2020 First cutting hay/Wheat straw

Progressive Forage Feed

• Should growers consider polymer-coated urea?

  Wetter conditions in recent years have led to more questions about polymer-coated urea. Polymer-coated urea is a urea granule that is coated with a polymer that slows the release of urea into the soil. The most widely available polymer-coated urea product on the market for production agriculture is ESN. The most important thing to understand about polymer-coated urea is that it is not an inhibitor like nitrapyrin or DCD.

• COVID-19 and taxes

  “Grandpa, why are you staying up for New Year’s Eve this year?”

  “I want to make sure 2020 is gone!”

• Around the world and back to the farm

  Sean Barchik, third-generation farmer from Cambra, Pennsylvania, took a roundabout trek around the world before coming back to the family farm Grandpa started.

• A walk through the valley

  The valley was breathtaking. Driving across a twisting mountain road, I could see the green strip far below.

• Baling in a challenging high-moisture environment

  “Baling dry hay in the last 10 years has meant getting maybe 50 percent of the crop with little to no rain, but 50 percent with significant rain and long lay times – up to three weeks – if waiting for dry hay,” says Ryan Sommerfield of Medstead, Saskatchewan.

• The 400,000-mile pickup

  An extended warranty with unlimited miles good for three years was offered as an additional option as I sat with the money guy wrestling over the terms of purchase on a 6-year-old pickup back in February of 2012.