LFGC
Annual Meeting

Ed
Twidwell, Extension Specialist, LSU AgCenter

            The
Louisiana Forage and Grassland Council (LFGC) plans to address the importance
of soil health and the production and marketing of pasture-raised animal
commodities at its 2015 annual conference. 
The conference will be held on Friday, December 4 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 at Alexandria.  The campus is
located south of Alexandria off of Highway 71.

            One
of the main topics of discussion at this year’s annual meeting will be the topic
of soil health.  Presentations will be
made on the importance of soil microbes and the importance of maintaining
adequate soil moisture in pastures. 
There will be also be several producers on the program who will discuss
using annual ryegrass as a cover crop and a grazing resource, forage
alternatives for small ruminants and also producing and marketing pastured
poultry, forest pigs and grass-finished beef. 
Louisiana will be hosting a national forage conference in Baton Rouge in
January, and the details of that conference 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.  The
complete program is published below:

 

8:15 a.m.         Registration and view exhibits

9:00 a.m.         Welcome
and Introductions

                        Dr.
Kun-Jun Han, LFGC President

9:05 a.m.         Linking
Soil Microbial Ecology and Ecosystems Functions to Systems

                        Management

                        Dr.
Lisa Fultz

                        LSU
AgCenter, Baton Rouge, LA

9:25 a.m.         The
Importance of Maintaining Adequate Soil Moisture in Pastures

                        Dr.
Stacia Davis

                        LSU
AgCenter, Bossier City, LA

9:45 a.m.         Native
Legume Potential for Louisiana Pastures

                        Dr.
Buddy Pitman

                        LSU
AgCenter, Homer, LA

10:05 a.m.       Break

10:25 a.m.       Overcoming
Obstacles to a Bountiful Sheep Industry in Louisiana

                        Mr.
Earl Jones

                        Slaughter,
LA

10:45 a.m.       Ryegrass
Establishment and Utilization as a Cover Crop and Grazed

                        Forage
Resource on Sugarcane Fallow Acreage

                        Mr.
Warren Hurang

                        Donaldsonville,
LA

11:15 a.m.       From the Pasture to the Plate

                        Mr.
Galen Iverstine

                        Kentwood,
LA

11:30 a.m.       2016
AFGC National Meeting

                        Dr.
Ed Twidwell

                        LSU
AgCenter, Baton Rouge, LA 

11:45 a.m.       NRCS
Update

                        Mr.
Kevin Norton

                        Alexandria,
LA                      

12:00 noon      LFGC
Awards Presentations

12:30 p.m.       LFGC
Business Meeting

12:45 p.m.       Lunch