Morning Ag Clips logo
  • Subscribe ❯
  • PORTAL ❯
  • LOGIN ❯
  • By Keyword
  • By topic
  • By state
  • Home
  • Events
  • Jobs
  • Store
  • Advertise
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Subscribe to our
    daily email
    ❯
  • Portal Registration❯
  • Login❯
  • policy
  • tractors & machinery
  • education
  • conservation
  • webinars
  • business
  • dairy
  • cattle
  • poultry
  • swine
  • corn
  • soybeans
  • organic
  • specialty crops
  • Alabama
  • Alaska
  • Arizona
  • Arkansas
  • California
  • Colorado
  • Connecticut
  • Delaware
  • Florida
  • Georgia
  • Hawaii
  • Idaho
  • Illinois
  • Indiana
  • Iowa
  • Kansas
  • Kentucky
  • Louisiana
  • Maine
  • Maryland
  • Massachusetts
  • Michigan
  • Minnesota
  • Mississippi
  • Missouri
  • Montana
  • Nebraska
  • Nevada
  • New Hampshire
  • New Jersey
  • New Mexico
  • New York
  • North Carolina
  • North Dakota
  • Ohio
  • Oklahoma
  • Oregon
  • Pennsylvania
  • Rhode Island
  • South Carolina
  • South Dakota
  • Tennessee
  • Texas
  • Utah
  • Vermont
  • Virginia
  • Washington
  • West Virginia
  • Wisconsin
  • Wyoming

Morning Ag Clips

  • By Keyword
  • By topic
  • By state
  • policy
  • tractors & machinery
  • education
  • conservation
  • webinars
  • business
  • dairy
  • cattle
  • poultry
  • swine
  • corn
  • soybeans
  • organic
  • specialty crops
  • Home
  • Events
  • Jobs
  • Store
  • Advertise
Home » Annual Agriculture Production Conference held
CONFERENCE RECAP ... Comments

Annual Agriculture Production Conference held

95th annual event draws a crowd of 90 local landowners

PUBLISHED ON April 9, 2018

90 people attending the 95th Annual Ag Production Conference in Greene County on March 20. (Photo credit: MU Extension)
90 people attending the 95th Annual Ag Production Conference in Greene County on March 20. (Photo credit: MU Extension)
90 people attending the 95th Annual Ag Production Conference in Greene County on March 20. (Photo credit: MU Extension)

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — The 95th Annual Agriculture Production Conference and Greene County Soil and Water Conservation District Annual Meeting was held March 20 at Springfield Livestock Marketing Center, 6821 West Independence, Springfield.

This year’s event drew a crowd of 90 local landowners that were interested in the agriculture topics addressed by the two featured speakers.

DROUGHT MANAGEMENT

Dr. Eric Bailey, MU Extension State Beef Nutrition Specialist, presented “Objective Drought Management Planning.” He noted that hay production is expensive and that feeding hay during a drought is the least desirable option.

“Feeding through a drought is costly,” said Bailey. “To avoid that you have to identify and manage feed shortages before they occur.”

One of the ways of doing that is watching the weather and tracking rainfall. It is especially important to pay attention to some possible trigger dates during the year according to Bailey.

For example, winter precipitation will impact spring forage growth. Missouri typically gets 24 percent of its normal annual precipitation between November 1 and March 1. If that does not happen, then consider that the first warning that drought conditions may be coming.

There is typically a summer slump for precipitation. In Missouri, 30 percent of the annual precipitation happens between March 1 and June 1. If that mark is missed then farmers might need to consider early weaning of spring calves and selective culling of the fall herd.

Rainfall between June 1 and October 1 should be 37 percent of the annual precipitation, and if that is missed, the fall stockpile will be impacted.

“The key is to have a plan. Hay is an expensive forage when compared to cow-harvest pasture forage,” said Bailey. “The more steel and fuel you put between the sun and a cow’s mouth, the less profitable you will be.”

HAY PRODUCTION

Jim Spencer, MU Extension agriculture business specialist and Tim Schnakenberg, MU Extension agronomy specialist, jointly presented “Getting the Most out of Your Hay Production.”

