Live from the Farm: Diverse Forages for Dairy Operations

Hear from Josh Hiemstra as he discusses the many ways he integrates annual and perennial forages into his farming operation for feeding dairy cattle. We looked at trials where Josh is co-seeding and interseeding forages with silage corn, as well as testing different nitrogen application rates. We also saw a diverse cover crop cocktail mix sown after wheat harvest. To top things off, we checked out an establishing alfalfa-grass hay field that was seeded with a nurse crop following last year’s forage mix.

Josh was joined by Becky Wagner, agronomist for Fond du Lac Land and Water Conservation Department. Becky described how the county is helping farmers like Josh implement soil health-building practices with cost-share opportunities.