Harvesting Quality Forage Under Wet Conditions

Apr 23, 2014

Ethan Giebel

Even during the challenging hurricane season, Bob and Sam Morgan put up quality grass silage for the 8,000-cow dairy they contract with in the tropical part of Florida.

They do that by harvesting and storing the forage quite a bit below the 30-35% dry matter (DM) standard. Most times, it’s harvested at less than 25% DM.

“Harvesting at a lower percentage DM is done out of necessity and is ideal considering the situation we face over the summer months,” says Bob. “Everyone loses when you aren’t willing to adapt to the situation.”

The brothers operate Morgan Forage Harvesting. They used to custom harvest from their Rexford, KS, home base to Florida. But, five years ago, Bob moved his family near McArthur Farms, the Okeechobee, FL, dairy that now takes up the bulk of their custom work schedule.

They’ve learned, over time, how to contend with Florida’s considerable precipitation that falls during the June-through-November hurricane season.

Waiting out rain isn’t an option. Various bermudagrasses and Hermarthria grow on the farm and thrive in Florida’s climate. Letting the grasses become too mature results in a high volume of low-quality feed. “Any amount of bad feed harvested replaces good feed that could be in a ration,” says Bob. “You can never make enough good feed.”

They used to chop immediately following swathing to mimic direct cutting. “Once forages are on the ground and have been rained on in this climate, the quality diminishes quickly,” says Sam.

But now the Morgans have developed a direct-cut header for a self-propelled chopper that has made their grass harvest more efficient, they say.

“A direct-cut header is a necessity in wet conditions,” Sam adds. “The idea not only minimizes the risk of valuable crops being damaged by rain, it saves valuable time.”

This year, they’re actively working to get their third version of the header on the market.

Several manufacturers offer direct-cut headers for their choppers, Sam admits. “However, they all share some common drawbacks.” The largest is high-horsepower consumption, he believes.

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Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.