20th Annual VT Grazing & Livestock Conference

For the past three years, a UVM Extension team has been documenting the effects of different management strategies on three grass-based farms in Vermont.  The three farms, raising beef, dairy cows, and sheep, were evaluated for changes in forage, soil biological activity, energy use, costs and benefits of practices, and how the farmers themselves adapted to changes in strategies and conditions over time.  Team members will present about some of the take away observations from each farm and what they might mean in practical terms for others farmers to learn from and act on.

Come explore the connections between soil biodiversity, forages, animal and human health that can mean a more resilient approach to dairy and farming. Explore topics including soils, forages, rumen microbiome, milk fatty acids across diets.  Project lead Juan Alvez of the UVM Center for Sustainable Agriculture will highlight tools for grass farmers to monitor grazing behavior and forage utilization in real time; the impact of grazing summer annuals on milk production, composition and fatty acid profile as well as rumen function; and how biodiversity in diet can affect overall livestock wellbeing and holistic farm success.

Are there opportunities for you to increase profitability by choosing forage species and varieties that address various needs on your farm?  If you could increase the dry matter intake and lactation of your cows by using haylage made with lower-fiber grasses or grasses with higher fiber digestibility, would it be worth a look?   Are there higher-yielding, more persistent legume species and varieties?  What does it look like when you combine species/variety X, Y, and Z?  What kind of seeding rate is appropriate?  You can read the tech sheets on the varieties available from your local vendor, or you can take a look at them in a setting similar the one on your own farm.  UVM Extension Agronomist Dan Hudson planted 200+ mixed forage plots on multiple farms in Vermont and New Hampshire in 2014 and 2015 to demonstrate the answers to some of these questions and will present the results so far.