A joint two-day meeting of the Southwest Missouri Spring Forage Conference and Heart of America Grazing Conference will be held Feb. 25-26 at the University Plaza Hotel, Springfield, MO.
Richard McConnell, of Hand N Hand Livestock Solutions, will offer low-stress livestock handling training the afternoon of Feb. 25. That evening, Garry Lacefield, University of Kentucky Extension forage specialist, will talk on forage changes, challenges and opportunities. Local beef producer and humorist Jerry Crownover will round out the day with a presentation called “Life is Simple.” During the Feb. 26 luncheon, Kathy Voth of Livestock for Landscapes LLC, will talk about training cows to eat weeds.
Feb. 26 breakout-session topics will include fescue-toxicity management, grazing system layout, alfalfa management, forages and wildlife, novel-endophyte fescues, selecting livestock to fit your environment and evaluating potential of different livestock enterprises. Other presentations will cover taxes and farm records, native warm-season grasses, direct sales of grass-fed beef, inter-seeding annuals into pasture, and pasture renovation with livestock.
More than 30 companies and organizations will exhibit products and services during the event.
To pre-register or for more information, contact the Greene County Soil and Water Conservation District at 417-831-5246, ext. 3, or visit springforageconference.com.