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Review Of The Ecology And Management Of Prairies In The Central United States. By Chris Helzer., David J. Gibson

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences (through 2013)

This relatively short book is an informative and easyto- read account of the author's philosophy and advice on how to manage prairies in the Central U.S., an area corresponding to the eastern portion of the Great Plains where tall- and mixed-grass prairie occurred. With fragmentation and huge losses of this region's natural prairie habitat, there is a growing appreciation for active management of remnants and prairie restoration. This book provides an excellent introduction to this topic.

Wheat Yield Potential And Land Management Constraints In The South West Of Western Australia, Dennis Van Gool

Resource management technical reports

This report provides the underpinning information to help improve the long term profitability of wheat cropping. It documents the realistic potential yield of the 18 million hectares of agricultural land in the South West of Western Australia and the gap between this potential and the actual yields, based on shire averages. This report also summarises major land management constraints that limit the yield potential. This information can be used to aid strategic planning at different levels, for example state, shire and, with care, as a starting point for farm planning.

Photo Highlights Of The 31st Kentucky Alfalfa Conference, Kentucky Alfalfa Conference

Kentucky Alfalfa and Stored Forage Conference

No abstract provided.

What's New In Forage Equipment?, Dan Undersander

Kentucky Alfalfa and Stored Forage Conference

The forage equipment industry is changing in response to farmers’ needs. These changes consist of innovations to increase capacity, to improve the usability of the machine, and to improve the quality of the product. Most changes are occurring with existing equipment, but some totally new product innovations are occurring.

Dollars & Cents Of Alfalfa Production, Kenneth H. Burdine

Kentucky Alfalfa and Stored Forage Conference

The last several years have been incredibly challenging for all of Kentucky agriculture and hay producers have been no exception to the rule. Statewide, alfalfa yields have been below average in 3 of the last 4 years due to challenging weather in 2007, 2008, and again in 2010. In addition to the weather challenges, producers are also dealing with higher costs of fuel, fertilizer, and machinery. These challenges make budgeting especially important looking ahead to the 2011 growing season.

Alfalfa Hay For Horses: Myths Vs. Reality, Laurie Lawrence

Kentucky Alfalfa and Stored Forage Conference

Does it really matter if hay has some mold in it?

Hay that is high in dust or mold can irritate the horse’s respiratory tract. Optimum athletic performance depends on a healthy respiratory tract, therefore dusty/moldy hay should never be fed to horses used (or intended for) athletic events. A chronic respiratory disease commonly called “heaves” can be aggravated by moldy and dusty hay. Horses with heaves can have so much difficulty breathing that even mild exercise is impossible. In addition, moldy hay may contain toxins that could affect the horse if they are ingested.

Horse owners should not rely …

Hay Drying, Preservatives, Conditioning, Ash Content, Dan Undersander

Kentucky Alfalfa and Stored Forage Conference

Drying forage for hay has always been a challenge. While we cannot control the weather we can manage cut forage to maximize drying. The purpose of this paper is to give a few principles of hay and silage making and discuss machinery available relative to these principles. Then we will also talk about minimizing ash in hay to optimize the total digestible nutrients of the forage.

Making Your Fertilizer Dollar Go Further, Greg Schwab

Kentucky Alfalfa and Stored Forage Conference

Alfalfa is a high quality, valuable forage crop that can be successfully produced on most well drained soils in Kentucky, for hay and silage, and for grazing. Fertilizing alfalfa can be uniquely challenging because it is a perennial crop. In addition, high-yielding alfalfa removes a tremendous amount of soil nutrients when compared to other crops grown in Kentucky. A thorough understanding of alfalfa’s growth habits, nutrient requirements, and the soil nutrient supply mechanisms for alfalfa is necessary to effectively manage fertilizer inputs and maximize profitability while minimizing the environmental impact.

Keys To Getting A Good Stand Of Alfalfa, Garry D. Lacefield

Kentucky Alfalfa and Stored Forage Conference

Profitable alfalfa production requires high yields of high quality forage, a long stand life and skillful marketing of the end product. This requires attention to details, timely action and advanced planning. There are four basic prerequisites for a successful alfalfa program: establishment, production, harvesting and marketing with a very specific goal within each component.

