Annual/Termination Reports:

[03/28/2016] [03/21/2018] [03/20/2019]

Report Information

Participants

J. Henning, University of Kentucky – Extension; P. Elzer, LSU AgCenter – Research; R. Walker, LSU AgCenter – Research/Extension; J. Lehmkuhler, University of Kentucky – Extension; R. Muntifering, Auburn University – Research; Kim Mullenix, Auburn University – Extension; J. Tucker, University of Georgia – Extension; L. Stewart, University of Georgia – Extension/Research; R. Reuter, Oklahoma State University – Research; S. Gadberry, University of Arkansas – Extension; G. Scaglia, LSU AgCenter – Research; M. Poore, North Carolina State University – Extension/Research; J. Jennings, University of Arkansas – Extension/Research; D. Poole, North Carolina State University – Research; J. Duggin, University of Georgia – Extension; M. Hersom, University of Florida – Extension; J. Rhinehart, University of Tennessee – Extension/Research; D. Lalman, Oklahoma State University – Extension/Research; M. Rouquette, Texas A&M AgriLife; B. Macoon, Mississippi State University – Research; J. Banta – Texas A&M AgriLife; P. Beck, University of Arkansas – Research/Extension; M. Beck, Oklahoma State University – Graduate Student.

Brief Summary of Minutes

Annual meeting was held on February 7^th, 2016 in San Antonio, TX; held in conjunction with the Southern Association of Agricultural Scientist Meeting.  Paul Beck, Professor (University of Arkansas), called the meeting to order.  Introduction of officers included: Paul Beck, University of Arkansas, President; Jason Banta, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, President-elect; Ryon Walker, LSU AgCenter, Secretary; Lawton Stewart, University of Georgia, past President; Jimmy Henning, University of Kentucky, Administrative Advisor – Extension; Phil Elzer, LSU AgCenter, Administrative Advisor – Research.  Shane Gadberry, University of Arkansas, was nominated and elected as incoming Secretary.

Welcome to the meeting, overview of SERA 41 objectives, and introduction of participants was presented by Paul Beck. Paul provided brief recap of the Cow-Calf Production in the Southeastern US Symposium. There were numerous compliments on the symposium from the participants. There were approximately 90 that participated in Sunday’s symposium.  Minutes from the 2015 meeting were presented to participants. Motion to approve minutes made by Lawton Stewart (University of Georgia) and a second was made by Bisoondat Macoon (Mississippi State University). Minutes were approved.

Administrative Report was provided by Phil Elzer (LSU AgCenter) and Jimmy Henning (University of Kentucky). Much of the discussion focused on the new project and what we are to report. Administrators suggested that the SERA41 committee include the Sunday Symposium into the project proposal and reporting.  The information provided in both the Sunday Cow Calf and Kunkle Symposium fall under Extension, Research, and multi-state. It was suggested that we remove “heifer development” from the title; however, Phil Elzer said that would call for a re-write of the proposal to change the title.  Jimmy Henning suggested that we leave the proposal as is and we make sure and capture the symposiums that we coordinate at the Southern Section Animal Science Meetings every year. Also suggested we remove verb age on commodity groups under “Educational Plan” in the proposal.  Phil Elzer said that that the only thing that needs to be included in the report is what was done at the meetings and any multi-state activities over the last year.  The report can be 1 page as long as it includes everything we have done as a committee. There was brief discussion regarding travel funding for SERA 41 participants. Phil Elzer indicated that all states get money if they have representatives that are members of a multi-state project.  That money is to be used at the discretion of the university administrators.

