Maximizing Forage Yields in Corn Silage Systems with Winter Grains

Producing sufficient high quality forage on farms is becoming difficult given current economic and environmental pressures. Farmers are looking for strategies to improve yield and quality of their own forage to reduce the financial burden of purchasing feed off-farm. In addition, with increasing focus on managing farm nutrient balances for environmental reasons, farmers are also looking to decrease the importation of additional nutrients from feed onto their farms. One strategy for accomplishing this is utilizing winter grains, such as rye, wheat and triticale, as forage crops. These crops could be grazed or harvested in the fall to extend the grazing season, and in the spring providing early forage prior to planting corn silage. The fall planted forage also provides essential soil cover during winter months to reduce soil and nutrient loss. In the fall of 2016, the University of Vermont Northwest Crops and Soils Program initiated a trial investigating the integration of winter grains for forage into corn silage cropping systems

Pasture Productivity Trial

Pasture is an essential component of the ration on organic dairy farms. Productivity of pastures is key to ensure the cattle have a plentiful source of high quality feed during the entire grazing season. Optimal management of pastures should include animal, plant, and soil factors. This project aims to identify weak links in the pasture system and evaluate the impact of adopting new strategies to overcome barriers to productivity. In this case, soil fertility was identified as the primary weak link to productivity

Industrial Hemp Fiber Variety Trial

Hemp is a non-psychoactive variety of cannabis sativa L. The crop is one of historical importance in the U.S. and reemerging in worldwide importance as manufacturers seek hemp as a renewable and sustainable resource for a wide variety of consumer and industrial products. The fiber has high tensile strength and can be used to create a variety of goods. Hemp fiber consists of two types: bast and hurd. The bast fiber are the long fibers found in the bark of hemp stalks and are best suited for plastic bio-composites for vehicles, textiles, rope, insulation, and paper. The hurd fiber are short fibers found in the core of the stem and are suited for building materials, such as hempcrete and particle boards, bedding materials, and absorbents

Soybean Planting Date x Variety Trial

In 2017, the University of Vermont Extension Northwest Crops and Soils Team investigated the impact of planting date and variety on soybean yield and quality at Borderview Research Farm in Alburgh, VT. Due to the short growing season in Vermont, little research has been conducted on soybeans and the insects and diseases that can affect their harvest yield and quality. Soybeans are grown for human consumption, animal feed, and biodiesel. In an effort to support and expand the local soybean market throughout the northeast, the University of Vermont Extension Northwest Crop and Soils (NWCS) Program, as part of a grant from the Eastern Soybean Board, established a trial in 2017 to determine optimal planting dates for soybeans that maximize yield and quality in our northern climate

Industrial Grain Hemp Planting Date Trial

Hemp is a non-psychoactive variety of cannabis sativa L. The crop is one of historical importance in the U.S. and reemerging in worldwide importance as manufacturers seek hemp as a renewable and sustainable resource for a wide variety of consumer and industrial products. The crop produces a valuable oilseed, rich in Omega-3 and other essential fatty acids that are often absent in western diets. When the oil is extracted from the seed, what remains is a marketable meal co-product, which is used for human and animal consumption. The fiber has high tensile strength and can be used to create cloth, rope, building materials, and even a form of plastic. For twenty years, U.S. entrepreneurs have been importing hemp from China, Eastern Europe and Canada to manufacture travel gear, apparel and accessories, body care and cosmetics, foods like bread, beer, and salad oils, paper products, building materials and animal bedding, textiles, auto parts, housewares, and sporting equipment. Industrial hemp is poised to be a “new” cash crop and market opportunity for Vermont farms that is nutritious, versatile, and suitable for rotation with other small grains and grasses

Milkweed Production Trials

Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) is a plant native to North America and has recently become the focus of conservation programs as milkweed is the sole food source for the Monarch butterfly larvae. Milkweed has long been a foe of agricultural operations and as a result, populations have been on the decline throughout the United States. To increase the abundance and scale of conservation plantings of milkweed, the Natural Resource and Conservation Service (NRCS) has developed an incentive program to compensate landowners for establishing perennial monarch habitat including planting milkweed. Landowners in northern Vermont have a unique opportunity to expand milkweed acreage by producing it as a crop. A textile company in Quebec, Canada has recently begun processing the silky fiber (floss) from the milkweed plant for use in a wide variety of oil/chemical absorbent and clothing applications. The floss has insulative properties similar to down due to its unique hollow fiber structure which also makes it incredibly light. Furthermore, the floss is equipped with a natural water-repellant waxy coating that allows it to be waterproof while absorbing hydrophobic liquids such as petroleum products. The Monark Cooperative, who enrolls farmers in production contracts and provides seed, technical assistance, and harvesting equipment to members, is looking to increase milkweed production in Quebec and Vermont. This opportunity will require farms to learn best techniques for cultivating milkweed as a commercial crop versus the techniques they currently know which is to eliminate at first sight

Industrial Hemp Fiber Planting Date Trial

Hemp is a non-psychoactive variety of cannabis sativa L. The crop is one of historical importance in the U.S. and reemerging in worldwide importance as manufacturers seek hemp as a renewable and sustainable resource for a wide variety of consumer and industrial products. The fiber has high tensile strength and can be used to create a variety of goods. Hemp consists of two types of fiber: bast and hurd. The bast fiber are the long fibers found in the bark of hemp stalks and are best suited for plastic bio-composites for vehicles, textiles, rope, insulation, and paper. The hurd fiber are short fibers found in the core of the stem and are suited for building materials, such as hempcrete and particle boards, bedding materials, and absorbents

Industrial Grain Hemp Variety Trial

Hemp is a non-psychoactive variety of cannabis sativa L. The crop is one of historical importance in the U.S. and reemerging in worldwide importance as manufacturers seek hemp as a renewable and sustainable resource for a wide variety of consumer and industrial products. The crop produces a valuable oilseed, rich in Omega-3 and other essential fatty acids that are often absent in western diets. When the oil is extracted from the seed, what remains is a marketable meal co-product, which is used for human and animal consumption. The fiber has high tensile strength and can be used to create cloth, rope, building materials, and even a form of plastic. For twenty years, U.S. entrepreneurs have been importing hemp from China, Eastern Europe and Canada to manufacture travel gear, apparel and accessories, body care and cosmetics, foods like bread, beer, and salad oils, paper products, building materials and animal bedding, textiles, auto parts, housewares, and sporting equipment. Industrial hemp is poised to be a “new” cash crop and market opportunity for Vermont farms that is nutritious, versatile, and suitable for rotation with other small grains and grasses

Perennial Forage Trial

In 2015, the University of Vermont Extension Northwest Crops and Soils Program initiated a trial investigating forage yield, quality, and nitrogen use efficiency of cool season perennial grasses alone and in combination with red clover. The grass species selected were orchardgrass, timothy, brome, and meadow fescue. These grasses were chosen as they have been shown in previous research to have adequate survivability and forage production in this region compared to other species such as perennial ryegrass or festulolium. The goal of this trial is to evaluate these species not only for forage yield and quality, but also nitrogen use efficiency as this could help determine species and varieties that may be better suited to organic production systems. In addition, we hope to identify any differences in performance when legumes are incorporated. In 2017, with the stands fully established, evaluation of these perennial forage treatments continued