By Sherry Hoyer
The 2026 Iowa Forage and Grassland Council Annual Conference will be held Feb. 4 in West Des Moines. Cattle producers are invited for a day of learning, networking and continuing to strive for improved forage management across Iowa.
Registration opens at 9:30 a.m., with educational sessions kicking off at 10 a.m. and concluding at 3 p.m. First, a session titled “Grazing for the Birds” from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources and Audubon Conservation Ranching will feature benefits of grazing public lands and using grazing as a beneficial conservation tool.
Shelby Gruss, extension forage specialist at Iowa State University and Iowa Forage and Grassland Council board member, will partner with ISU Extension and Outreach plant pathologist Alison Robertson to discuss rust and other emerging diseases in forage crops, focusing on both the plant and animal impacts. The third session will follow a similar tag-teamed approach with extension entomologist Erin Hodgson discussing common pests and insects to watch in alfalfa, silage and other forages, and Gruss addressing the subsequent feed value impacts.
During lunch, attendees will have the opportunity to view and network with various forage research poster presenters and representatives from tradeshow vendor booths. The IFGC will also conduct its annual business meeting, confirm officers for the 2026 year and hold elections for new board members.
Source : iastate.edu