How do we meet the objectives of the new project was brought up by Paul Beck.  Because it was discussed that conducting symposiums at the annual meeting accomplishes the objectives of the SERA41 project proposal, brief discussions were brought up on moving the Kunkle Symposium to Sunday because of the number of sessions going on Monday morning. However, because southern section meetings are separated from SAAS in 2017, it may not be an issue.  It was concluded that the symposiums be the focus of our annual meetings and that the business meeting be conducted during or immediately after the Sunday Symposium.  Ryon Walker stated the annual SERA41 report is due 60 days following the SERA41 meeting (April 7^th, 2016). Ryon requested that state reports be turned into him by March 1^st and that Ryon will send out a reminder a week after the Feb. 7^th meeting. What was asked from state representatives was to only include multi-state Extension programs and state projects. It was also suggested by the administrators that the symposiums from 2015 be included in the annual report since there was no report done in 2015 due to the re-write.  It was also suggested that the presentations be linked and any published papers from the symposiums be listed on the NIMSS website.

Other business – Matt Poore (North Carolina State University) brought up the need for Extension training among states. Asked if there was a current platform or if we needed to look into developing a training around focused topics. Could use webinar format. Shane Gadberry discussed the module that the University of Arkansas uses for beginning agent education training through Moodle.  The meeting to adjourn was moved (Lawton Stewart, Georgia) and seconded (Jeff Lehmkuhler, Kentucky).

Accomplishments

<p>A Conservation Innovation Grant (CIG) titled &ldquo;Coping with drought in beef cattle production: Long-term innovation through optimal warm-season forage systems&rdquo; was awarded to faculty at the University of Tennessee, University of Kentucky, and University of Arkansas.&nbsp; The primary objective of this study is to deliver a comprehensive and transformative approach to forage production to growers across a multi-state region that will make a substantial impact on their ability to respond to droughts over the long-term. Replacement heifers are used as grazers with the objective of evaluating their age at puberty and first-service pregnancy rates.&nbsp; This project is ongoing but has already yielded in-service training in all three of the participating states on the understanding of establishment and management of these forage varieties for summer grazing and replacement heifer performance.</p><br /> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Extension Accomplishments</span></p><br /> <p>Throughout the southeast region, there were several multi-state meetings conducted.&nbsp;</p><br /> <p><em>Four States Cattle Conference</em> &ndash; Coordinated by Louisiana State University, Oklahoma State University, Texas A&amp;M AgriLife, and University of Arkansas and is held in December in Texarkana, AR and provides research-based information from speakers across the US to hundreds of cow/calf and stocker producers within the four states region.&nbsp; This 1-day conference also attracts Extension beef specialist and county agents, veterinarians, university faculty, and industry representatives.&nbsp; Producers continue to learn new or existing ideas or technologies to help reach their management goals. The 4^th Annual Four States Cattle Conference will be held in December of 2016.</p><br /> <p><em>The Deep South Stocker Conference</em> &ndash; Coordinated and held in collaboration with Auburn University, University of Georgia, and Mississippi State University on August 6-7, 2015 at Auburn University.&nbsp; This conference was developed to provide a regional, timely management update to cattle producers in the Southeast prior to the period of fall-purchasing stocker calves. Participants at the conference included beef producers, industry partners, and extension agents representing AL, CA, FL, GA, MS, TN, SC, and TX.&nbsp; A weighted average of 5,048 acres were impacted by the information presented at this meeting. Over 90% of the respondents indicated that the information would be useful in their operation, and results from this conference illustrate that multi-state programs are an excellent way to interface with Extension, industry, commodity groups, and stakeholders to deliver educational information on a regional basis. The 2016 Deep South Stocker Conference will be hosted by the University of Georgia.</p><br /> <p><em>Mid-South Stocker Conference</em> &ndash; This conference is a joint effort between the University of Tennessee, University of Kentucky, and industry partners that educate stocker operators, backgrounders and cow/calf operators on best management practices, including economic considerations, for managing calves from weaning until they enter the feeding phase. This conference was planned in 2015, but had to be cancelled due to inclement weather.&nbsp; This conference is planned for 2016 and is expected to draw producers, county agents, specialist, and industry partners from all over the US with an expected attendance of close to 200.&nbsp; This conference produces a conference proceedings each year and will be held in 2016.</p><br /> <p><em>Tri-State Beef Conference</em> &ndash; coordinated with North Carolina Cooperative Extension, University of Tennessee Extension, and Virginia Cooperative Extension every year.&nbsp; This conference provides topics to cow/calf producers to improve management and efficiency and includes farm tours.&nbsp; Participants include beef producers, county agents, veterinarians, and industry partners.&nbsp; This conference is scheduled for 2016.</p><br /> <p><em>SERA41 Sunday Symposium</em> &ndash; held in conjunction with the Southern Section Animal Science Meetings in San Antonio, TX in February, 2016, was titled &ldquo;Cow-Calf Production in the Southeastern US: Potential for Impact and Economic Sustainability&rdquo;.&nbsp; This symposium provided participants with information gathered from a survey conducted throughout the southeast.&nbsp; During the symposium, there were 86 in attendance and included Extension specialist and county agents, University faculty from various disciplines, veterinarians, industry representatives, graduate students, and producers. This symposium gave an insight to participants on what is perceived to be problems and opportunities for the beef industry in the southeast.&nbsp; There will be pdf copies of the presentations given.</p><br /> <p><em>The Bill E. Kunkle Interdisciplinary Beef Symposium</em> - coordinated by SERA41 and held in conjunction with the Southern Section Animal Science Meetings in San Antonio, TX in February, 2016.&nbsp; This symposium was developed to provide participants with an overview of the importance of minerals and vitamins in beef cattle diets in the southeast and how that impacts different production traits.&nbsp; There were approximately 60 in attendance and included Extension specialist and county agents, University faculty, veterinarians, graduate students, and industry representatives.&nbsp; This symposium summarized research conducted on mineral and vitamin status in the southeast and its impact on beef cattle production traits.&nbsp; The information also provided insight on future areas of research emphasis in minerals and vitamins in the diet. Copies of the presentations will also be available as pdf attachments.</p>