Alfalfa Varieties For Today And Tomorrow, S. Ray Smith

Kentucky Alfalfa and Stored Forage Conference

There are a number of new alfalfa varieties that have come on the market in the last few years. In fact, it can be hard keeping up with all the developments. In the following pages I will overview most of the important traits that can be found in new varieties. These include Roundup Ready®, potato leafhopper resistance, hybrids, lodging resistance, rapid regrowth, higher quality, resistance to new diseases, and more… Many times I am asked “Are new varieties really worth the cost?” The best way to answer that question is to consider work by Dr. Jimmy Henning where he summarized …

Foreword And Recipients Of Kentucky Alfalfa Awards [2011], Garry D. Lacefield, Christi L. Forsythe

Kentucky Alfalfa and Stored Forage Conference

No abstract provided.

Crop Updates 2011 - Nutrition, Precision Agriculture & Climate And Forecasting, Deb Archdeacon, Andrew Gulliver, David Cullen, Qifu Ma, Richard Bell, Ross Brennan, Craig Scanlan, Wen Chen, Geoff Anderson, Mike Bolland, Peter Rees, Sandy Alexander, Frank D'Emden, Stephen Davies, Breanne Best, Louise Barton, Klaus Butterbach-Bahl, Ralph Kiese, Daniel Murphy, Peter Newman, Roger Mandel, Roger Lawes, Michael Robertson, Derk Bakker, Jeremy Lemon, Alison Lacey, John Paul Collins, Glen Riethmuller, Fiona H. Evans, David Stephens, Caroline Peek, Tim Scanlon

Crop Updates

This session covers sixteen papers from different authors:

Nutrition

1. Balance® used in conventional cropping practice with half of the upfront fertiliser rate can sustain crop yield and build soil biological fertility, Deb Archdeacon1, Andrew Gulliver2 and David Cullen2, 1Agronomica, Wellington Mill, WA, 2Custom Composts, Nambeelup, WA

2. Effects of potassium (K) supply on plant growth, potassium uptake and grain Yield in wheat grown in grey sand, Qifu Ma1, Richard Bell1, Ross Brennan2 and Craig Scanlan2, 1School of Environmental Science, Murdoch University, 2Department of Agriculture and Food

3. Improving fertiliser management: redefining the …

Crop Updates 2011 - Farming Systems, Janette Drew, Rob Grima, Bob French, Raj Malik, Mark Seymour, Christine Zaicou-Kunesch, Glenn Mcdonald, Brendon Nicholas, Dennis Van Gool, James Fisher, Peter Tozer, Doug Abrecht, Michael Robertson, Cameron Weeks, Michael O'Conner, Peter Newman, Mike Clarke, Andrew Blake, Gordon Macaulay, Vijay Jayasena, Syed M. Nasar-Abbas, Larisa Cato, Robert Loughman, Ken Quail

Crop Updates

This session covers twelve papers from different authors:

1. Fallowing 50% of the farm each year – does it pay? Janette Drew and Rob Grima

Department of Agriculture and Food

2. How crop sequences affect the productivity and resilience of cropping systems in two Western Australian environments, Bob French, Raj Malik, Mark Seymour, Department of Agriculture and Food

3. When is continuous wheat or barley sustainable? Christine Zaicou-Kunesch and Rob Grima Department of Agriculture and Food

4. Identifying constraints to bridging the yield gap, Glenn McDonald, Department of Agriculture and Food

5. Land constraints limiting wheat yields in …

Crop Updates 2011 - Cereals, David Bowran, Bill Crabtree, Peter Carberry, Peter Burges, Bevan Buirchell, Ben Curtis, Sarah Ellis, Brenda Shackley, Christine Zaicou, Siva Sivapalan, Penny Goldsmith, Gae Plunkett, Darshan Sharma, Mario D'Antuono, Art Diggle, Peter Mangano, Sally Peltzer, Michael Renton, Bill Macleod, Fumie Horiuchi, George Wyatt, Geoff Anderson, Richard Bell, Ross Brennan, Wen Chen, Penny Riffkin

Crop Updates

This session covers eleven papers from different authors:

OPENING, NEW CROP VARIETIES & DECISION SUPPORT

Opening

1. Overview of the 2010 season, David Bowran, Director, Practice and Systems Innovation, Department of Agriculture and Food,

2. My experience in a drought as a farmer and consultant, Bill Crabtree, Morawa, Western Australia

3. Meeting the productivity and sustainability challenges to Australian agriculture until 2030, Peter Carberry, CSIRO Sustainable Agriculture Flagship

New Crop Varieties

4. National Variety Trials (NTV) wheat variety performance – captivity vs broadacre, Peter Burgess, Kalyx Agriculture

5. WALAN2289 – a new lupin variety to replace …

Greener Pastures 2 - Nitrogen For Intensively Grazed Dairy Pastures, Martin Staines, Richard Morris, Tess Casson, Mike Bolland, Bill Russell, Ian Guthridge, John Lucey, Don Bennett

Bulletins 4000 -

We undertook three main studies during the Greener Pastures project:

1. From mid 2005 to late 2008, a farming systems study was undertaken with five rates of nitrogen fertiliser as the main treatment. This study will be referred to as the ‘nitrogen response farmlets’.

