GRAZING FINDINGS TO BE PRESENTED AT FIELD DAY

BENTON -- Joe and Kevin Holt weren't having much luck with their family farm east of Benton. Like many farms in the area, the ground was sandy, and it kept producing marginal crops. That is when they turned to the University of Missouri Extension Service.

The Holts offered the farm that they manage to the Extension to be used as an experimental project. Agronomy experts used proven techniques to see if they could produce quality grazing land on sandy soil.

The experiment was a success in producing an alternative economic enterprise for the area, and now people will get a chance to learn the techniques used on the farm.

On Wednesday the Extension Service will host the Southeast Irrigated Grazing Field Day at the Holt-Teeoan farm five miles east of Benton on Highway 77.

The field day will include a tour through the fields, with stops along the way. During the stops there will be talks on a variety of subjects of interest to cattle raisers and grazers.

The subjects for the talks: utilization and management of alfalfa for grazing; warm season grass establishment; water, fencing, facilities for intensive grazing; water and irrigation management: root depth studies; economics of grazing irrigated forages and cattle management and selection.

The event is expected to draw at least 400 people from all over Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee and Arkansas.

In fall 1992, the Extension experts planted the first set of different grasses and alfalfa. Next, a barbed wire fence was used to block off 26 paddocks at five acres each, all with different types of grass growing on them. Then they set up an irrigation system that watered the land by center pivot. The next step was to monitor the growth of the grass while cattle grazed on a rotational basis.

"We're taking proven management techniques and putting those principles to use on this type of land," said Gerald Bryan, an agronomy specialist for the Extension Service.

Different planting and establishment methods were used with varying results on the sandy soil. The field day will demonstrate the information that specialists got from the project and will offer intensified rotational grazing as an alternative economic enterprise.

"This technique could be an alternative enterprise for many farmers in the immediate area," said Bryan. "There are several hundred thousand acres in the Bootheel that could really benefit from this."

Bryan said the method could triple or quadruple the profit many people are making on their land.

The tour begins at 2 p.m. and will last until about 5 p.m. An evening barbecue will be provided in part by corporate sponsors, which are the University of Missouri Extension Service, the Commercial Agriculture Program, Scott County Soil and Water Conservation District and the Soil Conservation Service.

Bryan said the information to be presented at the field day is not just for sandy soil, but much of it can be applied to all soil types.

Exhibitors representing the cattle, seed, chemical and lending areas of agriculture will have booths providing additional information and will help sponsor the evening barbecue. To reserve a meal and for additional information call the Extension Center in Jackson at 243-3581.