The Virginia Forage and Grassland Council, Inc. (VFGC) collaborates with producer members in different areas of the state, to demonstrate various forage and grazing management techniques. These demonstrations are one way to promote the utilization of forages to meet producer goals while highlighting grazing management practices that improve forage production, grazing efficiency and soil health.
VFGC is also the recipient of a Conservation Innovation Grant (CIG) from USDA-NRCS. We encourage you to look at and follow the progress of the demonstration farms listed below as changes are implemented and their grazing systems improve.
Keith Tuck, Tuck Farms, Moneta VA Keith Tuck owns and operates a commercial cow-calf operation in an all grass production system. He typically carries 100 cow-calf pairs and develops about 15-20 replacement heifers. The farm is located just north of Smith Mountain Lake in Moneta, VA, in southern Bedford County. Historically this had been a tobacco farm and about 20 […]
Demonstrating conversion of tall fescue to native warm season grasses for greater livestock performance and better environmental outcomes Project Background While tall fescue (Schedonorous arundinaceus) is the predominant forage species in Virginia pasture systems, the species has limited productivity during the summer months. In addition, most of the tall fescue in Virginia is infected with an endophyte that produces ergot […]
Sign up now for the 2020 Novel Tall Fescue Renovation Workshop hosted by Virginia Tech and the Alliance for Grassland Renewal. Remember when Dr. Dan Undersander reminded us of the danger of being penny wise and pound foolish at the 2020 VFGC winter conferences? Specifically, Dr. Undersander mentioned how novel endophyte tall fescue can often increase cow conception rates and […]
Demonstrating conversion of wildtype to novel endophyte fescue pastures for greater livestock performance and better environmental outcomes Project Background Tall fescue is the predominant forage species used in animal production systems across the upper Southeast, but it is the host for a fungus that produces alkaloids that are toxic to livestock. Environmental concerns relative to pasture systems may have strong […]
By: JB Daniel, USDA-NRCS State Grazing Specialist Jerry and Judy Ingle partnered with the Black Diamond RC&D, the local Extension agent along with the Soil and Water District and NRCS to host an educational meeting emphasizing the practice of stockpiling and strip-grazing fescue over the winter. The event was held on February 19, 2019 and began with 33 participants attending […]
The grazing demonstration hosted at Ronnie Nuckols Farm as part of the Conservation Innovation Grant between VFGC and USDA-NRCS is now complete. The detailed case study summary report titled: Using Annual Forages and Improved Grazing Management to Build Soil Health and Improve System Performance, is available for download as a PDF document below. This report details how Ronnie collaborated with […]
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 that would make it profitable […]
Tim Tobin, of Swallow Hill Farm in Woodford, VA, is a farm demonstration cooperator with the Virginia Forage and Grassland Council as part of a USDA- NRCS Conservation Innovation Grant project. Tim will be speaking next week at the VFGC Conference in Madison, presenting a project summary on how he has used specific forage species and improved grazing management practices […]
Pasture Walk August 17, 2017 Demonstrating conversion of wildtype to novel endophyte fescue pastures for greater livestock performance and better environmental outcomes Tall fescue compared to a highly productive summer annual mix in neighboring field after 30 days of no rain. A variety of summer annuals have been donated by Halifax SWCD, Dodd’s Farm Supply, King’s Agriseeds, and CPS-South Hill […]
The Virginia Forage and Grassland Council is excited to present a short video highlighting Ronnie Nuckols discussing his journey as a grazing demonstration cooperator over the last few years. In this video, “A Step by Step Approach to Building Pasture Productivity and Soil Health,” Ronnie explains where he started, the challenge to change, how he transitioned to grazing management and […]
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