Winter Pasture Seminar Open to the Public

ARDMORE, Okla. — Winter feeding is a significant yearly expense for a cattle operation, and many producers turn to cool-season forage pastures as a cost-effective alternative to long-term hay or concentrate feeding. The Noble Foundation's Winter Pasture Seminar is designed to help producers learn how to get the most from their winter pastures. The seminar is set for Thursday, July 15, from 4:45 to 8:15 p.m. at the Southern Oklahoma Technology Center at 2610 Sam Noble Parkway in Ardmore.

"In past seminars, we've looked at the establishment of winter pasture, but this year we're going to focus on alternative strategies for using winter pasture," said Chuck Coffey, a forage specialist in the Noble Foundation's Agricultural Division.

Dr. Joe Bouton, director of the Foundation's Forage Improvement Division, will start the program off with an update on the division’s cool-season perennial work. Then, Dr. Brian Northup of the USDA's Agricultural Research Service will talk about the management and use of cool-season perennials based on work done at the Grazinglands Research Laboratory near El Reno, Okla. Following that, Coffey will discuss alternative management strategies for fall grazing — bermudagrass backgrounding and limit grazing of winter pasture. Noble Foundation livestock specialist Dr. Evan Whitley will wrap up the talks with a discussion of using alternative feeds to complement winter pasture. A question-and-answer session will follow.

This seminar is open to the public. Registration is $10 per person. Please pre-register by calling Melissa Castleman at the Noble Foundation at (580) 223-5810.

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The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation, headquartered in Ardmore, Okla., is a non-profit organization conducting agricultural, forage improvement, and plant biology research; providing grants to numerous non-profit charitable, educational and health organizations; and assisting farmers and ranchers through educational and consultative agricultural programs.

To learn more, visit the Noble Foundation Web site at http://www.noble.org.

More news releases available at www.noble.org/Press_Release