The dictionary defines an “innovation” as the action or process of innovating; a new method, product or idea. Our Forage Folks column this month features four recent innovations in the forage world.

All have something in common – recognizing a need to do something better and coming up with a way to meet that need.

Have an idea for a future innovations feature? We’d love to hear from you. This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it to email an editor with your information to be considered for an upcoming issue.

Industry estimates suggest about 20 percent of the corn silage ensiled each year is lost.

This loss in feed comes at a very steep price: approximately $1.3 billion of the 2011 corn silage is expected to be lost to shrink.

The North American Hay Tool Collectors Association (NAHTCA), formerly known as the National Hay Tool Collectors Association, was formed in 2009 as an organization dedicated to the preservation of antique hay equipment, barn pulleys, barn hardware, barn accessories and other barn and farm items.

Mid-February always brings a trip to California and World Ag Expo. We had 15 members of our team in attendance, and we all managed to stay plenty busy, working in our three booths, making sales and editorial contacts and our Progressive Dairyman team was the sponsor of nine dairy seminars during the week.

I didn’t get as much time out of the booth as I might have liked, but did manage to see some of the show. I thought it might be fun to share a few of my favorite things, though this is definitely not comprehensive (we don’t have enough pages for that).

What were some of your favorite new products or things to see and do at Expo? Send an e-mail to me at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and we’ll share them on the website. — Lynn Olsen, FG Editor