Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Kentucky Grazing Conference will occur online. The annual event, hosted by the Kentucky Forage and Grassland Council and the University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service, will occur on the videoconferencing platform Zoom during the evenings of Oct. 27-29. The conference begins each day at 5:50 p.m. CDT and lasts until 8 p.m. CDT.

The virtual grazing conference will focus on designing resilient forage-livestock grazing systems for the transition zone of the United States. Speakers will include producers, industry representatives and specialists from the UK College of Agriculture, Food and Environment and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forage-Animal Production Research Unit.

This year’s keynote speaker is Johnny Rogers. Rogers is a North Carolina farmer, Amazing Grazing coordinator at North Carolina State University and president of the Red Angus Association. He will speak about selecting and managing livestock for changing conditions at 6 p.m. Oct. 28. Attendees will have the opportunity each evening to ask questions to the presenters.

Participants will also get to hear fellow forage and livestock producers compete for the title of Kentucky Forage Spokesperson on Oct. 28. Contestants will give a 15-minute presentation about their operation including their struggles and successes. The winner will advance to the 2021 national contest, where Kentucky producers have been historically successful.

Preregistration is required for the free event. To register, individuals should visit https://2020grazingconference.eventbrite.com. Once registered, participants will receive an email with the Zoom meeting link and password. All presentations will be recorded for later viewing.

Conference sponsors include the UK College of Agriculture, Food and Environment, UK Grain and Forage Center of Excellence, Master Grazer program, Kentucky Forage and Grassland Council, Kentucky Department of Agriculture and the Kentucky Beef Network.