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​2022 Forage & Pasture Management Workshop

• Saturday, April 23, 2022, 9:30 AM - 3:30 PM

Registration at 9:30 a.m. Beverages & Exhibits in Cafeteria

• Keynote Session - Academic Room: 10:00-10:55 AM Getting the Most out of Your Pastures and Hayfields without Breaking the Bank - Dan Steward, WNY Crop Management. With costs of seed, fertilizer, herbicides and equipment going up in addition to supply chain shortages, we need to be selective with our management decisions now more than ever. Join Dan Steward from WNY Crop Management as he helps us navigate how to optimize our management and input use to get the largest return on our pastures and hayfields.

11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. CONCURRENT SESSION I (PICK ONE)

• Selecting the Right Equipment for Your Farm - In this session we will cover what to look for when purchasing new or used equipment and how to determine size on machinery to match your enterprise needs. This session will be held outside, please dress appropriately.
• If Money Doesn’t Grow On Trees – Maybe, it Grows In Hay Fields? Pricing Home-Grown Forage for Farm Use and Sale - Katelyn Walley-Stoll, Business Management Specialist SWNY Dairy, Livestock & Field Crops. Do you know how much it costs you to make hay? In this session we’ll walk through the importance and the how-to’s of calculating costs of production for your operation – and why this matters in today’s farm economy! She will discuss harvesting your own forage vs buying it in and the real costs of producing forage on-farm and walk through tools you can use to make these decisions to meet your farm’s financial management goals.
• Horse Pasture Management - Ken Estes, Ag Program Leader CCE Livingston. In this session we will explore the best management practices to provide and maintain forage for your livestock in this case horses in a pasture. With topics including soil health, plant selection, loading density, mowing, dragging, resting, fertilizing, and weed control. We will also look at new trends in pasture design with dry lots and track pastures.

Lunch 12:00 p.m. - 1:25 p.m.

1:25 p.m. – 2:25 p.m. CONCURRENT SESSION II

• Tractor & Machinery Maintenance – In this session we will cover importance of year-round maintenance of your machinery and equipment. Hands-on walk through of where and what to check for on difference pieces of equipment. This session will be held outside, please dress appropriately.
• Understanding Forage Reports to Match Forage and Animal Needs - Amy Barkley, Livestock and Beginning Farm Specialist, SWNY Dairy, Livestock, and Field Crops Team. Learning how to test forage and understand the resulting report can help overcome forage variability and allow you to make the most out of forage resources. This session will review forage testing techniques for stored forage and pasture, how to read forage reports, and how to match forage with species and/or animal groups.
• Setting Up Your Grazing System - Nancy Glazier, CCE NWNY Team, Small Farms/Livestock Specialist. Pasture can supply adequate forage through the growing season and beyond, if balanced with supply and demand. Learn what is needed to implement a system.

2:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. CONCURRENT SESSION III

• The Basics of Safe Tractor Operation - James Carrabba, Agricultural Safety Specialist, New York Center for Agricultural Medicine and Health. Tractors are a very common piece of equipment found on nearly all farms. Tractors are also the single most common machine involved in farm injuries and fatalities. In this presentation, you will learn about the most common type of tractor mishaps and the prevention strategies you can follow to stay safe while operating tractors and machinery.
• Techniques for Making Great Hay and Baleage – Farmer Panel. Why do we make hay vs baleage? What do moisture contents for the best quality stored forage look like? Are there any pitfalls to making one type of stored forage over the other? Do you need special equipment if transitioning to one from the other? These questions and more will be answered during our panel. Bring your questions!!
• Livestock Handling Equipment and Techniques - Lynn Bliven, CCE Allegany Agriculture & Natural Resources Issue Leader. Whether you are an aspiring, beginning and transitioning farmers understanding how to act around livestock is important for both the stock and the handlers. We will discuss selecting the right equipment along with setting up facilities for handling and restraint animals safely.

This event is hosted by: CCE Allegany; CCE Chautauqua; CCE Livingston; CCE NWNY Dairy, Livestock and Field Crops Team; & CCE SWNY Dairy, Livestock, and Field Crops Team.

Cornell Cooperative Extension offers educational programming and research based information to agricultural producers, growers, and agribusinesses. Cornell Cooperative Extension is an employer and education recognized for valuing AA/EEO, Protected Veterans, and Individual with Disabilities and provides equal program and employment opportunities. For accommodations, please contact Lisa Kempisty at (716) 664-9502 or ljk4@cornell.edu at least one week prior to the event.

Last updated March 29, 2022