WEST-CENTRAL MISSOURI HAY PRODUCTION WORKSHOP
Agronomy & Pest Management
Travis Harper
Agronomy Specialist
University of Missouri Extension
CLINTON
Abstract
For the past several years, University of Missouri Extension has strongly encouraged stockpiling of tall fescue, management intensive grazing, and other practices to promote year-round grazing. Extension agents and cattle producers alike have long known that it is much cheaper to graze cattle than it is to provide them with grain, hay, or other products. However, the fact remains that Missouri cattle producers must feed hay for a portion of the year. Over the last 5 years excessive rainfall during Missouri’s biggest haying months, May and June, has made it difficult to cut hay on time. This, along with rising fuel and fertilizer prices, has made it nearly impossible to produce and feed hay without losing money. West-central Missouri agricultural specialists, with assistance from their colleagues in southwest Missouri, developed a hay production workshop that focuses on producing quality hay that meets the nutritional needs of cattle at an affordable price. The hay production workshop was held in Clinton, Missouri in March of 2012. Topics covered in the workshop included economics of hay production, fertilizing hay fields, livestock nutrition, hay testing, and weed control. Preliminary evaluation indicated that workshop participants learned of resources and techniques they could utilize to produce a higher quality hay at a lower cost.
Authors: Harper, T.W.
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Harper, T.W. Regional Agronomy Specialist, University Of Missouri Extension, Missouri, 64735