New seed and agronomic information, techniques, and a review of silage harvest best practices were taught at the California Silage Conference on July 24, 2019. Over 130 farmers, dairymen, chopping contractors, dairy nutritionists, and industry service personnel were welcomed by the Frank Fernandes family of Legacy Ranches in Pixley, CA. Attendees moved through stations featuring seed corn genetic opportunities, specialized …
USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) announced that the February 2019 income over feed cost margin was $8.22 per hundredweight (cwt.), triggering the second payment for dairy producers who purchase the appropriate level of coverage under the new but yet-to-be established Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC) program. DMC, which replaces the Margin Protection Program for Dairy, is a voluntary risk management program …
More than 20 dairy farmers across California have been pioneering the use of subsurface drip irrigation to grow feed crops, including corn, wheat, and alfalfa. By working with innovative companies and non-governmental organizations, dairy farmers have helped take sustainable farming to the next level. They are reducing water use by 47 to 67% and improving groundwater protection. Their collective efforts …
It takes time for the nitrogen found in dairy manure water to become available to feed crops out in the field, and as dairy producers don’t want to under or over fertilize their feed crops, the UC Cooperative Extension is conducting a research trial to find out more regarding how manure water interacts in the soil with plant root systems. …
Field Day Covers Pesticide Rules, Alfalfa Pest & Field Management University of California extension advisors and a county official will update farmers about the latest trends in alfalfa field and pest management and pesticide regulations during a Tuesday, July 31 field day in Firebaugh. Open to all growers and pest control advisors, the free field day will be from 10 …
The Alfalfa Project (TAP) recently released its environmental impact report of the last three years, sharing that water usage on alfalfa farms using its precision agriculture practices and subsurface drip irrigation dropped by nearly half. The 47% water savings totaled 3.1 billion gallons of water over three years on 1,100 acres during 2015-2016 and 1,430 acres during 2017 that took …
As fertilizer becomes more and more regulated in California, farmers are turning to other crops with lower nitrogen requirements. For this reason, sorghum may appeal to feed growers, as it doesn’t require near as much nitrogen to grow. Watch this interview with Bob Hutmacher from the UC Cooperative Extension and read more in California Dairy Magazine.
Although we received a lot more rain this year, the threat of drought is not over for California agriculture, and dairy producers are considering sorghum as alternative feed crop to corn. There is a difference in nutritional value that will need to be addressed in the feed mixture; however, irrigation needs are much different from corn as well, and drought-tolerance …
Do you have voles present in the field? If so they can cause an average of 11% damage in alfalfa, a percentage that can’t be ignored. But how do you manage these pests. Watch this brief video interview with UC Wildlife specialist Roger Baldwin as he answers the question, and read more in California Dairy Magazine.
Due to a serious new infestation of the sugarcane aphid in Southern California sorghum fields late last summer, UC Cooperative Extension Farm Advisor Nicholas Clark offered some advice to feed growers to help better prepared them this coming season for future infestations of this invasive pest.