2. From 2006 to 2008 a series of smaller ‘supporting’ studies were completed to investigate how grazing management influences the pasture production gains from nitrogen fertiliser. This will be referred to as the ‘nitrogen by growth-stage study’.

3. From early 2009 to early 2010, a farming systems study was undertaken to investigate the potential to increase …

Greener Pastures 4 - Managing Potassium In Dairy Pastures, Mike Bolland, Ian Guthridge, Bill Russell, Martin Staines, John Lucey, Richard Morris

Bulletins 4000 -

We undertook three studies into the potassium requirements of high rainfall pastures: 1. Between 1999 and 2009, soil testing was conducted in 48 dairy paddocks at Vasse Research Centre (VRC) in the south-west of Western Australia (WA). This study will be referred to as the VRC soil test study.

2. Between 2002 and 2007, a potassium experiment was undertaken at Boyanup to improve our knowledge of potassium requirements of intensively grazed ryegrass pastures. This will be referred to as the Boyanup potassium experiment.

3. Between 2006 and 2010, potassium experiments were undertaken on two partner farms of the Greener Pastures …

Greener Pastures 5 - Managing Sulphur In Dairy Pastures, Mike Bolland, Ian Guthridge, Bill Russell, Martin Staines, John Lucey, Richard Morris

Bulletins 4000 -

During 1999-2009, soil testing for sulfur (S) was undertaken on 48 paddocks at the Vasse Research Centre (VRC) at Busselton, in the south-west of Western Australia (WA).

Paddocks had been grazed intensively by dairy cows and their young stock over a period of 10 years, as part of the Vasse Milk Farmlets and Greener Pastures farming system projects. Pasture consisted of annual ryegrasses with some subterranean clover. Soils in the 48 paddocks were 1-2 m sand to sandy loam over massive clay, known locally as Abba sand. For many soils in the region, including Abba sands, the topography is flat …

Greener Pastures 6 - Managing Soil Acidity In Dairy Pastures, Mike Bolland, Bill Russell, Martin Staines, Richard Morris, John Lucey, D L. Bennett

Bulletins 4000 -

During 1999-2009, soil testing for pH (in CaCl2) was used to determine lime application for 48 paddocks at the Vasse Research Centre at Busselton, in the south-west of Western Australia (WA).

Paddocks had been grazed intensively by dairy cows and their young stock over a period of 10 years, as part of the Vasse Milk Farmlets and Greener Pastures farming system projects. Pasture consisted of annual ryegrasses with some subterranean clover. Soils in the 48 paddocks were 1-2 m sand to sandy loam over massive clay, known locally as Abba sand.

For many soils in the region, including Abba sands, …

Photo Highlights Of The 14th Heart Of America Grazing Conference, Heart Of America Grazing Conference

Kentucky Grazing Conference

No abstract provided.

Extended Grazing And Reduced Stored Feed, Edward N. Ballard

Kentucky Grazing Conference

Feed costs represent the major cost in most livestock production systems. A recently completed analysis of 225 Standardized Performance Analysis (SPA) Beef Cow Records on herds in Illinois and Iowa showed that feed cost was the overriding factor determining profitability, explaining over 57 percent of the herd-to-herd variation. Typically the cost of supplying nutrients to ruminant livestock is much greater using harvested feedstuffs as opposed to grazing pastures or crop residues. The primary function of a grassland farm is to convert solar energy to marketable livestock products in the most efficient manner. The fewer steps between the animal product and …

Grazing Non-Traditional Forages, Jeff Mccutcheon

Kentucky Grazing Conference

In the Heart of America region we are blessed with perennial cool-season grasses and legumes as the bulk of our forage production. Efficiently taking advantage of that perennial production is the focus of most grazing operations. Occasionally there are times when the production from our cool- season grass and legume pasture is not sufficient. In Ohio, that is late summer and late fall through winter till early spring. Nontraditional forages could be used when cool season forages are not producing. Non-traditional forages can provide a large volume, of high-quality feed during specific times of the year.

