Adapting to Change: Designing Resilient Forage-Livestock Systems

Chris Teutsch, Jimmy Henning, and Ray Smith, University of Kentucky 

Cow-calf producers in Kentucky face changing conditions in both the immediate and distant future.  Realizing this, the theme of this year’s grazing conference was “designing resilient forage-livestock grazing systems for the transition zone of the United States”.   This year’s keynote speaker was Johnny Rogers, a North Carolina farmer, Amazing Grazing Coordinator at North Carolina State University, and President of the Red Angus Association.  Rogers’s talk focused on selecting animal genetics that are adapted to changing conditions.  Other topics covered during the three-night conference included soil fertility, forage species selection, managing economic risk, utilizing existing resources, USDA research update, and a historical perspective on 50 years of change in the forage livestock industry.  More than 100 individuals attend this conference virtually and all presentations were recorded and are available on the KYForages YouTube Channel.  These videos have been viewed more than 2,500 times.