Beef Tips

Tag: forage

Forage analysis: Don’t guess…Test!

Justin Waggoner, Beef Systems Specialist, Garden City

Forage growing conditions across Kansas ranged from exceptionally wet in some regions to drought in others. The much-needed rainfall in the western regions of the state were a welcome change but also created an increase in weed pressure in hay fields and made timely harvesting of forages challenging. The rapid on-set of drought in the central and North-central region of the state stressed forages and crops mid-season. All of these conditions could potentially affect forage quality and may greatly increase the risk of mold and nitrates in harvested forages, which can be harmful and toxic to livestock. This is the year to test your harvested forages! As the old saying goes “don’t guess…test”. Continue reading “Forage analysis: Don’t guess…Test!”

Annual Forage Insurance: New Policy Options and 2022 Performance

What is Annual Forage Insurance?

Annual Forage (AF) insurance is a rainfall index product for annual crops produced for forage.[1] AF insures against reduced forage yield due to less precipitation than normal. When rainfall falls below a set amount, a payout or indemnity is made. Precipitation (rainfall) is measured locally, in an approximately 14×16 mile area called a “grid”. A producer selects the months (intervals), weight (importance) of months, and % precipitation (coverage level) they want to insure for. Continue reading “Annual Forage Insurance: New Policy Options and 2022 Performance”

Finding the Best Deals for Feed and Forage

By Dale Blasi, stocker, forages, nutrition and management specialist and Sandy Johnson, extension beef specialist, Colby

In Kansas, drought conditions are a common occurrence and livestock producers consequently plan for the worst and hope for the best. Complicating matters this year is the extent to which drought is impacting areas of the U.S., the dramatic increase in feed cost and transportation cost for purchased feed. How does a producer adapt to the current situation without affecting cowherd productivity, while also keeping feed costs from breaking the bank? Continue reading “Finding the Best Deals for Feed and Forage”

Value of Forage Insurance during Drought

 By Jennifer Ifft, agricultural policy extension specialist

On October 18, 2022, nearly two-thirds of all Kansas counties were reported as experiencing extreme or exceptional drought. Cattle producers can take many actions to mitigate the impact of drought, including purchasing forage insurance, or Pasture, Rainfall, Forage (PRF) insurance. The deadline to purchase PRF for 2023 is December 1, 2022, but the premium would not be billed until September 23, 2023. In this article, we discuss the what PRF is and report PRF payouts to-date by drought status for all 105 Kansas counties. In 2022, nearly 2.9 million acres were enrolled in PRF in Kansas; USDA reported 15.6 million acres of pastureland in Kansas in 2017. PRF premiums for 2022 totaled about $14 million and PRF has already paid out over $20 million in indemnities.

Continue reading “Value of Forage Insurance during Drought”

Ten things to know about Pasture Rangeland and Forage Insurance

By Jennifer Ifft, agricultural policy extension specialist

The deadline to sign up for Pasture Rangeland and Forage (PRF) insurance for the 2022 calendar year with a crop insurance agent is December 1, 2021. Here are ten key facts about the program. Continue reading “Ten things to know about Pasture Rangeland and Forage Insurance”

Response of vegetation to flooding

By Walt Fick, extension rangeland management specialist

Excessive rainfall in much of Kansas in 2019 has caused flooding.  Vegetation response to flooding depends primarily on duration and frequency. Flooding impacts the amount of oxygen, carbon dioxide, temperature, and light available for photosynthesis.  Impeded gas exchange results in a depletion of carbohydrate reserves, reduced energy available to the plant, disrupts cells, and impairs nutrient uptake, resulting in plant death.  Loss of vegetation is also temperature dependent.  It takes fewer days of submergence to cause stand loss as soil temperatures increase. Continue reading “Response of vegetation to flooding”

Forage Analysis: How can we use the numbers?

By Justin Waggoner, Extension Beef Specialist, Garden City, KS

Analytical testing of forages is occasionally viewed by cattle producers as an exercise with limited practical application that generates numbers only a nutritionist with advanced study in analytical chemistry can discern.  However, practical application is the fundamental reason we evaluate forages and feedstuffs. The objective of analytical testing of forages and feedstuffs is to improve our ability to meet the animal’s nutrient requirements, and better estimate animal performance. One of the easiest ways we can utilize the numbers resulting from forage analysis is to strategically manage a hay inventory. Continue reading “Forage Analysis: How can we use the numbers?”