Grazing Goats And Cattle And Other Co-Species Grazing, Jason Tower

Kentucky Grazing Conference

Multispecies, co-species, mixed species grazing, it does not really matter what it is called they all revolve around the same premise; grazing more than one species of livestock on a given land area to improve resource use efficiencies.

Integrating Weed Management Practices To Enhance Productivity Of Grazed Pastures, Jonathan D. Green, Joshua Allen Tolson

Kentucky Grazing Conference

As animal grazing has intensified within Kentucky and the surrounding region problematic weeds such as tall ironweed, spiny amaranth, horsenettle, buttercup, common cocklebur, and thistles have been increasing. These weeds become prominent in pastures because they have spines, thorns, or are unpalatable to animals. Animals selectively graze and avoid these weedy plants and with intensive grazing practices their populations are allowed to increase. Livestock producers are seeking ways to increase pasture productivity by minimizing the impact of these and other weeds on grazed lands.

Mob Grazing, High Density Grazing, Management-Intensive Grazing: What's The Difference?, Mark Kennedy

Kentucky Grazing Conference

Before we can answer that question we need to review some basic fundamentals of successful grazing management. Four goals of any sustainable grazing management strategy should be: 1) Meet the nutritional needs of livestock from standing pasture as many days as possible; 2) Optimize pasture yield, quality and persistence; 3) Maintain or enhance the natural resource base; 4) Integrate the appropriate technology and knowledge into a practical and profitable system that fits your available resources and meets your objectives. We will use these goals to compare and contrast these 2 grazing management techniques. Both techniques should be considered tools in …

Organic Dairying: Role Of Grazing, Jake Schmitz

Kentucky Grazing Conference

Certified organic and many conventional dairy farmers are using grazing techniques for a number of reasons, including building better soil, reducing feed costs, improving milk quality, and enhancing herd health. Additionally, certified organic farmers must utilize their pastures because the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) organic rule requires organic cows to graze. Both the farmer and the USDA are working hard to ensure that “organic dairy” is synonymous with “grazing cows,” because the organic consumer vehemently demands dairy products from pasture-grazed livestock.

Impact Of The Endophyte On Animal Production, Glen Aiken

Kentucky Grazing Conference

Tall fescue is productive and well adapted to the soils and climate in a region commonly referred to as the “fescue belt”, which overlays the transition zone between the temperate northeast and subtropical southeast. Persistence of the grass under low input management is attributed to a fungal endophyte that infects most fescue plants and produces alkaloids that impart tolerance to heat, drought, and grazing stresses. Unfortunately, the endophyte also produces ergot alkaloids that can induce toxicosis. Signs of “fescue toxicosis” are elevated body temperature and respiration rate, retention of winter hair coats through the summer months, hormonal imbalances, and reduction …

How Much Pasture Do I Have And How Long Will It Feed My Cows?, S. Ray Smith

Kentucky Grazing Conference

A very common question asked by cattlemen is, “How much pasture do I have and how long will it feed my cows.” The purpose of this paper is to provide some guidelines and tools for answering this question. In pasture systems, determining the amount of pasture is much harder than in grain-based feeding systems because feed may be allocated for more than one day and feed quantity and quality is influenced by weather, fertility, stand density, and season. In addition, not all the available forage is consumed and the plants continue to grow after they are grazed. Variation in quality …

From Confinement To Grazing, Bill Payne

Kentucky Grazing Conference

A Tale of Two Businesses:

I would like share an account of a transition from a conventional dairy operation to our current Management Intensive Grazing (MIG) enterprise. In 1974, I joined my father who had been dairying on a 265 acre farm in Lincoln County, Kentucky for twenty five years. We fed our registered Holsteins corn silage and alfalfa haylage and purchased a manufactured feed. Our herd of 70 Holsteins spent most of their time on concrete. We did make an effort to allow access to an exercise lot when weather permitted. However, during most of the 1990’s we spent …

Foreword And Conference Information [2011], Garry D. Lacefield, Christi L. Forsythe

Kentucky Grazing Conference

No abstract provided.

Managing Complexity In Modern Farming, Ross Kingwell

Natural Resources Research Articles

Modern farming in Australia is no longer simple. Farms are large, multi-enterprise businesses underpinned by expensive capital investments, changing production technologies, volatile markets and social challenges. The complexity of modern broadacre farming leads to the question: what is the nature of the relationship between farm business complexity and farm profitability? This study uses bioeconomic farm modelling and employs eight measures of complexity to examine the profitability and complexity of a wide range of broadacre farming systems in Australia. Rank order correlations between farm profitability and each measure of complexity show inconsistent relationships, although the most profitable farming systems are found …