Eufaula Field Day 2014

Year-round Pasture, Sustainable Grazing, and Goat Herd Management

Ruminant livestock production in Alabama is based on pasture. Highly productive and quality pasture persisting throughout a year or most of the year is important for profitable livestock enterprises. Most of the livestock producers in Alabama have warm-season perennial pastures that produce from May to October and have negligible or no production from November to April, when farmers need to invest considerably on supplementary feedstuffs such as hay, agricultural byproducts, and commercially prepared feeds to sustain their livestock. Feeding supplement for 5-6 months each year is not cost-effective. The purpose of this field day is to educate and demonstrate Extension professionals and livestock producers on developing and managing year-round pasture system. Moreover, basics of goat herd health evaluation and care will be shared with the participants. This field day will be conducted on a goat producer’s farm, which has been involved in developing year-round pasture and managing the pasture with rotational grazing system. Participants will be able to see and experience how their livestock production system can be improved, and apply the useful practices on their farms.

Major Topics/Activities

• Forage establishment and grazing management
• NRCS support for pasture improvement and grazing management
• Producer’s experience – Importance of pasture improvement and grazing management for sustainable goat operation
• Economic benefits of pasture improvement
• Basics of managing a healthy goat herd
• Field visit and hands-on: collect and composite soil samples, identify different forages, measure the forage height and calculate the available biomass, tour the pasture, observe planting equipment, fencing, and facilities (shelter, watering, and feeding),  hoof trimming, FAMACHA use, and body condition scoring
• Participant discussion, feedback, and evaluation

Venue: 36 County Road 40, Eufaula, AL 36027

Date: April 5, 2014

Time: 9 AM - 1 PM

 

Registration fee: None

Register by March 24 is required by sending the completed registration form as indicated in the form.

For driving direction and more information about the program, please see the program flyer and agenda.

 

Sustainable Year-Round Forage Production and Grazing/Browsing Management Training 2014

Introduction

Tuskegee University Cooperative Extension Program in collaboration with other land grant universities (Auburn, Langston, and Mississippi State), Alabama Natural Resources Conservation Service, and PadmaDal Memorial Foundation is conducting a 2-day training program – Sustainable Year-Round Forage Production and Grazing/Browsing Management (goat focus) for field agricultural professionals and livestock producers. Training will be conducted on March 25-26, 2014; March 24 and 27 will be the travel dates for those who will be coming a long way to Tuskegee. 

Program Objective

The objective of this program is to train field-level Extension and technical assistance personnel (hereafter field personnel) and livestock producers in year-round forage production and grazing/browsing management in the Southeast Region. The trained field personnel are expected to educate and help goat producers in the Southeastern Region make their production system more sustainable through pasture improvement and sustainable grazing management.

 

Major Training Topics

The training will consists of various topics relevant to year-round forage production and grazing/browsing management, such as agronomic aspects of forage production, sustainable grazing/browsing management, suitable forage species for developing year-round grazing systems for goats and cattle, grazing facilities for different grazing systems, browse species, supplementary feeding, weed management, resource conservation, and economics. Each topic will include hands-on activities. 

 

More information about this event is available in the Program Flyer and Program Agenda.

 

Send the completed Registration Form on time as indicated in the form to reserve your spot.

 

 

Plantersville Field Day, 2014

Year-round Pasture, Silvopasture, Sustainable Grazing, and Goat Herd Management Field Day 

Tuskegee University Cooperative Extension is organizing this field day to promote the sustainable livestock production system. Ruminant livestock production in Alabama is based on pasture. Highly productive and quality pasture persisting throughout a year or most of the year is important for profitable livestock enterprises. Most of the livestock producers in Alabama have warm-season perennial pastures that produce from May to October and have negligible or no production from November to April, when farmers need to invest considerably on supplementary feedstuffs such as hay, agricultural byproducts, and commercially prepared feeds to sustain their livestock. Feeding supplement for 5-6 months each year is not cost-effective. The purpose of this field day is to educate and demonstrate Extension professionals and livestock producers on developing and managing year-round pasture system. Moreover, basics of goat herd-health evaluation and management will be included among the field-day topics. This field day will be conducted on a goat producer’s farm, which has been involved in developing year-round pasture including pine silvopasture and managing the pasture and silvopasture with rotational grazing system. Participants will be able to see and experience how their livestock production system can be improved, and apply the similar system on their farms. 

 

Major topics/activities

• Forage establishment and grazing management
• Supplementary feeding
• Economic benefits of year-round pastures
• Producer’s experience – pasture and silvopasture for goats
• Basics of managing a healthy goat herd
• NRCS support for pasture improvement and grazing management
• Field visit and hands-on: collect and composite soil samples, identify different forages, measure the forage height and calculate the available biomass, tour the open-pasture and silvopasture sites, observe planting equipment, fencing, and facilities (shelter, watering, and feeding),  hoof trimming, FAMACHA use, and body condition scoring
• Participant discussion, feedback, and evaluation

Venue: 472 Pecan Road, Plantersville, AL 36758
Date: March 1, 2014
Time: 9 AM - 1 PM

Registration fee: None

Register by February 21 by sending the completed registration form as indicated in the form.

For driving direction and more information about the program, please see the program flyer and agenda.