Purdue News
Purdue News
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August 10, 2004 Purdue workshop shows better forage a thing of the pastureWEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Many Midwest pastures don't reach full potential. To move grazing areas to the next level requires a manager with sharp vision and keen skills. A Sept. 2 workshop aims to develop those management traits. During the Purdue Forage Management Workshop, livestock producers and related industry professionals will identify problems with, and recommend corrective actions for, selected pastures at the Scholer-Purdue Animal Sciences Farm in Warren County, Ind. The lessons they learn will help workshop participants better assess and improve pastures they or a client own. The workshop, which runs from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. EST, is part of this summer's Crop Diagnostic Training Workshop Series. The workshops are sponsored by the Purdue University Crop Diagnostic Training and Research Center. Registration is $100 and includes lunch, refreshments and workshop materials. Members of the Indiana Forage Council or a state livestock association will receive a $20 discount on registration. Enrollment is limited to 60 people. The registration deadline is Aug. 26. Attendees will meet at the Purdue Agronomy Center for Research and Education (ACRE) for registration and presentations on fencing and water system development. They then will be bused to Scholer-Purdue. ACRE is located five miles west of Purdue's West Lafayette, Ind., campus on U.S. 52 The Forage Management Workshop should not be misconstrued as a field day, said Keith Johnson, Purdue Extension forage specialist. The Sept. 2 event involves intensive hands-on training in a small-group setting. "The workshop is oriented toward making pastures as good as they can be," Johnson said. "Instead of trying to reach hundreds of people at a field day with snippets of topics and updates, the Forage Management Workshop is more detailed and meant for people who want to improve their own pastures or those who work directly with farmers that have pasture improvement as a priority. That might include farmers, Extension educators, agribusiness personnel, and Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) and Indiana Department of Natural Resources employees. "By attending this workshop, they'll be able to interact, ask questions and be more involved in decision making." Johnson will coordinate the day's activities. NRCS grazing specialists Jerry Perkins, Susannah Hole and Victor Shelton, and Purdue Extension specialists, will serve as instructors and facilitators. The Scholer-Purdue facility represents a good case study in pasture management, Johnson said. "Scholer is a farm managed by the Purdue University Department of Animal Sciences," he said. "A beef herd is located there, along with many acres of pasture - some that are way above average and others that are average. "During the workshop, we will take participants to a couple of these pastures that could be enhanced and look at soil fertility concerns, weed control issues and delivering water to the different paddocks within the pasture. We will then try to put a plan together for what the pasture could become, so that in a matter of a few years we have a pasture that's top-notch." A registration form and workshop brochure is available online. Additional information also is available by contacting Johnson at (765) 494-4800 or johnsonk@purdue.edu, or by calling Purdue's toll-free Extension hotline at (888) 398-4636 (EXT-INFO). Writer: Steve Leer, (765) 494-8415, sleer@purdue.edu Source: Keith Johnson, (765) 494-4800, johnsonk@purdue.edu Ag Communications: (765) 494-2722; Beth Forbes, forbes@purdue.edu Related Web sites:
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