Success StorySeeing is Believing: Improving Grazing Management with Summer Forage Tours



Seeing is Believing: Improving Grazing Management with Summer Forage Tours

Author: Samuel Smith

Planning Unit: Plant and Soil Sciences

Major Program: Forages

Outcome: Intermediate Outcome

Farmers tend to be experiential learners, seeing, touching, and doing enhances their understanding, retention, and adoption of improved grazing management practices.  For this reason, we initiated the Western Kentucky Summer Forage Tour series. Since its inception in 2018, we have held tours in Ballard, Ohio, and Calloway counties.   These tours have features farms in various stages of their grazing journey.  In 2018, we featured a grass finished beef operation in Ballard County that has been grazing with minimal commercial inputs for more than three decades.   In 2019, the summer tour featured a brand-new farm that was just getting started.  In 2020, an integrated forage, livestock, and tobacco farm in Calloway County was featured.  At each location the UK Forages Extension and Master Grazer program worked with local agents to organize the tour and establish demonstrations.  The demonstrations have included traditional and novel summer annual forages, weed control, fencing, and grazing management.   More than 450 producers from Kentucky, Tennessee, Illinois, Indiana, Arkansas, and Colorado have attended these programs.






Stories by Samuel Smith


UK Pasture Evaluation Program

about 1 years ago by Samuel Smith

The UK Horse Pasture Evaluation Program had another strong evaluation season during the summer of 20... Read More


Forage News

about 1 years ago by Samuel Smith

University of Kentucky forage specialists have been distributing a monthly forage newsletter called ... Read More


Stories by Plant and Soil Sciences


2022 Kentucky Backgrounding Short Course Creates over $50,000 in Additional Profits

2022 Kentucky Backgrounding Short Course Creates over $50,000 in Additional Profits

about 1 years ago by Jimmy Henning

2022 Kentucky Backgrounding Short CourseJeff Lehmkuhler, Katie VanValin, Michelle Arnold, Jimmy Henn... Read More


Improving Hay quality for the producer and consumer in Eastern Kentucky

Improving Hay quality for the producer and consumer in Eastern Kentucky

about 1 years ago by Jimmy Henning

UK Specialist/Agent/Industry Partnership Results in successful hay day at the Robinson Center for Ap... Read More