Ranchers webinar series moves into alfalfa

STILLWATER — The popular Ranchers Thursday Lunchtime series of free cattle industry webinars is extending into August and September with a spotlight on alfalfa, Oklahoma State University Extension officials said. The lunchtime series continues at 12:30 p.m. August 13 with a teleconference through the Zoom online portal. Chuck West, forage ecophysiology expert at Texas Tech University, is scheduled to lead the conversation about alfalfa in low-irrigation and rainfed, grass-based pastures in west Texas. Questions and dialogue are encouraged. Registration for the Zoom webinars is required between events, hosted by the Oklahoma State Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources. For more information, contact Extension beef cattle specialist David Lalman by email.

The series is scheduled to carry on Aug. 20 and 27, then again Sept. 3 and 10. All events are expected to begin at 12:30 p.m. Other guest speakers will include John Jennings, forage specialist at the University of Arkansas; Wayne Coblentz, research dairy scientist at the USDA-ARS Dairy Research Center in Madison, Wisc.; forage systems specialist Alex Rocatell and Lalman, both at Oklahoma State; and Paul Oklahoma State. Topics will include incorporating alfalfa with bermudagrass, baled alfalfa silages, reduced lignin alfalfa for beef cattle, and using alfalfa in growing and finishing rations.