Management-Intensive Grazing School is Sept. 10-12 in Lamar

Jul 31, 2024

“Efficient forage management and utilization is important to the profitability of a livestock operation,” says Patrick Davis, University of Missouri Extension livestock field specialist. Davis says best way to promote efficient forage management and utilization in a livestock operation is by incorporating management-intensive grazing practices.

To educate livestock producers on these practices MU Extension, the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS), Missouri Forage and Grasslands Council, and the Barton County Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) are providing a management-intensive grazing school Sept. 10-12 at the First Baptist Church Family Life and Outreach Center, 1301 E. Sixth Street, Lamar. Classes run 9 a.m. to about 5 p.m. each day.

“This school is applicable to and will provide education in livestock and forage management for all grazing species, though cattle will be emphasized,” says Davis. Topics include:

The “Art and Science” of Grazing
Soils, Soil Management and Fertility
Plant Growth, Forage Quality and Persistence
Fencing and Water Systems
Matching Livestock and Forage Resources
Meeting Nutritional Needs of Livestock From Pasture
Layout and Design of Grazing Systems
Economics of Management-Intensive Grazing
Outdoor Field Exercises and Tour of Producers’ Farms

Furthermore, this program is required to receive Missouri SWCD cost share funding and may help in receiving NRCS cost share funding for grazing system development.

“Registration and payment are required to attend this event by Sept. 5,” says Davis. Register at https://shorturl.at/BQqzL.

Cost is $200 per person and $100 per additional person from the same farm not needing materials. Fee includes materials, lunches and refreshments during the event. For all questions related to the event contact the MU Extension Center in Barton County at 417-682-3579 or Davis at davismp@missouri.edu.

Source : missouri.edu

Video: Spring 2026 weather outlook for Wisconsin; What an early-arriving El Niño could mean

Northeast Wisconsin is a small corner of the world, but our weather is still affected by what happens across the globe.

That includes in the equatorial Pacific, where changes between El Niño and La Niña play a role in the weather here -- and boy, have there been some abrupt changes as of late.

El Niño and La Niña are the two phases of what is collectively known as the El Niño Southern Oscillation, or ENSO for short. These are the swings back and forth from unusually warm to unusually cold sea surface temperatures in the Pacific Ocean along the equator.

Since this past September, we have been in a weak La Niña, which means water temperatures near the Eastern Pacific equator have been cooler than usual. That's where we're at right now.

Even last fall, the long-term outlook suggested a return to neutral conditions by spring and potentially El Niño conditions by summer.

But there are some signs this may be happening faster than usual, which could accelerate the onset of El Niño.

Over the last few weeks, unusually strong bursts of westerly winds farther west in the Pacific -- where sea surface temperatures are warmer than average -- have been observed. There is a chance that this could accelerate the warming of those eastern Pacific waters and potentially push us into El Niño sooner than usual.

If we do enter El Nino by spring -- which we'll define as the period of March, April and May -- there are some long-term correlations with our weather here in Northeast Wisconsin.

Looking at a map of anomalously warm weather, most of the upper Great Lakes doesn't show a strong correlation, but in general, the northern tiers of the United States do tend to lean to that direction.

The stronger correlation is with precipitation. El Niño conditions in spring have historically come with a higher risk of very dry weather over that time frame, so this will definitely be a transition we'll have to watch closely as we move out of winter.