The benefits of cover crops within crop rotations are well documented, but information is limited on using cover crops for forage within midwestern United States cropping systems, especially under no‐tillage management. Our objective was to evaluate plant, animal, and soil responses when integrating winter cover crop forages into no‐till corn (Zea mays L.) silage production. Three cover crop treatments were established no‐till after corn silage in September 2006 and 2007 at Columbus, OH: annual ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum L.), a mixture of winter rye (Secale cereale L.) and oat (Avena sativa L.), and no cover crop. Total forage yield over autumn and spring seasons was 38 to 73% greater (P ≤ 0.05) for oat + winter rye than for annual ryegrass. Soil penetration resistance (SPR) in May 2007 was 7 to 15% greater (P ≤ 0.10) in the grazed cover crops than in the nongrazed no cover crop treatment; however, subsequent silage corn yield did not differ among treatments, averaging 10.4 Mg ha−1 in August 2007. Compared with the no cover crop treatment, cover crops had three‐ to fivefold greater root yield, threefold greater soil microbial biomass (MB) in spring 2008, and 23% more particulate organic carbon (POC) concentrations in the 0‐ to 15‐cm soil depth. Integration of forage cover crops into no‐till corn silage production in Ohio can provide supplemental forage for animal feed without detrimental effects on subsequent corn silage productivity, with the added benefit of increasing labile soil C.

The standard sieving, pipette, and hydrometer methods for soil particle size analysis (PSA) have three main drawbacks: (i) the procedures are tedious, (ii) the procedures are time consuming, (iii) and the results are protocol dependent. Laser diffraction PSA delivers rapid results using standardized procedures, but so far it has been difficult to reconcile results with those from standard sedimentation methods. The objective of this study was to develop a protocol that would permit direct usage of laser diffraction PSA and render results compatible with current methods. The protocol was developed using 54 standard soil samples from different textural classes. Regression of the laser diffraction PSA against the hydrometer/pipette method yielded R2 values of 0.92/0.9, 0.92/0.94, and 0.99/0.99 and RMSE values of 0.04/0.05, 0.07/0.06 and 0.05/0.03 for clay, silt, and sand, respectively. These statistics are comparable to those obtained by regressing results of the hydrometer against the sieve and pipette methods. A key factor in securing accurate and precise results was limiting the particle size range of the samples by wet sieving the sand fraction. This created representative samples and stable soil dispersed suspensions, allowing accurate estimations of particle size distribution for clay and silt fractions without empirical transformations. Results obtained with the proposed protocol matched those of standard sedimentation analyses for a wide range of soils, encouraging further adoption of laser diffraction for soil PSA. Core Ideas Laser diffraction particle size analysis can produce results compatible with standard pipette and hydrometer methods. A key step is to wet‐sieve the sand fraction after suspending the soil sample in the dispersant solution. The proposed protocol is faster, uses smaller samples, and provides more detail than standard sedimentation methods.

Double cropping winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] increases total food production without additional land. However, yield and/or quality of both crops often suffer if wheat harvest is delayed beyond maturity. We evaluated the impact of high‐moisture wheat harvest on wheat yield and quality and soybean planting time across eighteen site‐years in five Mid‐Atlantic states during 2015 to 2017. Wheat was harvested three to five times beginning at 150 to 200 g kg−1 moisture at 4 to 14 d intervals. High‐moisture wheat harvest facilitated 4 to 21 d earlier soybean planting. Grain moisture generally decreased with harvest date, but temperature and rainfall varied moisture content. Wheat test weight declined linearly 2.91 to 4.87 kg m−3 d−1 delay in harvest. Wheat relative yield was not affected by delayed harvest in Pennsylvania but declined linearly 2.6% per day delay in harvest after 4 July in Maryland, 0.55% after 30 June in Delaware, 3.1% after 19 June in Virginia, and 0.42% after 4 June in North Carolina. Test weight was positively associated with relative yield and explained 37 to 82% of relative yield variability. Critical days for desirable test weight were similar to the critical harvesting days for maximum yield, indicating that test weight is an excellent predictor of optimum harvesting day. Delayed harvest decreased grain falling number but increased softness equivalent. Overall, high‐moisture wheat harvest improved wheat yield and quality by reducing test weight loss and would allow earlier soybean planting to maximize growth and yield.