Publications

<p>2015 SERA41 Symposium &ndash; Design, Analysis, and Execution of Quality Grazing Research</p><br /> <ul><br /> <li>Aiken, G.E. 2016. Invited Review: Grazing Management options in meeting objectives of grazing experiments. Prof. Anim. Sci. 32:1-9.</li><br /> <li>Rouquette, F.M. 2016. Invited Review: The roles of forage management, forage quality, and forage allowance in grazing research. Prof. Anim. Sci. 32:10-18.</li><br /> <li>Reuter, R.R. and C.A. Moffet. 2016. Invited Review: Designing a grazing experiment that can reliably detect meaningful differences. Prof. Anim. Sci. 32:19-30.</li><br /> <li>Gunter, S.A. and N.A. Cole. 2016. Invited Review: Getting more information from your grazing research beyond cattle performance. Prof. Anim. Sci. 32:31-41.</li><br /> </ul><br /> <p>&nbsp;2015 SERA41 Kunkle Interdisciplinary Beef Symposium</p><br /> <ul><br /> <li>Scaglia, G., P. Beck, M.H. Poore, and J. Lehmkuhler. 2015. Bill E Kunkle Interdisciplinary Beef Symposium: Tall fescue toxicosis update. J. Anim. Sci. 93:5485-5486.</li><br /> <li>Kallenbach, R.L. 2015. Bill E Kunkle Interdisciplinary Beef Symposium: Coping with tall fescue toxicosis: Solutions and realities. J. Anim. Sci. 93:5487-5495.</li><br /> <li>Gadberry, M.S., J. Hawley, P.A. Beck, J.A. Jennings, E.B. Kegley, and K.P. Coffey. 2015. Bill E Kunkle Interdisciplinary Beef Symposium: A meta-analysis of research efforts aimed at reducing the impact of fescue toxicosis on cattle weight gain and feed intake. J. Anim. Sci. 93: 5496-5505.</li><br /> <li>Smith, T. and J.P. Cassady. 2015. Bill E Kunkle Interdisciplinary Beef Symposium: Genetic resistance to the effects of grazing endophyte-infected tall fescue. J. Anim. Sci. 93:5506-5511.</li><br /> <li>Klotz, J.L. 2015. Bill E Kunkle Interdisciplinary Beef Symposium: Physiologic effects of ergot alkaloids: What happens when excretion does not equal consumption? J. Anim. Sci. 93:5512-5521.</li><br /> <li>Pratt, S.L. and J.G. Andrae. 2015. Bill E Kunkle Interdisciplinary Beef Symposium: Does tall fescue toxicosis negatively impact bull growth and breeding potential? J. Anim. Sci. 93:5522-5528.</li><br /> </ul><br /> <p>Forte, E. M., M. K. Mullenix, R. L. Stewart Jr., and B. B. Karisch. 2016. Beef cattle programming across state lines: The 7th Annual Deep South Stocker Conference. Abstracts. 2016 American Society of Animal Science Southern Section Meeting. Feb. 6 &ndash; 9, 2016. San Antonio, TX.</p>

