FEED & NUTRITION

We all know how important leaves are to forage quality. Leaves contain the bulk of the energy and protein and are more digestible than stems. This is especially true for alfalfa.

Sitting here at my new kitchen-countertop office location during the COVID-19 pandemic has given me an opportunity to reflect on our past research work and contemplate new directions to take based on what we have learned.

Grass silages can be the most versatile forage crop available to producers. They also can be the most challenging.

The primary purpose of our haymaking equipment is to dry hay to the optimum moisture for storage, then package densely. This winter, our shop has been a staging ground for improved hay drying.

Pastures provide an inexpensive source of high-quality feed for livestock and have a positive impact on soil- and water-related processes. A temperate climate and the winter-dominated precipitation conditions of western Oregon are highly conducive to vegetation growth during the cool season.

What are your goals and objectives of producing cover crops? That is typically the first question I ask farmers when they start asking or talking about cover crops. Once I know what their goals and objectives are, that lets us start the planning process for cover crops to integrate them into their crop rotations and get the best return on investment.