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Double cropping soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] after winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) increases total food production without additional land. However, double‐crop soybean usually yields less than full‐season soybean, mainly due to late planting. We evaluated double‐crop soybean growth and yield as affected by early planting immediately after high‐moisture wheat harvest across 20 site‐years in five Mid‐Atlantic states during 2015–2017. At each site, six soybean cultivars from relative maturity group (rMG) 3.1–5.9 were planted at three to five dates in a 4‐ to 14‐d interval. Soybean growth, measured by normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) across the growing season, was affected only by planting date. Although NDVI peaked near the R5 stage, it took 9–27 more days to reach the peak NDVI (0.84–0.98) for early‐planted soybean than for late‐planted soybean. Relative yield declined with planting dates, which explained 41–81% of the relative yield variability. The yield loss from delayed planting was greater in the north (33–80%; Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Delaware) than in the south (20–27%; Virginia, North Carolina) due to longer delay in planting and shorter growing season in the north. Soybean NDVI from the R1–R6 stages was associated with yield, with the strongest association (R2 = .55–.57) at the R2 and R3 stages. The area under the NDVI curve (AUNDVIC) was also strongly associated (R2 = .77) with relative yield, indicating an excellent tool for explaining double‐crop soybean yield loss due to poor growth. High‐moisture wheat harvest facilitated soybean planting 4–21 d earlier, which increased growth and yield.

International Extension experiences can provide valuable outcomes to clientele. Careful planning is necessary to maximize the benefits to participants and the potential impacts of the tour. International agricultural sciences students can benefit from participating in these tours and greatly add to their success. In this article, we describe the main organizational steps we used and lessons we learned while planning and executing a comprehensive tour program to Brazil involving substantial contribution by an international student.

Introdução: Os bovinos Wagyu são originários do Japão e foram selecionados para características de qualidade da carne em decorrência da grande deposição de gordura entremeada as fibras musculares denominada de marmoreio, atualmente ela é conhecida por produzir a melhor carne do mundo. No Brasil a raça chegou a aproximadamente 30 anos onde é criada desde então em sistemas intensivos, com uma dieta nutricionalmente balanceada. No entanto busca-se alternativas de diferentes sistemas de pastejo na criação de animais desta raça.Objetivo:Para tanto o objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar diferentes cultivares de pastejo na composição de carcaça e desempenho zootécnico de bovinos da raça Wagyu Kuroge (Black Wagyu).Material e métodos:Foram utilizadas pastagens de três cultivares de trigo de duplo propósito (BRS Tarumã, BRS Tarumaxi e BRS Pastoreio) plantadas em linha de 17cm de espaçamento com densidade de 74 sementes/m, a área foi subdividida em 9 piquetes (3 de cada cultivar) tendo cada piquete uma área de 1,5mil m². Os animais touros de 12 meses de idade foram separados aleatoriamente em grupos de carga aproximada à 800Kg/PV/ha. Os animais eram oriundos do mesmo grupo contemporâneo. Três aplicações de adubação nitrogenada foram realizadas a cada 30 dias na dosagem de 100kg/ha (46kg N/ha). Pesagens dos animais foram conduzidas quinzenalmente e ao final do experimento foi realizada ultrassonografia de carcaça para avaliar a espessura de gordura (EGS), marmoreio (IMF), área do olho de lombo (AOL), gordura de picanha (EGP) e conversão alimentar (GPD).Resultados:Foi verificado uma associação entre peso dos animais e AOL r=0,76, P<0.01, indicando que animais que eram mais pesados possuíam uma maior área de olho de lombo. Não foi observado uma correlação entre a IMF com EGP e EGS, no entanto o EGP e EGS estão fortemente correlacionados r=0,8, P<0.01. Conclusão:Animais do grupo BRS Tarumaxi apresentaram um melhor desempenho no quesito IMF quando comparado com os outros dois grupos, P<0.09, em relação ao GPD o grupo BRS Tarumaxi também apresentou um melhor GPD (P<0.1) ao final do experimento. As pastagens de inverno compostas por trigo de duplo propósito, apresentaram ser uma alternativa viável para fonte nutricional de bovinos da Raça Wagyu.