The 2nd annual Middle Tennessee Hay and Forage Day set for Tuesday, April 21 at Jimmy Herndon’s farm in Smithville offers farmers insight to a number of pasture, hay, and beef cattle production concerns.
The field day is scheduled to get underway with registration beginning at 8:30 a.m. and the program starting at 9:00 a.m. There is no registration fee for the event, and a sponsored lunch will be provided. The Herndon farm is located at 371 Herndon Lane in Smithville.
Bruce Steelman, UT Extension Cannon County Agent, is a member of the planning committee for the field day. “The purpose of field days is to provide a hands-on learning experience for producers to learn the latest research based information from UT Extension. The hay and forage day has a wide variety of topics that should be a benefit to most every beef and forage producer in the area,” stated Steelman.
The list of programs include a pasture weed control demonstration showing use of common pasture herbicides with speaker Dr. Neil Rhodes. Dr. Rhodes is a Weed Management Specialist with UT Extension. Several herbicides were sprayed in March to show effects on common pasture weeds, such as buttercup, dock, and thistle. Participants at the field day will get to view the effects of the demonstration plots.
Mr. Larry Moorehead, the UT Extension Agent in Moore County, will be discussing hay storage and feeding. Mr. Moorehead is known throughout the region for his hay storage programs.
“Bull Selection, Critical to Optimizing Performance” will be the topic presented by Mr. Kevin Thompson. To help producers in decision making when purchasing a bull, Mr. Thompson will have multiple bulls on site and will go over EPD’s in selecting the correct bull for your situation. Mr. Thompson is the Director of the Middle Tennessee Research and Education Center in Spring Hill, where the University of Tennessee houses its bull test station.
Other speakers on the program include Mr. Mark Powell from the Tennessee Department of Agriculture to discuss the Tennessee Agriculture Enhancement Program. Mr. Powell is the state wide director of the TAEP. A hands-on boomless sprayer calibration demonstration will be led by UT Extension Agent Chris Hicks. Mr. Hicks is located in Smith County and has conducted numerous sprayer calibration workshops in the area.
“Mr. Herndon and his family have been gracious to let us conduct the weed management demonstration plots at his farm and host this event. He has been a great cooperator to help make this a successful event for all the attendees,” stated Michael Barry, UT Extension DeKalb County Agent.
The inaugural Hay and Forage day was held last year at David and Patricia Hutton’s farm in Morrison. UT Extension Warren County Agent Heath Nokes, recalled “Over 100 producers attended the event with more than seventy percent reporting an increase in knowledge of forage quality techniques, rotational grazing, herbicide application, and sprayer calibration.”
The field day is a multi-county program of Cannon, DeKalb, and Warren County UT Extension offices. For more information, contact Bruce Steelman (615)563-2554, Michael Barry, (615)597-4945, or Heath Nokes (931)473-8484. This program, like all UT Extension programs, is open to all eligible persons regardless of race, color, national origin, sex, age, religion, disability or veteran status.
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