Harvest management is an integral component of producing high-quality forage. Often harvest timing and speed are discussed but equally important is the cutting height. While many grazing farmers have adopted the practice of leaving more un-grazed material in the pasture, many hay fields are still harvested as low as possible. This, in combination with frequent …
Continue reading “Influence of Cutting Height on Forage Quality”
This year, the University of Vermont Extension Northwest Crops and Soils team conducted an organic hard red winter wheat variety trial–both heirloom and modern day varieties–to determine those that perform best in our northern climate. The following provides harvest results from the trials at Borderview Research Farm in Alburgh, Vermont. The project evaluated 34 winter …
Continue reading “Preliminary Results from 2016 Winter Wheat Variety Trials Give Snapshot of Yields”
While the past weeks have brought some much needed rain to Vermont, above average accumulation of growing degree-days (GDDs) and droughty conditions for much of the growing season has impacted corn growth and development. We expect that we will start our silage corn harvest sometime this week. For more information, please refer to our 2012 …
The University of Vermont Extension Cereal Grain Quality Testing Laboratory is run by our NWCS team. Since it opened in 2011, we have tested hundreds of grain and hop samples from our research plots as well as commercial samples from farmers throughout the region. The lab is now back open for the season and ready …
Continue reading “School may be out for Summer but the Testing Lab is In Session!”
After a pretty dry Spring, the rain finally came and has pushed back a lot of our schedules. Hopefully you were able to make the first cut off your hay field, before all of this rain came in. If you haven’t, harvest will be pushed back and by that time the hay will lose up …