Illinois Forage and Grassland Council

Luckily, the hay at our farm grew well this spring and was baled the first week of June. The yield was three more big square bales than last year. I am thrilled because now it has been really dry.

Testing hay will help to predict animal performance. “We test hay to use it properly,” said Ron Tombaugh, a director of the Illinois Forage and Grassland Council.

The goal at River Oak Ranch is to provide the best meal possible every day for the cattle with a regenerative, adaptive, management-intensive rotational grazing system.

Forages are the base component of cattle rations. “When you’re trying to maximize animal performance or keep the animal’s health in tip-top shape, it starts with the animal’s diet,” said Travis Meteer, University of Illinois Extension commercial agriculture educator.

Our weather has turned dry and temperatures are rising, as well. This has taken us from wanting some respite from rain events to hoping for a cooling and invigorating shower.

Paul Walker enjoys working with Illinois beef producers and is looking forward to continuing his position as president of the Illinois Beef Association.

These are busy days here at River Oak as we prepare to host the Illinois Beef Association Summer Conference field day and Illinois Forage and Grassland Council forage expo. When you read this all will be over and we will have either lucked out with the weather or not.

For the first time, Illinois Beef Association will be hosting its Summer Conference and Annual Meeting in conjunction with the Illinois Forage and Grassland Council Forage Expo on June 7-8 in Macomb.

These are indeed turbulent times. The world is unsettled. We don’t seem clear of COVID. Issues abound in our local areas, our state and nation. And now to add to the chaos, it is an election year and campaigns are as ugly as ever and longer, too.

Rotational grazing and quality hay are important for conception rates in cattle. “It is important for the cows to have a good body condition score for good conception rates and that goes back to rotational grazing and good quality hay,” said Terry Bachtold.

Fertilizer applications are important for producing quality hay. “Our ground is not the best, so if you want a crop you’ve got to fertilize,” said Steve Degner during a panel discussion at the Forages for Feed meeting presented by the Illinois Forage and Grassland Council.

The early March weather has finally allowed us to complete the frost seeding. Conditions improved rapidly over the last weekend in February.

Controlling alfalfa harvest is an important value of making baleage.