Now that alfalfa is finally beginning to green up after the winter that would not end, many farmers across Wisconsin are discovering that their alfalfa winterkilled or is suffering significant winter injury. Dr. Dan Undersander, University of Wisconsin Extension forage agronomist, says he has been getting reports that damage varies from low spots only in fields to major portions of alfalfa fields. Short of plowing up all of your alfalfa fields and starting over, what can be…

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I confess there was a time when I drank two, sometimes three cans of Diet Coke per day. In fact, I was addicted to Diet Coke. I could tell because if I went a day without drinking any Diet Coke I would wake up the next morning with a pounding headache. The cure? You guessed it – another Diet Coke. This addiction to Diet Coke went on for 23 years! Finally, in 2005 I managed to kick the habit. Fortunately for me, Diet Coke wasn't the only thing I drank. I have always been a…

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Sometimes you have to be careful what you wish for. That is certainly true when it comes to our weather. Last summer, nearly everybody was praying for rain in June and July in the southern half of the state and there was little rain to be had until the end of July. Showers were widely scattered throughout August and much of the state grew dry again during September and the first half of October. After a snowy, cold winter, spring has been much colder than normal and extremely wet…

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  The week of April 15-19 is Tornado Awareness Week in Wisconsin and with any luck, the crazy weather we have been experiencing lately in Wisconsin will help increase residents' awareness and preparedness for tornadoes and even more dangerous weather. A freak ice storm hit east central Wisconsin overnight on April 10 knocking down countless trees and power lines, damaging homes and farm buildings and cutting electricity to thousands of homes, farms and businesses…

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A year ago, we were basking in 80-degree temperatures in Wisconsin on the first day of spring – double the normal high temperature of 40. On the first day of spring this year, we were greeted with a low temperature of 5 degrees in east central Wisconsin and the high temperature barely made it above 20 degrees – half the normal high for the first day of spring and 60 degrees below what we had in 2012. Only in Wisconsin could you have temperature swings that great from one year to…

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I find the arrival of seed catalogs a welcome sight in what is normally a mailbox full of junk mail, magazines and bills. Like most gardeners, as I turn the pages and look at the colorful and perfect fruit in the catalogs, I find myself inspired each spring to plant "the perfect garden." But unlike most gardeners, I don't plant a garden grown exclusively from seeds. Oh sure, I buy seeds for carrots, beets, lettuce, radishes, green beans, yellow beans and peas. But we plant…

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When it comes to spring, seeing is believing this year. Maybe it's because we have had 60 days of snow so far this winter and between 60 and 70 inches of snow in many parts of Wisconsin. When the weatherman says warmer days are on the way I say, I'll believe it when I see it! I know the calendar says spring is less than two weeks away, but looking at the endless piles of snow makes it hard to truly believe spring will arrive in Wisconsin on March 20. I will admit, today is…

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In addition to writing and editing lots of stories each month for the Wisconsin Agriculturist, I also try to find time to read. No, I haven't read any best sellers or spy novels lately. What I spend most of my leisure time reading are articles in other publications about agriculture. No surprise here, a lot of what I read is about cows. Cows are big and cows still dominate Wisconsin agriculture despite high crop prices. The other day an article on the front page of the Feb. 22 issue…

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Democrats have been calling for immigration reform in the U.S. for years. Until recently, Republicans opposed immigration reform. Mitt Romney ran for president in November calling for the 11 million Hispanic immigrants living in the U.S. illegally to "self deport." Since the election, which saw 71% of Hispanics vote for President Obama, a number of Republican politicians have begun calling for immigration reform. I suspect the Republicans are seeing the writing on the wall that…

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High feed prices in 2012 and 2013 have caused many Wisconsin beef producers to cut back or liquidate their herds and get out of the beef business. Ditto for farmers who raise Holstein steers. Many are finding the price of feed is just too expensive for those who have to buy it, and an increasing number of those who grow their own corn are thinking it may be more profitable to sell the corn rather than feed it to steers. This trend didn't just start because of the drought. It goes…

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