South Dakota: Cover Crops After Small Grains

David Karki SDSU Extension Agronomy Field Specialist Due to extremely wet spring and consistent moisture through the summer, grain harvests have slowed down a bit across South Dakota. According to USDA- National Agricultural Statistics Service (as of Aug 18th, 2019) only 76% of winter wheat harvest has been completed in the state well behind 95% of five-year average. Similarly, only 27% of spring wheat and 60% of oat are harvested, well behind 75%…

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Hay Quality Considerations

Adele Harty, SDSU Extension Cow/Calf Field Specialist The weather-related opportunities and challenges that 2019 has presented are forcing farmers and ranchers to alter “normal” management decisions. The precipitation and forage growth that the state has experienced this year is something most have never seen and may never see again, but with the additional rainfall, comes variation in forage quality. SDSU Extension encourages producers to test hay and forage crops every year, but if…

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