Crop and Soil Sciences
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Alfalfa is a high-yielding, perennial legume that is well-suited to hay, silage, or pasture production. Alfalfa is known as the “Queen of Forages” because it produces an excellent quality, high-protein forage. These properties make alfalfa one of the most widely-grown crops in the world.
Lane O. Ely, Gary Lee Heusner, Robert L. Stewart, G. David Buntin, R. Curt Lacy, and Dennis Hancock
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Legume species add significantly to forage systems in Georgia. They are an excellent source of high quality forage, and are generally very digestible and contain high levels of crude protein (CP). Many legumes also provide substantial forage yields. Perhaps most importantly, legumes and the rhizobium bacteria that colonize nodules on their roots provide an important source of biologically-fixed nitrogen (N). This publication presents information about the most important legume species grown for forage in Georgia.
Steve Morgan, Dennis Hancock, Randy W. Franks, and Ray Hicks
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Georgia possesses diverse soil conditions and many forage production factors are influenced by this diversity. As a result, the soil environment of a given site must be considered when selecting forage species, determining fertilization strategies and planning forage utilization systems. This article guides forage producers through the process of exploring their soil’s characteristics and sampling the soil in pastures and hayfields for testing, and provides information about specific nutrients and soil amendments relative to forage production practices. Recommendations are also made on how to minimize the economic and environmental risks associated with the addition of nutrients to pasture and hayfields.
Steve Morgan, Dennis Hancock, Randy W. Franks, Wade Green, and Glendon H. Harris
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This publication addresses safety issues inherent to corn production before and during a corn production season. We have divided safety issues into General Health and Safety, Corn Harvest, Corn Grain Bin, and Augers. Safety tips are presented that should be reviewed by anyone involved with corn production on the farm.
Glen C. Rains and Paul E. Sumner
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In 2004, the Georgia General Assembly passed and the governor signed House Bill 579, which required all permitted irrigation withdrawals in Georgia to be metered by 2009, depending on available funds. Farmers are continually trying to manage their irrigation systems to increase yields and improve the quality of food and fiber. Some management examples include end gun shut-offs (repaired or installed), uniformity tests, installing new sprinkler packages and improved irrigation methods. Each of these methods help improve the system, reduce costs and distribute more of the pumped water to the growing crop. The agricultural water meter also can be used for improved yields while conserving water.
Kerry A. Harrison and Gary L. Hawkins
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This for-sale publication describes everything you need to know about designing, constructing and maintaining bermudagrass sports fields. It is available for purchase here: http://www.caes.uga.edu/publications/for_sale.cfm
Clint Waltz
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This resource helps Georgia residents select the best-adapted grass species and cultivar for an individual site to ensure a thriving lawn.
Clint Waltz
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The goal of this publication is to guide the user to a better understanding of basic forage quality terms and to recommend management changes that will improve forage quality. To that end, our objectives are to explain how forage quality is measured, describe how to interpret a forage analysis, present the effects of management on forage quality, and list the key management strategies that can increase the nutritive value of forage crops.
Dennis Hancock, John K. Bernard, Lawton Stewart, Uttam K. Saha, and Bobby Smith
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This resource provides a guide to the various forage systems that could be used for stocker development and provides guidelines for managing grazing or hay harvests for optimum forage yield and quality.
Dennis Hancock, R. Curt Lacy, and Lawton Stewart
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