Beyond the Bale: Forage Field Day Relates to both Producers and Consumers

SPRING HILL, Tenn. -- If you have ever mowed your lawn, enjoyed a steak
dinner, or suffered a fire ant sting, a University of Tennessee field day
in Middle Tennessee is an event you will not want to miss.

"Making Forages Work" is a free public event to be held June 13 at the
Middle Tennessee Experiment Station. Its purpose is to educate producers
and consumers on the importance of forage plants that are grazed or
harvested for use as animal feed. Organizers hope to inform and entertain a
broad audience.

Session topics will cover a variety of issues pertinent to livestock
producers and the forage industry, such as efficient hay equipment and
storage, mineral availability to grazing livestock, and grazing systems for
both warm- and cool-season grasses. In addition, many lectures and
demonstrations will cater to those at the top of the forage food chain.

"We want to show how forages touch all areas of livestock, extending all
the way from the farm to the fork," said Dennis Onks, superintendent of the
Middle Tennessee Experiment Station. "Forages are important to the
homeowner as well as the producer."

Visitors will benefit from session topics such as selection of lawn grass
varieties, management of fire ants at home and in pasture, and weed
identification demonstrations. A diagnostic lab, organized by UT plant
pathologist Dr. Alan Windham, will also be set up on-site, and members of
the public are invited to bring in diseased plants for expert examination.

Demonstrations will promote preparation methods for "Fruits of the Forage"
-- including beef and goat dishes -- and safe handling of meats. Visitors
will be able to taste free samples.

A fishing rodeo on the station's main pond will provide some additional
entertainment for kids of all ages. A prize will be awarded to the person
who brings in the largest bass. A state fishing license is not required for
children under the age of 12.

The event will begin at 8:30 a.m. and will finish around 3:00 p.m.
Researchers, extension agents and local vendors will remain onsite to
answer questions and greet participants.

The Middle Tennessee Experiment Station, one of 11 research facilities in
the statewide UT Agricultural Experiment Station system, is noted as the
home of the performance-tested bull program, which has been in operation
since 1972. The station performs research in forages for both beef and
dairy cattle.

The station is located on Hwy. 31, just minutes south of Nashville. Take
exit 53 from I-65. Follow the signs to Columbia on Hwy 31 with the
experiment station entrance on the east side of the highway. For more
information regarding the event, or to obtain a map, contact the Middle
Tennessee Experiment Station at (931) 486-2129.


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Contacts: Dr. Dennis Onks, (931) 486-2129
Patricia McDaniels or Keli Woodard, (865)-974-7141
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UT To Host Beef and Forage Field Day in Knoxville

KNOXVILLE, TN (April 9, 2002) -- The University of Tennessee plans to host
a Beef and Forage Field Day on Friday, June 21, at the Knoxville Experiment
Station Blount Unit.

Free to the public, the program will begin at 7:30 a.m. with a trade show.
Formal presentations will begin at 8:30.

The opening session speaker will be Lemmy Wilson of Wilson Livestock
Network, Inc., in Newport. He will discuss current trends in the beef
industry. Sessions hosted by UT experts include discussions of using
electronic identification (EID) in beef cattle management and marketing,
overseeding tall fescue with winter annuals, weed control in pastures,
synchronization of beef cows and heifers followed by fixed-time
insemination, management of the herd bull, and an overview of vaccines used
for beef cattle.

A special afternoon session will feature a live cattle demonstration. David
May, general manager of Golden Belt Feeders, St. John, Kansas, will focus
the seminar and demonstration on factors affecting feedlot cost of gain and
feeder cattle prices.

The field day will adjourn at 2:30 p.m.

The Blount Unit is located approximately 8 miles south of the intersection
of Interstate 40 and U.S. Highway 129. The field day will be held on
Singleton Station Road. A map is available on the Web at
http://web.utk.edu/~taescomm/kes/fieldday/blount.html

For more information about the field day, contact your local county
Agricultural Extension Agent or the Knoxville Experiment Station at
865-974-7201.

The Knoxville Experiment Station is one of eleven branch research
facilities in the Tennessee Agricultural Experiment Station system.

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Contact: Patricia Clark McDaniels, 865-974-7141
Read more!