This page indexes Extension publications and websites with current information relevant to Michigan and surrounding states. Many of the publications are available for purchase from the primary webpage indicated in each source URL.

MSUE Ag News — These are daily press releases by MSUE staff on a variety of Michigan Ag topics.To see just the current forage articles and upcoming forage-related MSUE events, go to MSUE Forages.

• To see forage articles archived since 2012, click the Archive button at the top of the MSUE Forages page.
• To see a list of online forage resources from MSUE, click on Resources button at the top of the MSUE Forages page.

Alfalfa Management

• Alfalfa Management Calendar for Michigan (Cassida et al., 2017)
• Winter Survival, Fall Dormancy & Pest Resistance Ratings for Alfalfa Varieties  (NAFA, 2018 Edition)
• Alfalfa Management Guide (American Society of Agronomy, 2011) A general guide to alfalfa management.
• ‘Sholty’ Yellow-Flowered Alfalfa (NRCS, 2015) The long-awaited release of a new yellow-flowered alfalfa variety.
• Yellow-Flowered Alfalfa Use Guide (NRCS, 2015)
• Harvest Frequency & Weed Management in Established Roundup Ready Alfalfa (Dietz et al., 2011)
• Alfalfa Germination and Growth (UWEx, Undersander et al., 2011)
• Michigan Alfalfa Cutting Date Modeling tool  – Enviroweather
• Avoiding Winter Injury to Alfalfa (Hesterman & Durling, 1991, MSU E2310)
• Is This Alfalfa Stand Good Enough To Keep? (Undersander et al., 2011, WI-A3620)
• Coated Alfalfa Seed, is It Worth It? (Leep, DeYoung, and Min)
• Timing Spring Alfalfa Harvest–the Final Word? (Allen, Leep, and Andresen)
• Alfalfa Analyst, 3rd edition  (Undersander et al.) a pictoral key to alfalfa pests and diseases

Legume Management

• Birdsfoot Trefoil for Grazing and Harvested Forage (Undersander et al., 1993, NCR 474)

Perennial Grass Management

•  Perennial Ryegrass Potential in Michigan (Leep)

Annual Forage Management

• Forage Brassicas for Supplementing Pasture Slumps  (Leep)
• Alternative Forages & Cover Crops (webinar) – Cassida, MSUE, March 31, 2014
• Brassicas: Be Aware of the Animal Health Risks (Arnold & Lehmkuhler, 2014, UKy, ID223)

Crop Residues as Forage

• Michigan Corn Stover Project: Cattle, Storage, and Bioenergy (Pennington, Jean, Thelen, Rust, Anderson, and Gould, 2017, MSU E3345)

Forages as Cover Crops

• Cover Crops for Michigan  (Mutch & Snapp, 2003, MSU E2884)
• Oilseed radish: A New Cover Crop for Michigan (Ngouajio & Mutch, 2004, MSU E2907)
• Mustards – A Brassica Cover Crop for Michigan  (Snapp et al., 2006, MSU E2956)
• Holistic Regeneration of Our Lands  &  Using Cover Crops to Lower Production Costs  (video) – Gabe Brown, 2014 Great Lakes Forage & Grazing Conference (video possible thanks to support from NCR-SARE)
• Midwest Cover Crops Council Cover Crop Decision Tool – online calculator to help you choose a cover crop
• Cover Crop Choices Following Winter Wheat (Gross, Curell, and Mutch)
• NRCS_Cover_Crop_Termination_Guidelines_Version 3, Sept. 2014
• Cover Crop Termination (Hill and Sprague, 2018; MSUE CC-01)

Forage Establishment

• Recommended Hay and Pasture Forages for Michigan  (Cassida & Kaatz, 2019, MSU E3309
• Low-cost Renovation Practices for Perennial Pastures & Hayland in Michigan (Cassida et al., 2019, MSU E3310)
• Frost Seeding: An Effective Forage Establishment Practice for Michigan (Cassida & Lindquist, 2018, MSU E2185)
• Calibrating Forage Seeding Equipment (Teutsch, Virginia Tech)
• Purdue Forage Identification Pages
• Forage and Pasture Plant Identification – Bosworth, Univ. Vermont)
• Steps in Successful No-till Establishment of Forages (Leep et al., 2003)
• Manure Slurry Enriched Seeding  (Harrigan & Leep, 2010, MSU E3102)

