By Jennifer Dorsett
Field Editor
On Aug. 21, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service specialists will host a forage webinar on ways to reduce winter feeding.
Presenters Vanessa Corriher-Olson, AgriLife Extension forage specialist, and Jason Banta, AgriLife Extension beef cattle specialist, will discuss stockpiling warm-season forages and planting cool-season pastures.
“Planning ahead and looking at the economics of all options are important to every producer’s bottom line,” Corriher-Olson said. “Whether you’re forgoing a late-season cutting to stockpile grazing forages or considering cool-season forage options, this webinar can help you avoid unnecessary costs and maximize production efficiency.”
Stockpiling is not the same as haying. When stockpiling for fall or winter grazing, ranchers will defer grazing in certain pastures to allow grasses to grow undisturbed until late fall or early winter, when other pastures have been depleted and supplemental feeding would normally start. Livestock are strategically rotated through the stockpiled pastures at this time.
Combining stockpiling methods with cool-season forages can significantly reduce hay feeding needs and ranchers’ feed bills in colder months.
Webinar topics will include:
- management and utilization of stockpiled forage,
- calculating forage and winter pasture needs,
- cool-season forages and selection,
- establishment and fertilization,
- monthly and seasonal forage production potentials,
- appropriate mineral supplementation
- and estimated costs for various scenarios.
The webinar will be hosted in three parts. The first section is from s 9-11 a.m., and part two will be held from 12:30-2:30 p.m. The final section will be held from 4-6 p.m.
Electronic copies of slides and other program materials will be made available to registrants before the program, and all sessions will be recorded and made available for later viewing for those who registered.
Click here to register. The fee is $35 per person, and the deadline for registration is 5 p.m. on Aug. 20.
For more information on the program, contact Michelle Sensing at 903.834.6191 or amsensing@ag.tamu.edu.