Remember the cross-country trip I took late this past summer? It was 2,600 miles filled with fun and new experiences. More importantly, it was a great experience to learn more about diversity in forage management from producers across the country. No matter the environment in, no one style of management fits every farm or ranch.
I have the opportunity to share a few thoughts on the topic for Progressive Forage Grower magazine. Be sure to swing over and read the article — Learning from other producers
Late this summer I had the opportunity to travel across the country with a group of faculty and graduate students from five different universities.
We began in the Carolinas, traveled across Tennessee, then up through Missouri, into Kansas, Oklahoma and eventually Texas.
Our goal was to study grazing lands systems in different environments, and the tour included cow-calf, stocker and dairy operations with conventional and local and/or organic end-points.
The contrast and change in forage species and production from the Carolinas to the native prairies of the Kansas Flint Hills was very drastic.
One of the aspects that stuck with me was the great diversity of forage species each producer utilized. This year has been severely wet for many producers in the Southeast, while the High Plains are recovering from extreme drought conditions over the past few years.
Click here to continue reading on Progressive Forage Grower.