Impact Statements

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Report Information

Participants

Daniel Rivera jdr398@msstate.edu Mississippi State
Austin Miles ramiles@noble.org Noble Research
Robert Wells rswells@noble.org Noble Research
Shane Gadberry sgadberry@uaex.edu Univ. Ark.
Paul Beck pbeck@uaex.edu Univ. Ark
Leanne Dillard dillasa@auburn.edu Auburn
Mekenzie Hargaden mshoo24@auburn.edu Auburn
Katie Mason kmb0108@auburn.edu Auburn
Phillip Gunter pug0013@auburn.edu Auburn
Stacey Gunter Stacey.gunter@ars.usda.gov USDA ARS
Monte Rouquette, I m-rouquette@tamu.edu Texas A&M
Jason Banta jpbanta@ag.tamu.edu Texas A&M
Matt Hersom hersom@ufl.edu University of FL
Justin Rhinehart jrhinehart@utk.edu Univ. of TN
Neal Schrick fschrick@utk.edu Univ. of TN
Jennifer Tucker jjtucker@uga.edu Univ. of GA
Kim Mullenix mullmk@auburn.edu Auburn
Jacob Segers jacoba@uga.edu Univ. of GA
Lawton Stewart lawtons@uga.edu Univ. of GA
Matt Poore matt_poore@ncsu.edu NC State Univ
Johnny Rogers jrroger3@ncsu.edu NC State Univ
Joe Vendramini jv@ufl.edu Univ. of FL
Chris Precatt prevacg@ufl.edu Univ. of FL
Jason Smith Jason.smith@utk.edu Univ. of TN

Brief Summary of Minutes

Summary of Annual Meeting:

SERA41 Annual meeting was held on February 3, 2018, in Fort Worth, TX during the Southern Section-American Society of Animal Science annual meeting. 
Introductions.  President Ryon Walker called the meeting to order and introduced the officers:  Ryon Walker, (Noble Research Institute) President; Shane Gadberry, (Univ. AR) President-Elect; Daniel Rivera (Miss. State Univ.) Secretary;  and Jason Banta (Texas A&M) Past President.  Introductions of participants in attendance were conducted (Appendix A).  Following the introductions, the 2017 minutes were reviewed.  Following review, with no discussion, a motion was made for approving the minutes (Banta, TAMU) and seconded by Rivera (MSU). 
Administrative update.  Neither Dr. McCann nor Dr. Elzer were in attendance, however Dr. Neal Schrick (U. TN) was in attendance and was very positive regarding the group’s activities and the impact the group is having.  Ryon noted that some issues were noted at the NIMMS Site and the website was not updating. 
SERA041 Recap/Annual Report.  Shane Gadberry gave a recap regarding the SERA041 Symposium (Round Bale Haylage and Impacts).  There were 65 in attendance during the symposia.  Possibly seek a method to get publications from the symposium.  Ryon Walker, who is Southern Director of ARPAS, stated that ARPAS likes the idea of publishing papers from Symposia. The annual report will be submitted by Daniel Rivera so try and have all activities by March 1.
Officer Election.  The idea of making a rule that stated to be elected into an office, a person must attend a fixed number of meetings to be nominated for office was discussed.  It was determined that rather than have a fixed rule the membership would govern themselves with regards to nominations.  This year’s nomination would have an Extension Emphasis (since previous year had a Research Emphasis), and Kim Mullenix (Auburn) was nominated by Matt Hersom (Univ. FL).  After nominations were closed, Kim was elected Secretary. 
Kunkle Symposium.  Jason Banta gave an overview of the Kunkle symposia that would occur the following day.  There were some changes to the order of the presenters that Jason made everyone aware of.
Future Topics/Ideas.  Ryon opened the floor to potential future topics for both Kunkle and SERA041 symposia. 
Monte Roquette (Texas A&M) discussed the idea of transition from a grazing environment to a feedlot environment as one topic, Stacy Gunter (USDA-ARS) commented that ARPAS editors are wanting more Health/management papers which might tie into Monte’s suggestion.  Robert Wells (Noble Research Institute) suggested topics involving sustainability of grazing cattle, Matt Poore (NC State) added that hay feeding and losses topic might fit into Robert’s topic idea.  Further discussion was whether or not to have the transition cattle idea fit into Kunkle and possibly the sustainability idea fit into SERA041.
Expiration SERA041.  The expiration for the working group occurs on Sept. 30, 2019.  Volunteers were requested to form a committee to put together topics for renewing the group.  Matt Hersom (Univ. FL), Lawton Stewart (Univ. GA) and Stacy Gunter (USDA-ARS) volunteered to be in the group and will present ideas next year (Feb 2019). 
Updates.  Ryon Walker is in a new role with Noble Research Institute.  March 7, 2018 is the Midsouth Stocker conference.  July 13, is Deep South Stocker Conference in GA.  In 2019, the Southern ASAS meetings will be in Oklahoma City, and membership will need to make a decision whether to continue alone or go back to SAAS.  Lawton Stewart moved to adjourn motion was 2^nd by Paul Beck, and meeting adjourned. 

Accomplishments

Publications

<p>Mullenix, M.K, J.D. Rhinehart, J.M.B. Vendramini^,M.S. Gadberry.&nbsp; 2018.&nbsp; SAS Southern Section Regional Webinar Series for Extension Agent Training.&nbsp; J. of Anim. Sci. 96 Suppl 1: 8-9.</p>

Impact Statements

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Report Information

Participants

Matt Poore - North Carolina State Univ. matt_poore@ncsu.edu
Jason Smith - Univ. of Tennessee jason.smith@utk.edu
Matt Hersom - Univ. of Florida hersom@ufl.edu
Justin Rhinehart - Univ. of Tennessee jrhinehart@utk.edu
Johnny Rogers - North Carolina State Univ. jrroger3@ncsu.edu
Jeff Lehmkuhler - Univ. of Kentucky jeff.lehmkuhler@uky.edu
Guillermo Scaglia - Louisiana State Univ. gscaglia@agcenter.lsu.edu
Daniel Rivera - Mississippi State Univ. jdr398@msstate.edu
Ryon Walker - Noble Research Institute rswalker@noble.org
Shane Gadberry - Univ. of Arkansas sgadberry@uaex.edu
Kim Mullenix - Auburn Univ. mullemk@auburn.edu
Paul Beck - Oklahoma State Univ. paul.beck@okstate.edu
Lawton Stewart - Univ. of Georgia lawtons@uga.edu
Jennifer Tucker - Univ. of Georgia jjtucker@uga.edu
Jacob Segers - Univ. of Georgia jacoba@uga.edu
Joe Vendramini - Univ. of Florida jv@ufl.edu

