Beef cattle (file photo) CAES News
Cattle Emissions
It is not difficult to find somebody talking about methane these days. Simply turn on the TV, open your computers to your news affiliate of choice or log into any social media platform.
When implementing grazing management strategies, one of the key tools to success is using temporary fencing technology. This technology is a fantastic advancement that allows us the opportunity to adjust our grazing paddock size multiple times throughout the year based on animal need and number, forage growth and availability. (Photo by Justin Burt) CAES News
Re-establishing Alfalfa
Alfalfa, once a dominant forage in Georgia, is the third-highest crop for economic returns in the United States. Combined with cheap nitrogen prices, difficulty growing the desirable forage crop in Georgia’s challenging climate led to a decline in alfalfa production in the state after its peak in the 1960s.
Alfredo Espinoza-Martinez received the 2021 Excellence in Extension award from the American Phytopathological Society for his work in Extension focusing on disease management in turfgrass, as well as working with small grains and non-legume forages. CAES News
Excellence in Extension
It is said that if you find a job you love, you will never work a day in your life. For Alfredo Martinez-Espinoza, this has come true through his work as a plant pathologist with University of Georgia Cooperative Extension. His passion and hard work have been recognized with the American Phytopathological Society’s (APS) 2021 Excellence in Extension award.
Although there is no one-size-fits-all rule to rotational grazing management, to provide forage rest and recovery and improve grazing efficiency, the first step is to get cattle moving. CAES News
Managed Grazing
As the face of the American farmer changes, so do some of the methodologies, technologies and results. This is no different for the young ranchers trying to get started in the business or starting new roots away from the family farm. The reality is that many of us have jobs and homes away from the farm and run cattle on land that we don’t see every day, sometimes only once a week if we’re lucky. Considering this situation I understand why, after talking about the benefits of managed grazing, I often get the long looks that say, “That sounds good but it won’t work for me.”
The 2020 Southeastern Hay Contest grand prize was awarded to Brian Johnson of McKenney, Virginia, for his alfalfa hay sample (not pictured). Pictured from left to right are Ash Alt, Massey Ferguson Field Execution Manager; Lisa Baxter, UGA Forage Extension Specialist; Leanne Dillard, Auburn University Forage Extension Specialist; and Marcelo Wallau, UF Forage Extension Specialist. CAES News
2020 Hay Contest Winners
Despite the challenges of the pandemic, 370 entries were submitted in the 2020 Southeastern Hay Contest (SEHC), just below the record-setting number of submissions for 2019. More states submitted samples to the contest than ever before, with nine represented.
Fescue contains an endophyte — a fungus that lives within the plant — that gives the grass desirable attributes but produces alkaloids that are toxic to animals who graze on it, a defense mechanism meant to prevent overgrazing. Pictured are the slender tubes of the endophytic fungus (Neotyphodium coendophialum) in the intercellular spaces of tall fescue. CAES News
Fescue Toxicity Grant
A $500,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture will allow researchers at the University of Georgia to examine the minutiae of cattle and fescue microbiome interaction to find targets that will help mitigate the effects of fescue toxicosis, a forage-related condition that costs the U.S. beef industry more than $1 billion each year.
Bermuda grass stem maggot damages the upper leaves of a forage crop. Lisa Baxter estimates about 60% yield loss in this picture. CAES News
Forage Pest Management
Drought-like conditions this summer are forcing Georgia forage farmers to delay treatments for Bermuda grass stem maggot, according to Lisa Baxter, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension forage specialist.
Lisa Baxter began her job on the UGA Tifton campus on March 1. She will focus her time in south Georgia, while Dennis Hancock serves north Georgia. CAES News
Forage Management
According to Lisa Baxter, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension’s newest forage agronomist, an unusually wet winter will cause problems with summer forage crop quality in Georgia.
Steers graze on sorghum-sudangrass hybrid forage at the UGA Eatonton Beef Research Unit as part of a 2014 study on grass-finished beef forages. CAES News
Grazing School 2017
A two-day Advanced Grazing School, hosted by University of Georgia Cooperative Extension specialists Sept. 19-20, will provide a deeper understanding of grazing systems to those in attendance. 
Hay bales outline a field in Butts County, Georgia. CAES News
To Overseed or Not?
While drivers spend extra time in the car in search of fuel during the recent gasoline shortage, farmers are dealing with a more long-term shortage — a low supply of hay for their livestock.