Coming off of the wettest year in recorded Ohio history, and heading towards a spring full of renewed promise, one discussion I’m hearing over and over regards what forage growers are planning to do differently in 2012. While record rainfall may have created an abundant amount of forage last summer, it also did it’s share of damage as harvest and storage losses may have also reached all time highs.

In December at the 2011 Buckeye Shepherds Symposium Dr. Bill Weiss of the OSU Animal Science Department gave a presentation on making and storing forages for ruminants. The session was recorded and published on-line. It covers nearly all of the considerations for harvesting and storing forages in order to maintain the highest quality possible. Forages are expensive to grow, expensive to harvest, and become even more expensive if not stored and fed properly.

If you plan to mechanically harvest any forage this year, set aside 45 minutes of your time, follow this link, and review this presentation . . . it will be time well spent this winter!