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With feed being the highest cost in livestock production, farmers use pasture as a natural way to meet the nutritional needs of their animals. Animals allow agriculturalists to utilize land that may be unsuitable for traditional cropping in a way that benefits the property itself. Cattle, sheep, horses, or goats can use grass to produce…
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The prolonged cold weather during the Christmas holiday has a lot of producers asking, “Are my winter annuals going to regrow?” Unfortunately, there isn’t a clear answer that we can offer to this question. Many cool season forages can handle subfreezing temps for short periods and the degree of damage depends on air temperature, soil…
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WHEN IS THE BEST TIME TO PUT N ON FESCUE? July 2019– Progressive Forage Grower Magazine Article Dennis Hancock, PhD. | Professor and Extension Forage Agronomist, Univ. of Georgia Every spring, there is a chorus of calls and emails “when is the best time to put nitrogen (N) on tall fescue?” The answer that I…
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By Dr. Bill Anderson, Research Geneticist, USDA-ARS When I started as perennial forage grass breeder for ARS sixteen years ago, the primary goal was to develop a cold-tolerant seeded bermudagrass since Tifton 85 seemed to satisfy the sprigged market. The battle was to develop a seeded forage that had high biomass but also high seed production. …
Posted in: Bermudagrass, bermudagrass stem maggot, Grazing, Hay, insects, Uncategorized, Warm Season Perrenials -
Will Hudson, Lisa Baxter and Dennis Hancock We’ve had a number of calls from growers and agents in the last week or so concerned that they should be spraying for BSM. Even in south GA, the flies are just now starting to show up. You may be able to find some damaged stems, but most…
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Authors: Krishona Martinson, PhD, University of Minnesota and Dennis Hancock, PhD, University of Georgia. Photo Credit: Aubrey Jaqueth, PhD, University of Minnesota Question: Since baleage is becoming more readily available, I’m wondering what your thoughts are on feeding it to horses? Should horses be vaccinated against botulism if feeding baleage? Is warm weather feeding of baleage…
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From the January 2019 Issue of the University of Minnesota Extension – Horse Newsletter…. CHOOSING ALTERNATIVE FEEDSTUFFS By: Marcia Hathaway, PhD, University of Minnesota Horse owners may be exploring alternative feedstuffs due to high hay costs, poor quality hay, and/or challenges associated with finding sufficient quantities of hay. When possible, quality hay should make up a…
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In this season of thankfulness, I am most grateful for my God, my family, and my country. Most of us are. Still, I would like to pay special homage to some great mentors that I have had. I have been blessed with many, many mentors. So many have been influential over my life and career…
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by Adam Speir and Dennis Hancock Humans are creatures of habit, and farmers are no different. We tend to make purchase decisions by looking at the immediate ticket price without considering long term costs. When considering winter annual seed costs, consider not only upfront seed costs, but also the overall costs and benefits of those…
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I received an email (see note below) earlier this week that had a common question about bermudagrass stem maggots. His question is below, along with my comments in bold. Some parts of the question have been altered to ensure anonymity. “I have (several) acres of Russell (bermudagrass) in (a county in northwest GA). Stem Maggots…
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