A pasture walk emphasizing native warm-season grass establishment is scheduled to be held 7 p.m. Tuesday, July 20, at State Fair Community College in Sedalia.

University of Missouri Extension livestock specialist Gene Schmitz, says several forage management events, including a native warm-season grass pasture walk, regional grazing schools, an advanced grazing school and weekly virtual Forages/Livestock Town Hall meetings will be held in coming weeks.

According to a statement, participants can see six establishments planted in spring 2020 and learn about their productivity and management. Schmitz says these forages can be a profitable addition to cool-season forage systems but need different management strategies for success.

MU Extension, State Fair Community College, the Missouri Department of Conservation and the NRCS + MU Grasslands Project sponsor the plots and the pasture walks.

Regional grazing schools are set to begin Tuesday, August 3-5 in Higginsville and Tuesdays, August 24-26 in Lincoln. The three-day events cover managed grazing systems.

The statement says an Advanced Grazing Workshop will be held Tuesday, September 14-15 in Sedalia. Topics include forage selection; soil health in pasture systems; pasture, range and forage insurance; supplementation strategies; and hay sampling. Participants will learn ways to assess pasture condition, identify forage and weed species and estimate forage availability.
This event is partially funded through an NRCS Conservation Partnership grant obtained by MU Extension specialists in west-central Missouri.

To register for pasture walks, contact Schmitz at schmitze@missouri.edu  or call MU Extension in Pettis County at (660) 827-0591.

Schmitz reminds producers that the weekly Forages/Livestock Town Halls continue in 2021. The free programs are noon-1 p.m. Thursdays via Zoom. Register at ipm.missouri.edu/townhalls. Recordings of past town halls are available on Youtube.