Latest News From ROW CROPS

Good Time to Scout Fields for Toxic Ergot

Ergot (Claviceps purpurea) is an airborne fungus that affects grass seed heads.

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BeefTalk: Grazing Systems are Major Land Resource Areas

A ranch’s profitability and sustainability are based on understanding grazing systems.

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Ugly Week for Grains and Cattle Futures

Corn and soybean futures sharply extended their price pullback amid improved weather conditions and active fund selling.

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USDA Announces Conservation Incentives for Working Grass, Range and Pasture Lands

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that beginning Sept. 1, farmers and ranchers can apply for financial assistance to help conserve working grasslands, rangeland and pastureland while maintaining the areas as livestock grazing lands.

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August the Time to Stockpiling Bermudagrass

Stockpiled bermudagrass can be grazed from October-December.

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Integrating Perennial Peanut into Grass Pastures

Perennial peanut can make a nice addition to your pastures.

Pastures are Posing Many Challenges this Year

This year has been a wet one and that has made growing quality forage a bit of a challenge.

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Understanding The Intensive In Intensive Grazing

What do you think of when you hear the phrase ‘intensive grazing’?

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Identify Cogongrass Now: Look for the Seedheads

Monitoring your pastures for cogongrass is easy if you can spot the seedheads.

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Grass Seed Farmers Expect Low Yields Due to Drought

Drought and heat have stressed Oregon's grass seed crops in multiple ways, which has farmers expecting a substantial decrease in yields now that harvest is underway.

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Advanced Grazing School to Focus on Warm-Season Annuals

Producers can learn how forages can enhance their operations by attending the Advanced Kentucky Grazing School Aug. 17 at the University of Kentucky Spindletop Research Farm in Lexington.

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Hey, That is a Fire

It might sound strange, but with no apparent ignition source, hay bales can burst into flames and cause much damage to storage facilities or spark a raging wildfire.

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Forage Selection is Key to Drought Survival

As this summer has shown, forage production from cool-season pasture and hay fields across the state can be dramatically affected by drought.

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Check Quality of Late Season Ryegrass Hay

This was a good spring for annual forages like ryegrass.

Plan When To Cut Grass Hay

How about cutting your grass hay to match grass nutrient content with nutritional needs of your livestock?

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Forage-Temperature and Solar Interaction on Feed Intake

During the summer months grazing ruminants may show signs of distress with only short periods of grazing from mid-morning to late afternoon and spending other times in the shade.

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Overseeding Warm-season Legumes into Native Grasses

Overseeding legumes in cool-season grasses is common, but doing it in warm season grasses is a whole other ball game.

Endophyte-free Tall Fescue: Should I be Concerned About Endophytes in Forage Grasses?

What are endophytes and what impact could they have on my livestock?

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Baseball and Forage Production have a Lot in Common

Growing forage and baseball have a lot of similarities.

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High Forage Quality Important for Beef Cattle's Nutrition

High quality forage is essential to beef cattle’s nutrition and beef producers’ bottom lines, said University of Georgia Extension forage specialist Dennis Hancock.

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Raise Cutting Height When First Harvest Is Delayed

Have you harvested your first cutting of alfalfa yet?

Hay, Forage Producers Wage War on Fire Ants

Southern farmers may never win the battle against imported fire ants, but aggressive tactics can slow the pests’ invasion, reduce damage and prevent further spread across the United States.

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Cool, Rainy Spring Boosts Clover

The wet, cool spring has been a boon for clover.

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Storms Bring Twin Headaches for Livestock Owners: Disease, Diminished Hay

This spring’s wicked storms are giving Arkansas ranchers two kinds of headaches: declining hay quality and increased concern for livestock health due debris and bacteria stirred by floodwater.

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Hybrid Pearl Millet may Resolve some Forage Sorghum Concerns

Hybrid pearl millet may be a suitable replacement for forage sorghums susceptible to sugarcane aphid, according to Texas A&M AgriLife Extension experts.

