Forage recovery, weather outlook, livestock hauling rule changes on Feb. 22 AFGC agenda

Helping winter-damaged forage recover, getting the latest on the spring weather outlook and understanding changes in livestock hauling rules are on the agenda for the Feb. 22 Arkansas Forage and Grassland Council’s winter meeting in Conway.

The meeting will be held at Woodland Heights Education building located at 4215 Prince Street.

Registration opens at 9 a.m. and the program begins at 9:30 a.m. Registration is $25 per person and $10 for students. Pre-event registration will help ensure there are enough materials and lunch for all. For info, or to register, call Linda McCargo at 501-671-2171.

“Weather conditions over the past six months have certainly been unfavorable for Arkansas pastures,” said John Jennings, professor-forage for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture.

“Questions coming in regarding what to do for a spring forage crop include, ‘how will this cold winter affect my pastures?’ ‘what about armyworms?’, and ‘what are other producers doing?’” he said. “Producers will hear about new forage research on spring and fall forages. These studies are evaluating options ‘outside the box’ and match up with the unusually dry fall and odd winter weather. Arkansas producers also will tell about how they incorporated some of these different options to boost their forage production.”

The agenda:

9:45 a.m.—Riding the weather rollercoaster with John Lewis, senior forecaster, National Weather Service in Little Rock;

10:15 a.m.—New research for spring pasture with Kenny Simon, extension program associate-forages, Division of Agriculture, and new research for fall pasture with John Jennings, professor-forage, Division of Agriculture.

11:15 a.m.—Department of Transportation farm vehicle regulations status update with Major Jay Thompson, Arkansas Highway Police;

Noon—lunch;

1 p.m.—When will armyworms strike this year? with Kelly Loftin, extension entomologist;

1:30 p.m.—Non-conventional forages in a double-crop system with producer experience presented by Luke Alston, Holly Springs Homestead of Polk County, and Jeff Montgomery, Diamond M Ranch of Yell County;

2:15 p.m.—Coping with current conditions for forages and livestock with Jennings and Paul Beck, interim director, Southwest Research and Extension Center; and

3 p.m.—adjourn.

Learn more about managing forage and livestock by calling your county extension office or visiting www.uaex.edu.