Jerry Volesky - Nebraska Extension Range and Forage Specialist

Alfalfa harvest

Pasture and Forage Minute: Alfalfa Irrigation and Last Cutting, Winter Annual Brome Control

September 8, 2022
Tips on scheduling final irrigation and last cutting for alfalfa this fall, and controlling cheatgrass and wild oats in pastures.

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Orchardgrass
With its rapid regrowth rates, orchardgrass is an excellent option to add to a cool-season grass mixture for late summer forage planting.

Pasture and Forage Minute: Valuing Drought Forage, Late Summer Planting, Managing High Nitrates

August 24, 2022
Insights on how forage prices should be adjusted this year for droughty crops, the optimal grasses for late summer forage planting and how to manage high nitrates in forages.

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Corn silage

Pasture and Forage Minute: Storage Considerations for Corn Silage and Hay

August 17, 2022
Nebraska Extension educators share recommendations on harvesting and storing drought-stressed corn for silage, and the most efficient ways to minimize hay bale weather loss.

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Corn silage
For high quality silage, inoculants alongside proper harvesting and storage can reduce the risk of spoilage and maintain its condition.

Pasture and Forage Minute: Considerations for Inoculants, Thinning and Heat-stressed Alfalfa

August 11, 2022
Extension recommendations on using inoculants to preserve corn silage quality, the best grasses to interseed in alfalfa and timing for cutting alfalfa hay in heat-stressed conditions.

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Drought-stressed corn
If considering drought-stressed corn for livestock feed this year, remember to check the labels of any chemicals applied to the corn for grazing, haying or harvesting restrictions.

Pasture and Forage Minute: Managing Volunteer Wheat, Drought-stressed Corn Options

July 27, 2022
Solutions for managing volunteer wheat in cooperation with neighbors, grazing heat-stressed forages and deciding on a course for drought-stressed corn.

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Sorghum-sudangrass
To put up good quality hay from summer annual grasses like sorghum-sudan hybrids, remember this motto: "Cut it early, cut it high. Crimp the stems and they will dry." (CropWatch file photo)

Pasture and Forage Minute: Options for Wet Hay Meadow, Harvesting Summer Annual Forages

July 20, 2022
Nebraska Extension educators share tips and techniques for addressing wet hay meadows and summer annual forages at harvest time, plus info on this year's Nebraska Grazing Conference.

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Grasshopper
With conditions remaining dry this summer, if the grasshopper population in an established field is higher than five hoppers per square yard throughout the field or 15 hoppers per square yard in field margins, insecticides should be considered.

Pasture and Forage Minute: Grasshopper Control, Safe Grazing Guidelines And Blue-green Algae Poisoning

July 13, 2022
Tips for effective control of grasshoppers in alfalfa, prussic acid poisoning from summer annual forages and blue-green algae in livestock water.

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Cattle in thunderstorm
Speeding up grazing during periods of precipitation and slowing down during dry times is a great strategy to use while adjusting for weather conditions.

Pasture and Forage Minute: Forage Options for Post-Harvest Wheat Fields, Grazing Strategies for Inclement Weather

July 7, 2022
Extension educators share insights on forage options for dryland and irrigated wheat fields after harvest, and how to adjust grazing during periods of both wet and dry climate.

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