MU field day set for Sept. 25 at Linneus, Mo.

LINNEUS, Mo. – More pounds of beef per acre sums up some reports at the Forage Systems Research Center field day, Sept. 25.

Reducing waste when using grass and hay can boost livestock gains, says Dave Davis, superintendent of the University of Missouri farm in Linn County.

The field day will also show two ways to grow more forage per acre. First, make more efficient use of nitrogen. Second, replace toxic Kentucky 31 fescue with new, more productive varieties.

Besides forage, the field day includes beef and natural resources. Registration starts at 8 a.m., with tours from 9 a.m. to noon. Free lunch will be served.

Area businesses will have equipment on display near the new headquarters building.

Forage management efficiency gives better use at lower cost.

Justin Sexten, MU Extension beef nutritionist, will report numbers on how much baled hay gets used by cows. Waste is high.

Rob Kallenbach, MU Extension forage agronomist, will do the same for standing forage during winter months. He will introduce graziers arithmetic to allocate fall stockpile for efficient use with less loss.

That will take some equipment, which he will explain and demonstrate, Davis says.

John Lory, MU soil specialist, will show wise use of nitrogen on grass. Fall applications can increase winter stockpile for grazing, reducing need for baled hay.

Fall nitrogen applications can also affect spring growth and start of early grazing.

A new alliance works to improve fescue pastures in Missouri. Craig Roberts, MU Extension forage specialist, leads efforts to show advantages of new toxin-free fescue.

FSRC has one of two side-by-side grazing demonstrations of new and old fescues. The other plots are at MU Southwest Center, Mount Vernon, Mo.

The plots will show variety persistence and grazing preferences of beef cattle.

Sarah Kenyon, who is working on a Ph.D. in agronomy, gathers data from the plots. The ongoing grazing research will be shown.

Dietrich Volkmann of the MU College of Veterinary Medicine will tell the value of early pregnancy diagnoses after fixed-time artificial insemination. This can improve breeding management in cow herds.

For something different, MU entomologist Wayne Bailey will show dung beetles at work in pastures at FSRC. Also, he’ll warn about impact of cattle wormers on beetle populations.

By burying manure piles, dung beetles improve soil tilth and fertility.

A TSI (timber stand improvement) plan has been made for woodlands on the MU farm. Explaining the details will be Brent Vandeloecht, private lands conservationist for the Missouri Department of Conservation, and Dusty Walter, MU forester.

“Over the next several years we will demonstrate managed timber stands,” Davis says. “We’ll show the tree species we have.”

The event is free and open to the public

FSRC is at 21262 Genoa Road, Linneus, MO 64653. To reach the farm, go west from Brookfield, Mo., on U.S. Highway 36 to Highway FF, then north 6 miles to Genoa Road. Go west.

From Linneus, on Highway 5, go east 2 miles on Highway P to Finn Road. Go 1 3/4 miles to Genoa Road and turn east to the office.

Signs are at the intersections.

For more information, go to aes.missouri.edu/fsrc/.

The center is part of the MU College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources, Columbia.