Justin Sexten, associate Extension professor, will talk at this year’s Field Day about weaning management and nutrition.Across the state of Missouri, the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources (CAFNR) has more than 14,000 acres dedicated to regional research. That valuable information extends to producers through Field Days featuring the latest beneficial information from your local research center.
For cattle ranchers and landowners, plan to attend the Field Day at the Forage Systems Research Center in north Missouri on September 23. Registration starts at 8:30 a.m. with educational tours beginning at 9 a.m.
“We are going to highlight what is going on here at the research center,” said David Davis, superintendent of Forage Systems Research Center (FSRC). “It’s a great time to visit and learn about what great research is happening right here in your area.”
Talks will include a variety of topics for livestock ranchers including weaning management and nutrition, results from AI prtocols and the influence of genetics on tall fescue toxicosis.
“We are seeing a lot of livestock farmers worrying about fescue toxicosis and that is why some of our researchers are looking at using DNA to identify individual beef animals that are tolerant to the toxins,” said Davis.
David Davis, superintendent of FSRC.To combat fescue toxicosis FSRC has renovated some pastures with available cultivars to find which of the novel endophyte fescues will work best in north Missouri. In the second year of grazing, researchers will share results and findings of the new fescues.
“Many landowners should also look at getting some added value from our natural resources,” said Davis. At FSRC, a timber management plan has been developed and harvests have begun. Dusty Walter, superintendent of Wurdack Research Center, will share how the timber stand improvement (TSI) has gone and what will be done to provide a future economic benefit.
Management practices also will be highlighted on educational tours. MU Associate Professor Wayne Bailey will share information on pest and beneficial insects for forage crops and MU Associate Professor Kevin Bradley will speak on weed and brush management in pastures.
A change could be coming to how phosphorus is applied in the pastures and John Lory, Extension associate professor, will talk about future recommendations for better nutrient management.
“One thing we offer here at FSRC that many don’t realize is a real-time weather station that monitors daily weather of precipitation, temperature, wind and solar radiation,” said Davis. “Pat Guinan, state Extension climatologist, will share how the data from this station can be applied to agriculture and your daily management.”
Talks will conclude at noon with a complimentary lunch sponsored by MFA Oil and Propane.
More than 100 local high school students will join area producers and landowners on the educational tours to learn more about agriculture and what careers are available in the industry.
Equipment and supple venders from the area will showcase their agricultural products.
Also planning to attend is Tim Wolfe, president of the University of Missouri System, and expected to make an appearance during lunch.
The Field Day is an opportunity to connect with local farmers, researchers that are doing world-class studies in your own backyard and those involved with making agriculture decisions for the state.
For more information about Forage Systems Research Center, visit their new website at http://fsrc.cafnr.org/ or contact David Davis at (660)895-5121.
FSRC is located northwest of Brookfield at 21262 Genoa Road in Linneus. From U.S. Highway 36 head north on State Route FF 1.5 miles west of Brookfield and follow FF six miles to end of the blacktop and turn west on Genoa Road. Follow the signs 1.5 miles to the entrance of the center to the left.
FSRC is one of CAFNR’s Agricultural Research Centers located throughout Missouri that host educational workshops. Visit http://cafnr.org/events/ for more events located across the Show-Me State.
To download press-quality photos from last year’s Field Day, visit CAFNR’s Flickr site at http://bit.ly/FSRC13. Photos from FSRC can be downloaded from http://bit.ly/FSRCphotos.