Grazing Management

• Considerations for Selecting & Installing an Electric Fence Charger (Thurlow, MSUE, 2022)
• NRCS Guide to Pasture Condition Scoring (NRCS, 2020)
• Strategies for Repairing Pugged Pastures – (Teutsch, 2019, UKy)
• Mix It Up! How Forage Mixtures Can help You (Cassida, 2017 OFGC Conference, powerpoint)
• Controlled Grazing  (Bartlett, 2001, E2288)
• Acceptable Practice for Managing Livestock Along Streams  (Anonymous, 2008, MSU E3066)
• Watering Systems for Grazing  (Bartlett & Gould, 2010, MSU E3097)
• Cows, Streams, & E. coli  (Wolfson & Harrigan, 2010, MSU E3103)
• Grazing Riparian Areas (Haan & Bartlett, 2010, MSU E3101)
• Using Pasture Measurement to Improve Your Management (McCutcheon, 2011, OSU)
• Grazing Streamside Pastures  (DeYoung and Leep)
• Sorghum-sudangrass pasture poses prussic acid and nitrate poisoning risk (Cassida)
• Electric Fencing for Serious Grazers (NRCS, 2005)
• Watering Systems for Serious Grazers (NRCS, 2006)

Hay and Silage

• UWEX Upper Midwest Hay Auction Price Report
• Controlling Silage Leachate (Rector & Stroud, 2010, MSU E3099)

Forage Quality and Nutritive Value

• Commercial Forage Quality Testing Labs in Michigan (This list does not constitute an endorsement. There are many other good labs in other states. Look for NFTA certification.)
  • Dairyland Lab, Battle Creek MI, 269-753-0048
  • Alliance Analytical Labs, Coopersville MI, 616-837-7670
• Forage Sampling  (Undersander et al., 2005, UWEX A2309)
• Understanding NDF Digestibility of Forages – (Hoffman et al., UWEX)

Forages for Horses

• Forage Resources for the Michigan Horse Industry, 2020  (Cassida, MSU, 2020)
• Growing Hay & Pasture for Michigan Horses (Leep et al., 2008, MSU E2305)
• Toxic Plants in Pasture & Hay for Michigan Horses (Shane, 2008, MSU E3060)
• Rotational Grazing for Michigan Horses (Guthrie et al. 2014, MSU E3200)
• Buying Horse Hay (Undersander et al., 2002, A3775)

Soil Nutrient Management & Health

• MSU Soil Nutrient Testing – How to obtain MSU soil testing kits
• Nutrient Recommendations for Field Crops in Michigan (Warncke, Dahl, and Jacobs, 2009)
• Lime for Michigan Soils (Warncke, Bast, and Christenson, 2010)
• Sampling Soils for Fertilizer and Lime Recommendations  (Warncke, 2000, MSU E0498)
• Phosphorus and Potassium Fertilization of Alfalfa (Lissbrandt et al., 2009, Purdue University Extension)
• Climate Change and Soil Management in Michigan (Steinke and Snapp, 2013)
• Sulfur Fertility of Forage Crops in Michigan (Leep)
• MSU Fertilizer Calculator tool
• Fertilizer price report – Springfield, IL

Weather and Climate

• Michigan Enviroweather site
• US Drought Monitor
• Animal Agriculture and Climate Change in Michigan (Burlew, Thelen, Powers, Schmidt, & Klotz, 2015, MSU E3303

Pest Management in Forages and Pastures

• MSU Diagnostic Services – helps identify plant pests, weeds, and diseases as the first step in control
• Michigan Alfalfa Weevil prediction tool – Enviroweather
• 2020 MSU Weed Control Guide – online version of MSU Extension Bulletin E424
• Keys to Management of Multiple-resistant Palmer Amaranth & Waterhemp in Soybean, Corn and Alfalfa (MSUWS06-2018, Sprague, 2018)
• Rough-stalk Bluegrass: A Weed in Legume-Grass Forages in Michigan (Dietz et al., 2011)
• Black & Pale Swallow-wort Control  (Michigan Dept. of Natural Resources)
• Handy Bt Trait Table (Difonzo, 2019)
• Top Ten Tips to Tame Trait Torture (Difonzo)
• Managing Western Corn Rootworm Resistance to Bt on the Fringe  (Difonzo)
• Cantharidin content and lethal dose of common Michigan blister beetles (Difonzo, 2009)

Economics of Forage Production

• Introduction to Renting Farmland (Laporte, 2023, MSUE Bulletin E-3427)
• Crop Budget Estimator Tool for Forages (Laporte, MSUE, 2019)  Excel spreadsheet, Simple Version,  Detailed Version)
• Marketing and Pricing Standing Hay (Laporte, MSUE, 2019, webinar)
• Marketing and Pricing Standing Corn Silage (Laporte, MSUE, 2019, webinar)
• 2019 Custom Work Rate and Machine Estimates (Battel, MSUE)
• Farm Management Resources  page (Dennis Stein, MSUE)
• Cost of Forage Production/Break-even Worksheet  (MS Excel, 2008)
• Irrigation Cost/Benefit Worksheet (MS Excel)