Forage's future - Beyond just feed, It's nutrition

Sep 06, 2023

The essence of cattle farming in North America is tied to forage. Given the challenges of recent years, like droughts, squeezing more value from every acre is crucial.

Now, there's a rising appetite for new forage breeds, especially those that can enhance milk and beef output. And the numbers tell the tale. The forage seed market, valued at $22,808 million USD in 2021, might see a twofold surge by 2031.

But what's behind this surge? One word: digestibility. Livestock benefits more from crops that they can easily digest. A primary focus in this direction is alfalfa. By reducing lignin in its stems, its digestibility is increased. And that's not all. With its high protein content, alfalfa might soon find its way into plant-based dishes too.

Besides alfalfa, there's BMR corn, identified nearly 100 years ago. Known for their higher fiber digestibility, its modern versions are showing promising results, at par with conventional hybrids.

However, the forage story isn't just about digestibility. The entire nutritional composition, including traits like resistance to diseases and ability to survive harsh winters, defines its real value.

Source : wisconsinagconnection

Video: Learning to Wrench From Dad the Hard Way

Harvest is a week out and the farm picked this week to fall apart. The truck needs a battery, the barn curtain's got a problem, and the corn and beans are telling us we're out of time to get it all fixed.

So it's a full day of wrenching. Tork supervises while I get the truck back running, then we're out at the hog barn where one rusted up part has the whole curtain system hung up. Ladder work, cable work, and a little dad-and-son disagreement about the right way to do it. We close it out walking the fields, shelling beans and checking corn, because whether everything's fixed or not, harvest starts when harvest starts.

Chapters: 00:00 Everything breaks the week before harvest 01:00 Tork supervises while I fix the truck 12:30 Out to the barn to find the curtain problem 14:30 One rusty part hung up the whole curtain 20:00 Running the curtain cable from the ladder 24:00 Walking the beans and corn before harvest 26:30 Wrapping up

We're a 6th generation family farm in southeast Iowa showing the real ups and downs of pig farming and row crop farming. No script, just the work. Subscribe and follow along.

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