Indiana Forage Council
Research and Education for Profitable Forage Production and Utilization
2019 AFGC
2019 American Forage and Grassland Conference
Many Indiana Forage Council members made their way to St. Louis, Missouri for the American Forage and Grassland Conference on January 6-8. 2019.
Congratulations to Bryan Eash, a member of the Indiana Forage Council, from Hudson, IN. He was the first place winner in the Forage Spokesperson Competition.
Participants in the Forage Spokesperson Competition tell their story about use of forages in their farming business. Bryan, his mother Deb and Father Bob utilize high quality forages on their pastured dairy cattle farm.
2018 Forage Bowl Competition
2018 Collegiate Forage Bowl Competition
Purdue University’s 2018 Forage Bowl Team placed second in the 2018 Forage Bowl Competition held at the American Forage and Grasslands Council annual conference.
2019 Forage Bowl Competition
2019 Collegiate Forage Bowl Competition
Purdue University’s Forage Bowl Team went to the semifinals in the 2019 Forage Bowl Competition. Played like the game “Jeopardy,” the Purdue team squared off against five other collegiate teams. All four team members were students in Keith Johnson’s Forage Management class in the spring semester of 2018. The team sends their appreciation to The Indiana Forage Council for the sponsorship of the student’s Purdue attire for the event.
2018 IN State Fair
Indiana Forage Council at the 2018 Indiana State Fair
Many of the officers and directors of the Indiana Forage Council come together for half a day at the Indiana State Fair to help the Indiana Beef Cattle Association with their food tent. Sandwiches are prepared and drinks are poured for paying customers. The Indiana Forage Council is pleased to help the Indiana Beef Cattle Association with this contribution of time. We love beef because they eat forage!
2018 IN Forage Tour
2018 North Central Indiana Summer Forage Tour
A charter bus tour of successful forage and livestock farms occurred in LaGrange and Steuben Counties on August 27, 2018 was organized by the Indiana Forage Council. The tour entitled, “Excellent Forage Management Makes a Difference,” show cased four farms that are utilizing successful forage management systems and marketing methods of forage-fed livestock.
An emphasis on inputs and management strategies that have improved the profitability and sustainability of each farm visited was shared with attendees. At the Stan and Deb Notestine farm the emphasis was on the equipment used to harvest and transport hay they sell as a cash crop. They were very up-to-date with equipment used to be successful hay producers. The next stop was at Courtright Farms. Jim Courtright was one of the first in the state of Indiana to use management-intensive rotational grazing on his beef farm. One of the unique components of this stop was evaluating the fields with the use of a drone with the expertise of Bill Horan, Wells County Purdue University Extension Educator. Country Meadows Farm, a dairy cattle farm that utilizes center pivot irrigated high quality forages as pasture, was visited first after lunch. Bob, Debbie and Bryan Eash discussed how they fertilize the pasture through the center pivot irrigation system and how they monitor pasture growth in each pasture on a weekly schedule. The last farm visited was Lewis Century Stock Farms. Brian and Riley Lewis shared with attendees how they establish and harvest the high quality alfalfa that is fed as bale silage to their dairy cattle. A demonstration of a large square alfalfa hay bale being wrapped in plastic was demonstrated at this site.
Implementation of these systems and marketing methods will likely occur with some tour attendees based on results from a post-tour survey provided.
