Welcome to the final post in our 3-part blog series on Testing and Measuring the Quality of your Cattle's Winter Hay. Please be sure to read Part 1 - Why should we care about hay quality? and Part 2 - Testing Hay Quality In Part 1, we discuss the importance of, and the need for, testing the quality of your cattle's winter hay. In Part 2, we dive into the methodology of … [Read more...] about Testing and Measuring the Quality of your Cattle’s Winter Hay – PART 3: Receiving and Understanding your Forage Analysis Results
Hay-making and Feeding
Winter Comes Early on the Cattle Farm: Snow, Ice and All That’s Nice (and sometimes, not so nice!)
As it happens every year, winter has officially begun here on the cattle farm. Technically, this is still "fall-time", but mother nature doesn't pay attention to a calendar. Dreams of the snow and ice waiting until December, are just that - dreams. For some reason, I am having a harder time adjusting to the start of winter than I did last year and the year before. I am … [Read more...] about Winter Comes Early on the Cattle Farm: Snow, Ice and All That’s Nice (and sometimes, not so nice!)
Testing and Measuring the Quality of your Cattle’s Winter Hay – PART 2: Testing Hay Quality
Welcome to Part 2 of our blog series on Testing and Measuring the Quality of your Cattle's Winter Hay. Please be sure to read Part 1 - Why should we care about hay quality? Today's post will focus on the methodology of collecting a forage sample, the tools/supplies needed, and where you can send your forage sample for analysis. We live in Northern Maine and send our … [Read more...] about Testing and Measuring the Quality of your Cattle’s Winter Hay – PART 2: Testing Hay Quality
Testing and Measuring the Quality of your Cattle’s Winter Hay – PART 1: Why should we care about hay quality?
This will be a 3-part blog series on: Testing and Measuring the Quality of your Cattle's Winter Hay. Today's post is Part 1 - Why should we care about hay quality? (Part 2 of our series is ready to read as well! Please check it out!) Forage costs are arguably the highest expense for any cattle operation, especially for those farmers whom feed-out hundreds of hay bales … [Read more...] about Testing and Measuring the Quality of your Cattle’s Winter Hay – PART 1: Why should we care about hay quality?
Thoughts on Winter Hay for Beef Cattle
HAY Such a small word but such a HUGE, all-consuming and encompassing part of our lives here on the cattle farm. It seems we are always talking about hay. In real simple terms, for us, no hay for the winter = no cattle for the winter = no baby calves for the spring/summer = no paycheck. Hay consumes our thoughts and dictates our herd management plans, year-round. If not … [Read more...] about Thoughts on Winter Hay for Beef Cattle