Several reduced, or conservation tillage (CT) approaches are currently being evaluated in Central Valley forage production systems. In theory, these practices reduce costs and minimize the time needed to go from one crop to the next. Recent single-year trials with dairy forage producers in Stanislaus and Tulare Counties have evaluated the potential of several CT systems and have identified a nu...

In the improvement of forage crop varieties knowledge of~e .extent of cross-fertilization is of value for (1) de~g the extent and randomness of crossing in breedmg procedures, (2) estimating varietal changes due to contamination and mechanical mixtures, and (3) evaluating effects of cross,fertilization in the development and production of synthetic and hybrid combinations. Genetic markers can a...

The preservation of forages by ensiling has been a well known technology for many years and is popular in North America and Europe. This technology requires high investment in facilities, accurate timing in the several stages of the ensiling process, and better understanding of the whole process than hay making demands. In addition to these demands, silage making and management in tropical cond...

A diversity of forage species and forage ecosystems suited to different management practices exists in the United States. The future of cultivar development in forages includes the new and evolving areas of genomic and transgenic technologies. Genomic research gained momentum with the publication of the complete DNA sequence of the human genome and has since expanded to plant species including ...

One of the challenges to increase milk production in a large pasture-based herd with an automatic milking system (AMS) is to grow forages within a 1-km radius, as increases in walking distance increases milking interval and reduces yield. The main objective of this study was to explore sustainable forage option technologies that can supply high amount of grazeable forages for AMS herds using th...

Greater precipitation use efficiency (PUE) and economic returns by increasing cropping frequency through the addition of summer crops to the dryland winter wheat-fallow (WF) cropping system have been reported in the semiarid Central Great Plains of USA. However, due to the highly variable nature of precipitation and uncertain water availability, selection of a crop with assured positive net ret...

Corn silage serves as a high-energy forage for dairy cows. This is most important for high-producing herds and on farms experiencing problems with making or buying highquality hay crop forage. Corn silage, with its relatively highenergy content, is also well adapted for use in low-cost rations for fattening cattle. Corn silage requires less labor per ton to produce than many other forage crops....