Brief Summary of Minutes

Summary of Annual Meeting: The annual SERA 041 business meeting was held at the ASAS Southern Section Meeting in Oklahoma City, OK on January 27, 2019. Shane Gadberry chaired the meeting and introduced members of the executive committee (Ryon Walker – Kunkle Symposium chair, Shane Gadberry – outgoing chair, Daniel Rivera – incoming chair, Kim Mullenix – secretary). Jennifer Tucker (UGA) was elected as the incoming officer for the group. Mark McCann (UGA) and David White (UT) were not in attendance, but were recognized as the administrative advisors for the group. The business meeting focused on planning for future SERA activities, including the need to work closely with the ASAS Southern Section executive committee to possible partner with other symposia as part of the meeting and/or help gather sponsorship support for the symposium. An updated written plan for the SERA 041 group is due in fall 2019. A writing committee was formed (Lawton Stewart, Matt Hersom, Guillermo Scaglia, Daniel Rivera, and David White), and will develop a written directive for the focus area of the group going forward. Future objectives for the group were discussed including multi-state research, Extension, and symposium initiatives. The focus of these areas will be for multiple states to compile existing databases/work to collect demonstration data that could be published as an applied research dataset.

Accomplishments:

Deep South Stocker Conference.  Key Participants: M. K. Mullenix (Auburn), B. Karisch (Miss State),  L. Stewart (Univ. GA). This was the 10^th annual Deep South Stocker Conference, which was held on July 13, 2019 in Greensboro, AL. There were 115 participants at the program. A survey conducted at the program showed that there was a 19% increase in knowledge related to forages nutrition, calf health management, and marketing economics as a result of this program. Overall, the estimated economic impact of this program was $283,800 in savings to farmers attending. Success in meeting attendance, content delivery, and impact is attributed to strong industry-Extension partnerships for this program. 

2018 Southern Section Extension Forum. A two-day forum was held at the University of Tennessee Middle Tennessee Research and Education Center to foster collaborative efforts between Extension specialists and county/area agents with and across state lines. The forum was attended by 28 specialists and 18 agents from across the Southern Section of ASAS. Topics of discussion included: demonstration research, formal educational development for Extension agents, and collaborating across state lines to develop Extension programs. Needed outputs identified included a resource guide for conducting on-farm research and demonstration work, a regional process for formal distance education for agents, and development of online coursework and training tools for agents for continuing education.

2018 ASAS Southern Section Webinar Series. Key Participants: Shane Gadberry (UA), Kim Mullenix (Auburn), Leanne Dillard (Auburn), Marcelo Wallau (UF), John Jennings (UA), Gary Bates (UT), Jennifer Tucker (UGA). Members of the ASAS Southern Section Extension committee developed a series of webinars for Extension agent training that was delivered via Zoom videoconference in fall 2018. There were six webinars presented from October through November 2018 on forage management basics in the Southeast. Webinars were presented by Extension specialists from around the ASAS Southern Section region.

Online Training Course for Agent Continuing Education. Key Participants: Shane Gadberry (UA) and Kim Mullenix (AU). Webinars from the 2018 ASAS Southern Section Webinar Series were archived into an online that is accessible by Extension agents. The online course is hosted through the University of Arkansas Canvas Catalog platform, and offers a certificate of completion for each module completed. Since its release in January 2019, there have been 9 participants to enroll, and 1 completing the end-of-course exam for a certificate in forage management continuing education. Additional modules will be developed annually on topics such as beef cattle reproduction, nutrition, etc.

Leadership and Cattle Handling for Women Producers.  Key Participants:  April Shaeffer (NC), Brandi Karisch (MS), Matt Burns (SC), Lisa Kriese-Anderson (AL), and Jennifer Tucker (GA). This program targeted at women in the beef industry was founded in North Carolina by April Shaeffer in 2010.  The program was presented in two phases, a one-day introduction to Beef Quality Assurance and Low Stress Handling, and a two-day training featuring more advanced BQA training with certification, tractor and truck-trailer operation, and farm safety.  The program has been very successful and is nationally recognized.  As a result of interactions at the Southern Section ASAS meetings (including SERA-41 meeting) other states with interest in the program joined in a multistate grant from the Southern Risk Management Education center to expand the program regionally.  During 2018 course of the grant workshops were conducted in MS, SC, AL, GA and NC. 

