WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Livestock producers can learn about incorporating management-intensive grazing programs on their farms at a Purdue Extension conference June 7-8 in southern Indiana.
Grazing 102 will focus on understanding plant growth and development, fencing systems, soil fertility, forage identification and use, watering systems, forage economics, extending the grazing season and determining forage needs.
In a management-intensive grazing system, producers rotate animals to different parts of the pasture to avoid overgrazing. The programs maximize pasture productivity and minimize trampling losses.
The conference will be at the Southern Indiana Purdue Agricultural Center (SIPAC), 11371 E. Purdue Farm Road, Dubois. It runs from 1-6 p.m. on June 7 and from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on June 8.
Speakers are Keith Johnson, Purdue Extension forage specialist; Brad Shelton, superintendent of the Feldun-Purdue Agricultural Center; Jason Tower, SIPAC superintendent; and Robert Zupancic, grazing land specialist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service.
Registration of $50 per person is due by May 31. The cost covers reference materials, speaker notes, management tools, refreshments and lunch on the second day. Registration for additional attendees from the same farm is $25 per person, but they will not receive reference materials or management tools.
Source: Purdue University