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Producers will get a chance to learn more about pasture-finished beef production on August 21, 2008. The Willow Bend Demonstration Farm in Union, W.Va., will host a field day beginning at 2 p.m. to share research results with producers.

For several years a joint research project between West Virginia University, Virginia Tech, Clemson University, and the USDA Agricultural Research Service has been investigating various aspects of Pasture-Based Beef Systems for Appalachia. The calves produced at the Shenandoah Valley Agricultural Research and Extension Center (SVAREC) are winter-stockered in West Virginia, and finished on pasture at the Willow Bend Farm, a WVU research farm.

Results of completed research will be reported at the field day. This will include response to winter stockering, performance on pasture, carcass traits of cattle finished on pasture, and the various aspects of beef composition and consumer appeal of the beef that is produced.

Those attending the field day will view the 2008 pasture-finished cattle which will be grazing mixed species of cool-season grasses and legumes, as well as two different annual crops, triticale and teff. Triticale is a cross between rye and wheat and produces abundant forage for grazing in the later months of grazing. Teff, a warm-season annual that originated in Ethiopia, is getting a lot of attention in the United States as a highly productive, high quality forage crop.

A major focus of the field day will be grazing strategies to ensure high quality forage for pasture-finished steers.

Pre-registration is required for the complimentary dinner. To pre-register, call the Monroe County office of the WVU Extension Service at 304-772-3003.

The Pasture-Finished Beef Field Day is sponsored by USDA-ARS, the West Virginia University Extension Service and Davis College of Agriculture, Forestry and Consumer Sciences, Clemson University Cooperative Extension Service, and Virginia Cooperative Extension along with a number of cooperating agencies and organizations.

Schedule of events

2:00 – 2:30 Registration

2:30 Welcome and Purpose of the Field Day
The Overall Research Effort – Economic Pasture-Based Beef Systems for Appalachia – Dr. Bill Clapham, USDA ARS

What We Learned in the First Phase

2:40 Highlights from the Cow Work at Steeles Tavern (weaning methods, warm season perennials, stocking rate vs. hay needs) – David Fiske, Shenandoah Valley AREC and Holly Boland, PhD Candidate, Virginia Tech
3:00 Winter Stocker Results from Morgantown (forage types and quality, response to supplements, Residual Feed Intake) Dr. Gene Felton, Division of Animal & Nutritional Sciences, West Virginia University
3:30 Finishing Cattle Performance and Carcass Quality (Forage Type, ADG, Forage Available to Cattle, Etc) Dr. Jim Neel, Research Animal Scientist, USDA ARS
3:50 Meat Quality – Dr. Jim Neel
4:10 Fatty Acid Composition of the Product – Dr. Joe Fontenot, John W. Hancock Jr., Professor Emeritus of Animal and Poultry Sciences, Virginia Tech

4:30 Load up to tour the pastures and cattle

4:40 Pasture Finishing at Willow Bend – Cattle and Pasture Management – Dr. Jim Neel
5:00 The Current Phase of Pasture-Based Research
• Expanding the Harvest Window – Grazing Days and Cattle Age – Dr. Jim Neel
• Frame Size of the Cattle – Dr. Gene Felton and Dr. Jim Neel
• Teff and Triticale as Forage Crops – Dr. Ozzie Abaye, Dept. of Crop and Soil Environmental Sciences, Virginia Tech, and Dr. Bill Clapham

5:45 How to Manage Rotationally-Grazed Pastures
Rest Period, Grazing Duration, Stocking Density, Residual Forage Height, Etc – Dr. Ed Rayburn, Extension Forage Agronomist, West Virginia University

Ideas for Fencing and Water

6:30 pm Back to the Headquarters for Dinner
A Message from our Sponsors
Local Producer Organizations Producing Pasture-Finished Livestock

Directions to the Field Day:

The Willow Bend Demonstration Farm is located 4.5 miles south of Union, W.Va.. Route 219 is the main road through Union.

Take the US 219 South exit at Lewisburg, W.Va..
Travel south on US 219 approximately 25 miles to Union, W.Va.
At the south end of Union there is a 4-way stop.
Continue straight thru the 4-way stop on the Willow Bend Road.
Willow Bend Farm is approximately 4.5 miles on the left.

From Southwest Virginia take Route 460 to Rich Creek. Take Route 219 north into West Virginia. Stay on Route 219 for approximately 27 miles to Union, W.Va.. At the 4-way stop as you come into Union, turn right on to the Willow Bend Road. Willow Bend Farm is approximately 4.5 miles on the left.