Louisiana Forage & Grassland Council Annual Meeting Friday

The Louisiana Forage & Grassland Council

The Louisiana Forage and Grassland Council (LFGC) plans to address several topics at its 2017 annual conference. The conference will be held on Friday, December 8 in Alexandria. The meeting site will be the LSU AgCenter’s Woodrow Dewitt Livestock Barn Facility, located on the south end of the campus at LSU-A in Alexandria. The campus is located south of Alexandria off of Highway 71.

Presentations will be made on topics such as using a leader/follower grazing system, considerations for including clover in pasture and grass and legume seed production in Oregon. An invited presentation on the importance of managing grasslands to enhance pollinator habitat will be made by Liza Garcia from the University of Florida. Improved forages are not only good for livestock; they can also help feed bees. Bees are the primary pollinators and they benefit 1/3 of the world’s crop-based production. Bee populations are declining, affecting plants that rely upon them. Managing grasslands to enhance bee habitat requires similar management practices to those needed to enhance pasture for grazing livestock. Several management strategies to enhance pollinator abundance in grasslands will be discussed.

Registration and viewing of commercial exhibits will begin at 8:15 a.m. The meeting will begin at 9:00 a.m. and conclude with a lunch at 12:45 p.m. Lunch will be included in the $10 registration fee and anyone interested in forage production and management is invited to attend. Membership in LFGC will be available at the meeting for $35. Membership in LFGC is not required for attendance.