South Carolina, USA
February 20, 2023
Cool-season forages can help provide supplemental feed for livestock during the fall and winter months.
To help South Carolina livestock owners learn more about cool-season forages, the Clemson Cooperative Extension Service is holding field days in March and April. The field days will be led by Liliane Silva, Clemson forages research and Extension specialist, and members of the Clemson Extension Livestock and Forages team.
“We will cover a diverse range of forage-related topics,” Silva said. “These events are for beginning and experienced farmers, Extension agents, agricultural professionals, minorities, underrepresented and underserved farmers, and the general public.”
Liliane Silva
The first field day will be held from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on March 9 at the Edisto Research and Education Center (REC), 64 Research Road, Blackville, South Carolina 29817.
Topics covered will include technology use to improve management of forage-livestock systems, management of broadleaf winter weeds in pastures and hayfields, economic outlook and considerations for forage-livestock systems in 2023 and cool-season forages species diversity, establishment and management. Cost is $15. To register, go to https://bit.ly/3XdLVQl. For information, contact Liliane Silva, lseveri@clemson.edu.
The second field day is scheduled for 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. on March 31 at the Sandhill REC, 900 Clemson Road, Columbia, South Carolina 29229. There is no cost to attend. The program will begin outdoors with a visit to the cool-season demonstration plots.
Topics to be covered include cool-season forage species diversity, establishment and management; use of cool-season forages to improve forage production and reduce hay feeding, and economics. Contact Brian Beer, bbeer@clemson.edu, for information.
A third field day will be held from 4:30 p.m. to 7 p.m., April 6 at the Piedmont REC (Simpson Beef Farm), State Rd S-4-29, Pendleton, South Carolina 29670. There is no cost to attend this field day. The program will begin outdoors with a visit to the cool-season demonstration plots and discussion. An indoor presentation and dinner will follow.
Topics to be covered include cool-season forages species diversity, establishment and management; use of cool-season forages to improve forage production and reduce hay feeding, and economics. Contact: Sam Quinney, squinne@clemson.edu, for information.
Additional cool-season forages field days are being scheduled and will be announced later.
In the southeastern United States, most livestock operations primarily are based on perennial warm-season grasses. Because of the seasonality of production, there is a need to provide supplemental feed for livestock during the fall and winter months by stockpiling forages, feeding hay or non-forage feedstuff, or planting cool-season annuals.
Annual cool-season forages have high forage quality that can extend forage production and distribution, which decreases the need for feeding livestock with hay. Selecting the proper forage species adapted to location, weather, soil type and animals’ nutrient requirements is essential.
In addition to the cool-season forages field days, other Clemson REC field days include:
- April 25 – Turfgrass Research Field Day, Pee Dee REC, Florence, South Carolina.
- April 27 – Small Grains Field Day, Pee Dee REC, Florence South Carolina.
- May 30 – Field Day, Sandhill REC, Columbia, South Carolina.
- June 7 – Vegetable Field Day, Coastal REC, Charleston, South Carolina.
- July 13 – Watermelon Field Day, Edisto REC, Blackville, South Carolina.
- July 27 – Corn Field Day, Edisto REC, Blackville, South Carolina
- Aug. 31 – Agronomy Field Day, Pee Dee REC, Florence, South Carolina.
- Sept. 7 – Peanut Field Day, Edisto REC, Blackville, South Carolina.
- Sept. 21 – Agronomic and Vegetable Field Day, Edisto REC, Blackville, South Carolina.
The cool-season forages field days project is made possible through the support of the South Carolina Forages and Grazing Land Coalition, a branch of the American Forage and Grassland Council.
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