The 2025 American Forage and Grassland Council Annual Meeting was held in Kissimmee, Florida in early January. A group of farmers and Virginia Tech faculty attended the conference. Here are several highlights from the event.

Summer Thomas, who successfully defended her dissertation in May 2024 and currently works as a Farmer Support and Project Coordinator at Virginia Tech, won 2nd place in the competitive Emerging Scientist Competition.

Tucker Family Farms sponsored the popular Forage Spokesperson Contest, which featured six contestants from across the country who describe how forages contribute to the success of their farming operations.

Katie Payne presented a poster on the heifer development program at the Southern Piedmont Agricultural Research and Extension Center.
Sanjok Poudel, who recently earned a PhD from Virginia Tech and is now an Assistant Professor at North Carolina Agri-cultural and Technical State University, presented a poster on peanut skin supplementation to cattle on wildtype versus novel endophyte tall fescue. This work took place at the Southwest Virginia Agricultural Research and Extension Center.

John Fike presented some highlights from his work on silvopasture practices in Virginia during a special symposium on current research and application of silvopasture.

As a member of VFGC, you also are a member of AFGC. Jon Repair’s term on the Board of the AFGC concluded in 2024, and Shawna Bratton (past-president of the VFGC) was elected to the AFGC Board in 2025 as an Industry Director for a two-year term. While Jon’s term as a Producer Director has concluded, Jon was recently appointed Treasurer by the AFGC Board.

The next AFGC Annual Meeting will be hosted in Asheville, North Carolina, on January 12-15, 2026. Matt Poore and Johnny Rogers will be organizing the meeting. Featuring practical, data-informed presentations on forage management, this meeting brings farmers, professionals, and scientists together for a unique opportunity to network and learn about recent discoveries in the forage world.

Article By: Gabriel Pent, McCormick Farm/Shenandoah Valley AREC, Virginia Tech