November 16, 2021
Grazing Tour to Educate About Cover Crops
Kansas State University extension specialists and agents will host a cover crop workshop and livestock grazing tour Monday, December 6. This free event will offer expert advice to producers about how they can introduce cover crops in their operations for both improved soil health and as a food source for cattle.
Registration for the day starts at 10 a.m. at the 4-H building in Norton, with the program beginning at 10:30 a.m. For interested participants, transportation will be provided from the Fort Hays State University campus at 8:30 a.m. to Norton, as well as to several farms in Norton County for the afternoon grazing tour. Lunch will be provided.
The planned events will include workshops to educate producers on how to make cover crops work in their operations and techniques to integrate livestock grazing with cover crops. More information about the day is available online from the Kansas Center for Agricultural Resources and the Environment. Interested participants are asked to RSVP.
“We are excited to give all the participants the opportunity to see how easy it is to move cattle during the cover crop grazing season,” said K-State Research and Extension Watershed Specialist Stacie Minson. “Using these types of crops reduces the number of days producers need to feed their livestock, and it allows cattle to do what they do best: graze to gain.”
Workshop panelists will include Minson, as well as a livestock specialist, agronomist, and local producers. Topics will not only include grazing cover crops, but also how to choose the right cover crop mix, how cover crops can improve soil health, and ways these crops protect water quality.
The field day is sponsored by the Twin Creeks Extension District and Big Creek Middle Smoky Hill River Watersheds.