The importance of the establishment period for forage crops can hardly be overemphasized. In most cases, the steps involved in establishment are not particularly difficult to accomplish, but success usually involves planning, attention to detail and timeliness. Many things can go wrong. Cutting corners or skipping a step is likely to be costly in the long run. If a producer is going to make a mistake that will limit forage production throughout the life of a forage stand, the chances are good that it will be made between the time the decision to plant the crop was made and when the planter was pulled out of the field.  Forage-Livestock Quotes and Concepts, vol. 2 is available online.