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Everyone is invited to attend and learn how Tim Service is developing a forage chain for finishing beef using a unique forage sequence including warm season grasses, annuals, perennial ryegrass and novel endophyte fescue. Also see how stockpiled forage, pollinator plots, two step weaning and riparian areas fit into his cattle operation. Overview and background […]

Matt Booher, Rockingham County Extension Agent, has started a weekly digital forage mini-newsletter. If you would like to get on the email list to receive this, please contact Matt at mrbooher@vt.edu.  

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

The VFGC would like to feature more good photos from different farms around the state in the annual grazing calendar. To encourage you to send in your best photos, we have decided to have a contest. Who is eligible:  Anyone can submit a photo, but to win one of the prizes you have to be a […]

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 […]

Our 2020 winter forage conferences are scheduled for the following dates: January 21 – Wytheville January 22 – Chatham January 23 – Brandy Station January 24 – Weyers Cave. The theme for this year’s educational conferences is: THINKING STRATEGICALLY: The Role of Hay in Today’s Grazing System.” 2020 VFGC Winter Forage Conferences Brochure. As you […]

On-line Registration is Closed!! The 2020 Winter Forage Conferences will be held January 21 thru 24, 2020 at various locations across Virginia. The 2020 theme will be Thinking Strategically: The Role of Hay in Today’s Grazing System The Keynote Speakers will be: Kevin Yon. Yon Family Farms of Ridge Spring, SC is a family-owned operation […]

Gabriel Pent has been named superintendent of Virginia Tech’s Shenandoah Valley Agricultural Research and Extension Center in Raphine, Virginia. The Florida native has lived in Blackstone for the past two years. Pent brings extensive knowledge of agricultural research and Extension programming, including expertise in reducing livestock heat stress through silvopasture and alternative forages, the use […]