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Brookfield Said to Raise $300 Million for Brazil Farmland Fund

Brookfield Asset Management Inc., Canada’s largest alternative asset manager, reportedly has raised $300 million for a new agricultural fund targeting Brazilian farmland.

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Soil Testing Pastureland – Depth Matters

Proper soil sampling depth is critical for pasture soil testing.

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Controlling Musk Thistle

Does anybody like musk thistles? If not, let’s do something about them.

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As Latin America Grows, Agricultural Land Expansion Slows

But a new study of satellite imagery from Latin America suggests the rate of that growth may be downshifting.

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Adding Options with Annual Forages

In many areas of the nation, the pasture acres are in short supply. This, coupled with the fact that precipitation so far this growing season is below normal has cattle producers looking for additional feed resources.

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Are Alfalfa Weevils Out Yet?

The early warm temperatures we experienced this spring are favorable for insect activity and we have already seen army cutworms feeding in winter wheat and alfalfa fields.

Fescue Hay Comes Up Short in May as Weather, Day Length Cut Quality

First-cutting of hay from fescue fields fizzled after a promising start, say University of Missouri forage specialists.

Time to Kill Toxic Fescue, When Grass Grows Strong

"Now is the time to kill toxic tall fescue," says Craig Roberts, forage specialist.

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Windrow Grazing Annual Forages in the Growing Season to Increase Harvest Efficiency and Productivity

Windrow or swath grazing annual forages in the spring and summer offers two potential advantages over direct grazing.

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Consider Early Grazing Alternatives

Grazing native range grasses too early can reduce forage production.

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Drought Concerns: Milo and Forage Sorghum as Potential Alternatives

The region is lacking a lot of needed moisture going into the growing season. Due to these conditions we need to start looking at potential alternatives for forage production.

Spring Pastures are too High in Protein

After hauling feed to cows all winter, there is no better thing than turning cows out to spring pastures. However, spring pastures are very lush and high in protein.

Choosing the Right Grazing Methods Helps Growers Maximize Forage Yields

With the grazing season in almost full swing, University of Arkansas forage experts are reminding growers to consider which grazing methods will best help them get the most out of their forage stands and pastures.

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Pasture Walks and Field Tours at Purdue Grazing Workshop

The Southern Indiana Purdue Ag Center in Dubois will host the "Grazing 102" workshop June 9 and 10.

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Early Season Grazing Targets Kentucky Bluegrass

NDSU research shows early intensive grazing has reduced bluegrass growth.

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Northern Utah Ranchers Grapple with Black Grass Bug

Northern Utah ranchers already dealing with low water supply are now facing a larger than normal infestation of a black grass bug that kills grass needed for cattle to graze.

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Forage Plots, New Equipment to be Featured at O.D. Butler Field Day May 15

New forage planting and harvesting equipment, plus demonstration plots, will be featured at the 29th annual O.D. Butler Forage Field Day scheduled May 15 at Circle X Land & Cattle Company Camp Cooley Ranch Division.

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Pasture Weed Control Time is Now

The extremely wet spring has kept many ranchers out of their pastures so now is the time to control pasture weeds.

Livestock Producers Need Stocking Rate Reduction Plan

Producers should be proactive in case drought is a problem this year.

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Hay Made in May is Better Any Day, So Be ready

April showers that drive corn farmers crazy make better grass, and hay, for livestock farmers.

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Weed Management on the Range

Familiarize yourself with the declared noxious weeds for your area.

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Farmers Turn to Cattle Grazing to Improve Soil, Bottom Lines

Advocates of managed grazing say that makes for healthier pasture, healthier soil — and a healthier bottom line.

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Research Shows Late-Season Burning Helps Control Sericea in a Big Way

A K-State beef cattle scientist discusses a new approach to suppressing growth of a noxious weed, sericea lespedeza.

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Spring Pasture Management for 2015

Managing the forage resource to better manage and extend grazing opportunities.

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Prevent Grass Tetany on Lush Spring Pastures

Grass tetany is a common problem in livestock usually prevalent in the early spring grazing season.