Turning hayfields into pastures

By Jim Gerrish

With the ever-increasing cost of making hay, more and more ranchers are kicking the hay habit and pushing their livestock to graze more days of the year. A lot of those ranchers are learning along the way that their best hayfields don’t necessarily make the best pastures. Historically, hayfields in the U.S. have fallen into three broad categories: alfalfa, N-fertilized grass monocultures or grass-legume mixtures. Of these three options, only the grass-legume mixtures transition easily into pasture. Click here to read more.