Beef

Forage finished beef is of growing consumer and producer interest. Opportunities to direct market a higher value product appeals to producers. Healthier meat from animals raised on pasture appeals to consumers, and the ability to improve environmental outcomes appeals to both. Getting adequate growth to reach a “finished” state and addressing market issues can sometimes […]

Please contact John Fike at jfike@vt.edu or Gabriel Pent at gpent@vt.edu regarding these events. Are you interested in starting a pasture-finished beef operation or improving your existing forage-finished beef operation? If so, consider attending one of the upcoming Pasture-Finished Beef Production Meetings held at three convenient locations around Virginia. These workshops are part of a […]

Bellevue Farm Charles and Robert Drumheller Bellevue Farm was honored by the Virginia Forage and Grassland Council (VFGC) as the 2018 Outstanding Forage Producer of the Year. The farm is located in Swoope, within the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. It is owned and operated by Charles and Robert Drumheller, whose family has owned the farm […]

John Fant, Colonel, US Army (Ret), returned to southwest Virginia in 2013 after a career in the military to resume the daily operations and management of the family farm. Watch this short video as John explains the challenges and opportunities he faced returning to the farm, assessing its resources then developing and implementing a plan […]

Join us at Swallow Hill Farm in Caroline County, Virginia on Thursday, April 14, 2016. Tim and Susan Tobin are hosting this field day as VFGC partners with the local Extension, SWCD and NRCS employees to conduct this forage and grazing event. The program will highlight how Tim is using specific forage species (annuals and […]

Recent studies indicate that native grasses can be a useful “tool” for forage producers providing a good complement to tall fescue or orchardgrass and a low input alternative to bermudagrass. There are five species typically considered for forage production: switchgrass, big bluestem, little bluestem, indiangrass, and eastern gamagrass. While all have value for forage production, […]

The video was shot and produced by Anders Gurda as part of his graduate-thesis work at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is now an associate researcher in organic and sustainable cropping systems at UW-Madison.This last video of a four-part series gives Upper Midwestern graziers’ suggestions on how others can implement mob grazing into their operations. Mob […]

Thousand of farmers raise livestock on grasslands throughout Virginia. These grasslands have the potential to be very productive, but it largely depends on how the livestock are managed on the pastures. More and more farmers are transitioning from continuous grazing their livestock to a higher level of grazing management. Their goal is to save time […]

The Basic of Forage Testing click for link