Water & Irrigation
Spread the June Runoff Across the Hay Meadow Before the Creek Drops and Leaves You Short
High-country snowmelt peaks and then fades fast in a dry June. The water you get onto your hay ground now is the…
Hay & Feed
Nitrate Builds Up in Drought-Stressed Annual Forage, and a Hungry Cow Can Load a Lethal Dose in One Meal
When cereal hay and green chop grow under drought stress, nitrate concentrates in the lower stems and can kill cattle fast. Here's…
Hay & Feed
Cut Your First-Cutting Alfalfa at Bud Stage, Because Every Day It Blooms Trades Leaf for Stem
First cutting sets the tone for your whole hay year. Waiting for more tonnage costs you protein, and cutting too short costs…
Hay & Feed
Alfalfa Weevil Chews the Top Out of Your First Cutting, and the Field Looks Frosted Before You Notice
Alfalfa weevil larvae feed on the growing tips in June and can strip a stand's protein and tonnage before the damage is…
Hay & Feed
Bale Your First Cutting Too Green and the Stack Heats Until It Cooks—or Catches Fire
Wet hay doesn't just mold. Bales put up above safe moisture can heat past 150 degrees, lose feed value, and in a…
Land & Grazing
Grasshoppers Hatch on the South Slopes in June, and You Kill Them Cheap Now or Feed Them Your Grass All Summer
Grasshoppers are easiest and cheapest to stop while they're still wingless nymphs clustered on warm ground. Wait until they get wings and…
Water & Irrigation
Get the Water on the Meadow Before the Creek Drops, Because August Won’t Give It Back
Early-summer runoff is the water you actually get to use. Move it onto the hay ground and pasture now, because the ditch…
Hay & Feed
Bale That First Cutting Too Wet and the Stack Will Heat Until It Smokes
Hay put up a few points too green keeps working after it leaves the field. Learn to read moisture, stack for airflow,…
Hay & Feed
Cut the First Cutting at Early Bloom, or You’re Trading Protein for Tonnage You Don’t Need
Waiting on the alfalfa to bulk up feels like the smart play, but every day past early bloom pulls protein and energy…
Hay & Feed
Bale the First Cutting Too Wet and the Stack Can Catch Fire Three Weeks Later
Hay put up above safe moisture keeps heating in the stack long after you've left the field, and by July it can…
Hay & Feed
Cutting Hay a Week Late Costs You More Feed Value Than the Extra Tonnage Is Worth
Waiting for the swather to fill the windrow buys you bulk, but the protein and energy are already walking out of the…
Hay & Feed
Alfalfa Weevil Chews the Top Off Your First Cutting Before You Ever Drop the Sickle
Weevil larvae skeletonize the leaves off your best alfalfa in June, right when the stand should be filling out. Here's how to…
Hay & Feed
Bale It Too Wet and the Stack Cooks Itself From the Inside
Hay that goes in the stack a few points too wet heats, molds, loses feed value, and in a bad year lights…
Hay & Feed
Cut It at the Boot, Not When You Get Around to It: Timing First-Cutting Hay
Every day you wait past the boot stage, your grass hay loses protein and gains stem. Here's how to read the crop…
Water & Irrigation
Shut the Headgate in Time: Timing Your Last Flood Before First Cutting
On Montana's flood-irrigated hay meadows, the trick isn't turning the water on — it's knowing when to shut it off so the…
Hay & Feed
Bale It Too Wet and It’ll Cook: Watching Moisture on the First Cutting
Hay put up a little green feels like a win in a short weather window, but bales stacked too wet heat, mold,…
Land & Grazing
Scout Grasshoppers in June, Before They Eat Your Fall Pasture
Grasshoppers do the most damage as small nymphs in early summer. Counting them now and hitting the hatch beds early is cheaper…
Hay & Feed
Cut the First Crop at Bud Stage: Hay That Tests, Not Just Fills the Stack
First cutting is where you make or lose your protein for the year. A few days' delay and the right baling moisture…
Hay & Feed
Do the Hay Math in June, Not in a Panic Come October
First cutting is the time to figure out whether you'll have enough winter feed — because June is when you still have…
Water & Irrigation
Get the Water On Before the Call Comes: June Irrigation on Montana Hay Ground
Mid-June is when snowmelt runoff peaks and the river goes on call. Here's how to make your water right earn its keep…
Hay & Feed
Wet Hay Heats Up: How First-Cutting Bales Catch Fire in the Stack
Baling first-cutting hay a little too damp can cook your stack from the inside out — and start a fire weeks after…
Hay & Feed
First-Cutting Hay: Cut at the Right Stage, Then Beat the Weather
Putting up good first-cutting hay in Montana comes down to two fights — cutting at the right maturity and getting it dry…
Ranching
Donating Hay in Montana: When It Helps Neighbors—and When It Helps at Tax Time
Across Montana, hay moves the same way it always has in a tight year: by pickup, by semi, and by neighbor-to-neighbor phone…
Farming
Wheat Holds Firm While Corn and Beans Slip: What Montana Producers Should Track Next
Reports from national market coverage indicate wheat futures stayed on the front foot heading into the weekend, while corn and soybean prices…
Farming
Grain Markets Firm as Trade Talk Chatter Returns—What Montana Feed, Hay, and Wheat Country Should Take From It
Grain futures ended the latest session with soybeans and wheat pushing higher and corn mostly firmer, according to market reporting from Brownfield…