Improving Soil Health on Pasture-Based Livestock Farms.  Key Participants:  Matt Poore (NCSU, Project Director and NC-PI), Dory Franklin (UGA, GA-PI), Johnny Rogers (Project Coordinator), Alan Franzluebbers (NCSU/USDA), Dennis Hancock (UGA), Lawton Stewart (UGA). Cooperators:  University of Georgia and North Carolina State University.  The project has both research and extension objectives. This 4-year project was concluded early in 2019.
Research.  Pastures on private and public farms in both NC and GA were monitored for soil health and spatial distribution of soil nutrients.  Intensive grazing vs lax grazing is being compared in GA, while in NC focus is on soil fertility mapping.  A study evaluating N response in stockpiled fescue as influenced by soil health (CO2 burst and N mineralization) has been completed.  In year 1 there were 24 sites in three states, and in year 2 there were 34 sites in 4 states.  This work showed that soil test biological activity was closely linked to response to nitrogen, and this measure could become an important guide to nitrogen fertilization.  On producer farms in NC and on public farms in both GA and NC we compared simple (one or two species) and complex (6 species) of both winter and summer annuals including their impact on effective forage yields and soil health, and final soil samples were taken in 2018.  There was no consistent short-term benefit of planting a complex mix as compared to a simple mix because soil test biological activity was already high on most of the subject farms.  Extension.  Nine workshops were held on producer and public farms in NC during 2018.  Additionally, the Soil Health principles and project results were carried to audiences across the southeast US.  In total 1321 attendees at 19 conferences and other meetings learned the principles of Soil Health and project results.  In NC 296 attendees of 9 field workshops received hands-on learning opportunities focused on managing Soil Health with Adaptive Grazing Management.  In GA over 400 attendees at 8 workshops were trained on concepts of Soil Health and Adaptive Grazing Management.  Results of the project were presented at the SERA-41 sponsored symposium at the Southern Section ASAS meetings in Oklahoma City in January, 2019.

Tri-State Beef Conference.  Key Participants: Andrew Griffith (University of Tennessee), Deidre Harmon (NC State University), and Scott Greiner (VA Tech).  This conference is a joint effort between the University of Tennessee, Virginia Cooperative Extension, and North Carolina Cooperative Extension.  The conference features the best speakers in the southern region and virtual tours of farms in each of the three states.  In 2018, it focused on beef cattle and policy, health management of stocker cattle and grazing management.

Alliance for Grassland Renewal Novel Fescue Workshops.
Extension.  Key participants.  Craig Roberts (MO), Ray Smith (KY), Matt Poore (NC), John Andrae (SC), Gabe Pent (VA), Tony Stratton (Ag Research USA).  Alliance members:  University of Missouri, University of Kentucky, North Carolina State University, Clemson University, Ag Research USA, Nobel Research Institute, Forage and Grassland Foundation, Inc., USDA-NRCS, Agrinostics, Corteva AgriSciences, DLF Pickseeds, Pennington Seeds, Barenbrug Seeds,  and Mountain View Seeds.

The Alliance for Grassland Renewal is a multi-state collaboration between industry and academia focused on improving the adoption of Novel Endophyte Technology.  Much research across the southern region has shown the benefits of Novel Endophyte Tall Fescue in contrast to Toxic Endophyte Tall Fescue.  The Alliance helps provide regulation for seed quality and sponsors educational workshops across the region.  In 2018 workshops were held in SC, NC, VA, MO and KY, with 214 paid attendees.  An abstract was presented at Southern Section ASAS meeting in Oklahoma City in January, 2019.  The Alliance has been a very impactful model for enhancing the adoption of Novel Endophyte Technology and is expected to expand in 2019 with 6 workshops scheduled.

Accomplishments

Publications

Impact Statements

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