Welcome
Greetings Area Forage and Livestock Producers,
On behalf of the entire Southwest Missouri Spring Forage Conference Planning Committee, I would like to invite you to our 40th annual Southwest Missouri Spring Forage Conference on Tuesday, February 20th , at The Oasis Convention Center on north Glenstone Avenue in Springfield. Registration begins at 8:00 am with the first session starting at 8:45. What started 40 years ago as a small low-key meeting revolving around utilizing No-Till farming practices has transformed into the grazing community’s premier educational and networking event of the region. Each year, we work hard to put together an exceptional slate of speakers on a wide array of topics.
This year we have the honor of having Jim Gerrish, of American GrazingLands Services, as our keynote speaker. Jim was instrumental in a lot of the early Missouri forage and grazing research which was utilized in developing the Missouri Grazing School model that has been widely utilized in this state for over three decades, and adapted by several other states. Gerrish currently resides in Idaho, where he operates a grazing operation including both irrigated and dryland improved pastures as well as several hundred acres of native range. He will investigate the need to change our way of thinking about forage and livestock production to remain in business in today’s lean environment.
In addition to the keynote address, we will have 20 Breakout session options with topics geared around lengthening the grazing season through improved grazing practices and incorporation additional forage species, grazing land economics, sheep, and goat production, and recovering from the drought. There will be several trade show exhibitors set up, giving attendees the opportunity to see the most current innovations in fencing and forage management, livestock handling, genetics, and other farm related issues.
We look forward to seeing you all on February 20th
Andy McCorkill
2024 SWMO Spring Forage Conference Planning Committee Chair
Livestock Field Specialist
University of Missouri Extension