Watch the webinar on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CB1fQAk1VhY
About the Webinar
This webinar took place on May 15, 2014. The inclusion of highly digestible legumes like birdsfoot trefoil (BFT) in pasture plantings can increase the productivity of grazing livestock. Because forage legumes produce their own nitrogen, they can meet their own fertility needs. In addition, since BFT and other tannin-containing forage legumes are non-bloating, they can be planted as 50% or more of mixtures with no risk of bloat.
In this webinar, Dr. Jennifer MacAdam will describe a multiple year research project, funded by the USDA Organic Research and Extension Initiative (OREI), that is partnering with established organic dairy producers in the Mountain West to determine the impact of supplementing and/or replacing grass pasture with birdsfoot trefoil (BFT) on milk production and milk quality. The study is looking at feed nutrients from organic BFT versus grass, the effects these forages had on soil organic matter, omega-3 fatty acid concentrations in milk and cheese from BFT-fed cows, and the economic risks and benefits for organic dairies of converting grass pastures to BFT pastures.
Additional Information
- Bulletin: The Benefits of Tannin-Containing Forages (September 2013)
- Bulletin: Irrigated Birdsfoot Trefoil Variety Trial: Forage Nutritive Value (March 2013)
- Bulletin: Irrigated Birdsfoot Trefoil Variety Trial: Forage Yield (March 2013)
- Bulletin: Annual Costs to Establish and Maintain Birdsfoot Trefoil Pastures in Northern Utah, 2012 (February 2013)
- Bulletin: Rancher Adoption Potential of the Birdsfoot Trefoil Pasture Beef Production System in the Intermountain West (August 2012)
Also see:
- PennState Extension Agronomy Facts 20 bulletin: "Birdsfoot Trefoil"
- North Central Regional Extension Publication 474: "Birdfoot Trefoil for Grazing and Harvested Forage"
About the Presenter
Dr. Jennifer MacAdam is a Forage Plant Physiologist at the Utah State University. She has been on the faculty at Utah State since 1991, where she teaches courses on plant physiology and anatomy. Her research has centered on management of seeded, irrigated pastures for livestock production, plant responses to salinity and drought stress, and the growth and development of grass forages.
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