By Jeff Breker, Havana, ND

Zero till haS worked well over the past 13 years in our rotation. A good stand of forage can produce 3 to 5 tons of feed along with weed control on conserving use acres.

We use alfalfa in our rotations to produce forage needed for our livestock. We’re also finding more research toward the use of no-till in seed production.

Alfalfa is a long rotation forage of 4 to 6 years and is planted with or without a cover crop. If cover crop is used, a cereal grain planted at normal planting time at two thirds the usual seeding rate can be either harvested or used as forage. Planting of alfalfa in mid to late summer can also be successful.

Over the years of government set aside we have planted forage sourghum, hay millets, and forage grasses for annual feedstuffs. We do this for cover on our set aside, and also for forage for feed and/or fall grazing. We plant in late May or early June after a burndown. These forages need warm ground temperatures, ranging from 55 to60 degrees Fahrenheit. Our past two cool summers have not been as favorable as the warmer years of the 1980’s.