Weeds, Especially Challenging This Year in Both Pastures and Hay Fields!

Sep 05, 2025

By Victor Shelton

Weather has been the biggest variable again this year, and it’s made clear just how different conditions can be from one farm to the next. From my own place in southwest Indiana, we’ve had more rain than we’d like, while others nearby have been dealing with the opposite. No one set of observations covers every situation, so what I share each month comes from what I see at home, along with farm visits, conversations with producers and the questions and challenges you pass along. My goal is to offer ideas and principles you can adapt to your own conditions—rain or shine.

Weeds have been especially challenging this year across both pastures and hay fields. Prolonged periods of either excessive rainfall or drought have stressed desirable forage species, opening the door for opportunistic and often toxic weeds to expand. When cool-season grasses and legumes are weakened, weed species are quick to exploit the gaps.

Source : osu.edu

Video: CEOs of the Industry: Dr. Jay Miller, The Maschhoffs

CEOs of the Industry, we sit down with Dr. Jay Miller, CEO of The Maschhoffs, to explore his remarkable journey from veterinary consultant to executive leader at one of America’s largest family-owned pork production companies.

Dr. Miller shares how his outside-in perspective shaped his leadership approach, what it was like transitioning from advisor to CEO, and how he’s balancing the company’s proud multigenerational legacy with the need for transformation and innovation.

We dig into tough topics like navigating company contraction, reshaping culture for performance, and the critical role veterinary expertise plays at the executive level. Dr. Miller opens up about building a sustainable, modern pork business—not just environmentally, but operationally and culturally—and what it takes to attract and develop the next generation of talent in agriculture.

Looking ahead, he shares his five-year vision for The Maschhoffs and gives us a personal peek in the Fast Five round, where he reveals leadership insights, the best advice he’s received, and the three words that define The Maschhoffs in 2025.