil is where it starts but also where there are many limits on production. As soils change, so do plants. This second article, on the plants, will address how to plant pastures, which plants to grow, and how to manage them. So what makes an ideal pasture? For Gary's answer please go to:
Filler Forage: Extending the
Grazing Season
Added May 8, 2012. Perennial pasture production is an integral part of dairy and livestock grazing operations. Understanding the growth patterns of perennials, helps match forage production needs with cows’ requirements. Joshua Baker, the Assistant Marketing Manager of Kings AgriSeeds, Inc. lays out ways to extend the grazing season and various options to increase the productivity and yield from annual forage crops. For a highly informative and well-illustrated article please go to:
The Benefits Of Using Fish and Seaweed Products To Feed Your Forage Crops
Added April 2, 2012. Why does Fish work so well as a Fertilizer? What are the benefits of cold-processed hydrolyzed fish vs. a fish emulsion? What can farmers expect when they use hydrolyzed fish on their hay and pasture? Why does Seaweed work so well on fields and pastures? What is the cost? These are all timely questions as you plan out your year’s program or perhaps experiment with different inputs. For a concise analysis please click here.
Producing Your Own OP Corn Seed:
Homegrown Strategies for Dealing with the Onslaught of GMO Corn
Added March 9, 2012. Jack Lazor is the perennial optimist and is able to draw on his long years of experience to lay out some very clear advice for those wanting to grow their own corn seed. He does admit that “Trans genes are everywhere” and that he has become disillusioned over the last five years about the lack of choice that farmers have in purchasing even 95 day untreated corn seed. While admitting that there is a great deal of windblown contamination and very good reasons for becoming depressed, his article steers us back into the positivity of solving the problem with our own farming skills. For a very good article on saving your own corn seed, please go to:
Managing High Quality Forages, Part 1
Added March 9, 2012. Gary Zimmer’s article starts with this home truth: “So you want farming to be easy, you want to have fun, and you want to make money. As an organic grazier with those goals, you have to manage for high quality forages.” This first article of a series of three concentrates on the need for healthy soils and taps into Gary’s vast knowledge and experience. For more excellent reading on building soil quality, please go to:
Tracing Organic Kelp
Added October, 2010.Farmers Helping Farmers – Across the Waters: Tracing organic kelp back to an island farm harvester. MORE >
On Farm Fuel Production
Added September 6, 2010. Current field-based research is indicating that local farmers have a significant opportunity to produce more of their own liquid fuel, livestock feed, and other high value co-products through oilseed crop production in a crop rotation that is compatible with forage production. MORE >
Nebraska dairyman applies raw milk to
pastures and watches the grass grow
Added July 2010. MORE >
Head Blight Alert!
Added December 3, 2009. High levels of Fusarium Head Blight (FHB or scab) infection have been reported throughout New England. Learn more >
What’s the Value of High Quality Forage?
Heather Darby, Agronomist, Dennis Kauppila, Economist, University of Vermont Extension
Added May 7, 2009. MORE >
Molasses Makes Milk and Money!
An Alternative to High-Priced Grain
Added July 29, 2008. It’s no secret to anybody in the dairy industry that grain prices are currently high, both organic and conventional. The multiple reasons for it include everything from floods to ethanol to the laws of supply and demand. The question everybody is asking is “what can we do?” Learn more >
Price & Availability of Corn & Forage: How should producers prepare for the Fall?
Added July 5, 2008. So: What is affecting price and availability? In general, people are assuming that tonnage of grain will be short this year and much of the corn that is for sale is, in a sense, being set aside to wait and see. Other factors affecting price include speculators and Hedge Fund investors who are joining the commodity market as they exploit the uncertainty and short fall in supply against rising markets. Read Lisa McCrory’s article for a full analysis.
Maximizing Milk On Homegrown Forages And Grains
Added May 15, 2008. Learn more >
Why Organic Dairy Farmers Should Learn
To Love High Organic Grain Prices
Kevin Engelbert argues that, instead of condemning organic crop producers for finally getting parity price, we should all celebrate. Added April 4, 2008.
Diversifying Forages at the Stoltzfus Farm,
Whitesville, NY: A Follow-Up
By Mary-Howell Martens
Last summer John and Tammy Stoltzfus began experimenting with mixtures of oats and forage turnips. Here are some of the results. Added March 8, 2008. Learn more
