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Forage variety selection
Find guidance on how to choose the right forage legumes, grasses and mixes for your farm, as well as distinguish among various species.
Variety trials
Identifying and selecting forages
Guide to forage legumes in Minnesota
- Distinguishing features, uses and varieties of several legumes.
- Plant profiles for clovers, birdsfoot trefoil, crownvetch, cicer milkvetch and alfalfa.
Reduced-lignin alfalfa varieties
New alfalfa varieties with reduced-lignin concentrations have the potential to increase the feeding value of alfalfa and widen the optimum harvest window.
Alternative annual forages: Warm-season grasses
- Why warm-season grasses are an alternative to replanting alfalfa.
- Yield data: From Minnesota research on warm-season grass species.
- Forage management strategies.
Sorghum-sudangrass and teff as summer forages for livestock systems
- Benefits of adding summer annuals to pastures.
- Data on forage quality: From Minnesota research on annual grasses for dairy grazing.
Identifying common cool-season perennial pasture grasses
- Distinguishing characteristics of pasture grasses.
- List of common grasses, their identifying features and photos.
Cool-season grasses to grow with alfalfa mixes
- Why to mix cool-season grasses with alfalfa for Minnesota forage production.
- Yield and quality data: Based on Minnesota research on various forage mixtures.
- Forage management strategies.
- How to establish, maintain, use and terminate cover crops.
- New cover crop opportunities.
Emergency forages: Warm-season grasses
- Benefits of using warm-season grasses as emergency forage after alfalfa winterkill.
- Forage yield and N rate results from warm-season grass trials conducted in Minnesota.
Prevented plant: Cover crop and forage options
- Possible crops for prevented plant acres in Minnesota.
- What you need to know about seeding alfalfa after Aug. 1.
- Guidance on planting dates, haying and grazing.