Both noted that hay production can be expensive. Part of that expense comes from waste. In fact, nearly 50 percent of the hay harvested using traditional methods does not end up in the cow.

But the other thing to consider is the quality of the hay.

“A high yielding hay crop does not always mean it was a successful hay crop,” said Schnakenberg. “Truth is, the practice of harvesting fescue hay rarely matches up with the climate of Missouri and too often has a low return on investment.”

That means it may be time for a paradigm shift. Producers should be considering the advantages of wrapped baleage, early harvest, and warm season forages.

“Converted a field does take time and money but having a warm-season forage gives options that most Ozarks producers don’t currently have,” said Schnakenberg. “For example, cattle can graze the fescue during the fall and spring and then hay and graze Bermudagrass during the summer.”

The evening also included updates from the Farm Services Agency and NRCS, and the Greene County Soil and Water Conservation District.

Based on evaluations completed at the end of the night, 92 percent of attendees gained knowledge in how to prepare for beef cattle nutritional needs during drought. Additionally, 94 percent said they had a better understanding of the true costs of hay production, and 92 percent said they better understand how to get the most yield and quality out of hay production

MORE INFORMATION

Sponsors for this event include Greene County Soil & Water Conservation District, Greene County Farm Bureau, Integrity Home Care and Hospice, Legacy Bank and Trust of Rogersville, Main Street Feeds, Larson Farm and Home, FCS Financial, Old Missouri Bank, Conco Quarries, MFA of Springfield, Springfield Livestock Market, Race Brothers Farm and Home Supply, and the Greene County Commission.

Formerly known as the Soils and Crops Conference, the conference name was changed three -years ago to better reflect the topics that best address farming in Greene County.

“This conference provides research-based information and options to area agriculture producers that can help them make more informed and profitable decisions,” said Tim Schnakenberg, agronomy specialist with University of Missouri Extension. “We are always open to topics of interest for our 96th annual evening next March.”

For more information, contact Schnakenberg in Stone County at (417) 357-6812 or Spencer in Christian County at (417) 581-3558. Copies of the presentations given at the conference can also be found online at the “agriculture” link at http://extension.missouri.edu/greene.

— David Burton, University of Missouri Extension

For more news from Missouri, click here.

Click Here to find out more about your favorite topics

events

Spread the word

Browse More Clips

Regional 4-H Shooting Sports event July 2, 2013 at the Andy Dalton Shooting Range in Bois D'Arc, Mo. (Courtesy of MUExtension417 via Flickr)

Wright Co. 4-H Shooting Sports safety class April 21

grazing

May grazing school to be held in Osceola

Primary Sidebar

MORE

MISSOURI CLIPS

Dryness intensifies across Missouri
July 4, 2022
Missouri's agricultural organizations joint statement on call for special session
July 4, 2022
Missouri Department of Agriculture statement on Governor Parson's call for a special session
July 4, 2022
Elected in November 2016, Lt. Gov.-elect Michael L. Parson will be sworn in as Lt. Governor on Jan. 9, 2017. (Missouri Department of Agriculture)
Gov. Parson issues legislative vetoes, calls for special session for permanent tax relief
July 4, 2022
Angus breeders learn at Beef Leaders Institute
July 1, 2022
  • Trending
  • Latest

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE...

Farmers invited to Robotic Milking System Farm Tour
July 5, 2022
Nebraska Grazing Conference to be held in August
July 5, 2022
Market update, tips to side-dress manure, control flies
July 5, 2022
Local farms are open for summer activities and events
July 4, 2022
Learn about managing weeds in upcoming Penn State Extension workshop
July 4, 2022

Footer

MORNING AG CLIPS

  • Sponsors
  • About Us
  • Advertise with Us
  • Privacy Statement
  • Terms of Service
  • Customer & Technical Support

CONNECT WITH US

  • Like Us on Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

TRACK YOUR TRADE

  • Markets & Economy
  • Cattle Updates
  • Dairy News
  • Policy & Politics
  • Corn Alerts

QUICK LINKS

  • Account
  • Portal Membership
  • Invite Your Friends
  • Subscribe to RSS
  • WeatherTrends
  • Just Me, Kate

© 2022 Morning Ag Clips, LLC. All Rights Reserved.