2020 First cutting hay/Wheat straw

Progressive Forage Feed

• Do’s and don’ts of feeding forages high in nitrate

  Acute nitrate toxicity occurs when animals consume high-nitrate forages for a short period of time. Nitrate is converted to nitrite by rumen microbes as an intermediate step in converting the nitrate to microbial protein. Ruminant animals are specifically at risk, as they bring up the feed bolus for chewing and inhale the nitrite.

• 3 Open Minutes with Dennis Hancock, Ph.D

  The U.S. Dairy Forage Research Center (USDFRC) is a research center of the USDA devoted to the optimization of the use of forages in improving dairy cattle production and sustainability. The center employs 20 research scientists and 40 support staff, and hosts another 40 students, post-docs and visiting scientists.

• Staying above water

  Water surged through H&D Tucker Farms where fields of crops once stood. Although the farm includes a mile of the Arkansas River, one might have thought it was much more by looking over the farm’s fields in June 2019.

• Cut less – yield more

  Sorghum can be one of the most suitable forages to produce silage in regions with problems of rainfall or irrigation restrictions.

• Getting Ready for Spring

  Taking advantage of planning opportunities now will set your forage/grazing operation up for success come spring. Here is a list of things you can do now that will help ensure a successful growing and grazing season.

• Don’t Get Caught with your Pants Down

  A proactive man will never get caught with his pants down in the bathroom…. why? A proactive man would take the step of locking the door to make sure any future problems would not occur, while the reactive man will go through an embarrassing moment that might set his initial goal back a little.

  How does this pertain to Forages? Every producer has the opportunity to be proactive or reactive during the growing seasons. Year after year Mother Nature will start with a green spring, move to the heat of summer, cool off again for fall and put most things to sleep for a cold winter, speaking from the Midwest. Year after year you will have gaps in your forage production that will cost you money with purchased feed and hay that should be saved for the winter months. A proactive producer will see those gaps and plant a forage crop that will excel in that time of year to help carry production on to the next season.