By Dennis Hancock
How does a grazing animal know what to eat and what to avoid? Why does the animal graze certain forage species at different times of the day? Can you teach an animal to graze certain plant species? Can you teach them to eat weeds?
Grazing behavior is one of the most intriguing parts of forage management. Dr. Fred Provenza, Professor Emeritus from Utah State University has done more research into this aspect of forage management than any other in the world. Dr. Provenza initiated the BEHAVE research and outreach program at Utah State.
BEHAVE is a research and outreach program that explores the principles of animal behavior. Their primary focus is on diet and habitat selection of livestock. Understanding how animals learn will enable us to train animals to fit our forage systems and farms rather than having to modify our landscapes to fit our animals. By understanding how animals learn we can use their natural behaviors to manage weeds, enhance biodiversity, improve feeding systems, minimize use of riparian areas, and much more.
Dr. Provenza will be joining us in Georgia for a series of talks on Grazing Behavior during the week of September 8th. Our plans have firmed up a bit more since the initial announcement sent last month. Dr. Provenza will be speaking in Athens on Sept. 8th from 6 – 8 p.m. at the UGA Livestock Instructional Arena, Sept. 11th from 8:30 a.m. – 4 p.m. in Tifton at the Tift Co. Extension Office, and Sept. 12th from 8:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. in Carrollton (Location TBD).
Click here to see more...