Professional development project in weed and forage identification and management

Professional development project in weed and forage identification and management

Summary

Because high quality perennial forages in pastures and hayland are critical to sustaining our livestock agriculture in New England, proper identification and management of both weed and forage species are needed. Weeds in these systems pose important management challenges for livestock farmers as they often compete for both above- and below-ground resources that may reduce forage yields, seasonal pasture distribution, and stand life. Most weeds mature very quickly, reducing the quality of the forages at times of optimum harvests. Some weed species can also serve as indicator plants, suggesting mismanagement of pasture and haycrops such as soil compaction, low fertility, and overgrazing. Being able to identify weeds and understanding their biology, as well as understanding forage quality, are key in helping farmers develop effective forage management strategies. However, survey results indicate that New England agriculture service providers lack the proper knowledge, skills, and confidence to identify both weed and forage species, as well as developing appropriate strategies to manage them on our livestock farms.

This project will help Extension educators, USDA NRCS and non-profit personnel throughout New England better identify weed and forage species and study pasture and haycrop management strategies to optimize forage quality on livestock farms. Trainings will be conducted through in-person sessions (which will include classroom and in-field components) and webinars (delivered live but also archived as online resources). Participants will be expected to conduct a self-study of assigned forage and/or weed species and develop management “help” factsheets; these will be compiled into a resource guide for use among trainees as well as farmers. Participants will also be expected to conduct a farmer educational activity (e.g., workshop, field day, video, etc.) to solidify their knowledge, skill, and confidence levels.

Objectives/Performance Targets

20 agricultural service providers in New England who gain skills in weed and forage identification and biology, and integrated weed management techniques will provide educational programs and services to 200 experienced and beginning farmers who manage an average of 120 acres; 100 farmers will adopt integrated weed control and forage management practices that extend the grazing season, decrease herbicide usage, reduce purchased feed inputs, and improve animal performance on 100 acres each (10,000 acres total).

Accomplishments/Milestones

Milestone 1 [20 Ag Service Providers Learn about the project and commit to participate by completing an online survey which includes information about the project, participant expectations, and a pretest in weed and forage (as a benchmark from which to measure change in knowledge, attitudes, skills, and behavior).]

Initially, 21 participants were selected for the project. However, in the spring of 2015, one of them moved out of the region and could no longer participate leaving us with our original goal of 20 participants.

Milestone 3 [40 professionals begin monthly webinar training series. Learn forage management and weed control strategies—biological, chemical, cultural, and mechanical.]

The project team has scheduled a series of about four to five webinar trainings per year. Topics have been selected based on feedback from participants on subjects for which they identified as knowledge gaps. Two webinar trainings were offered and reported in 2014. In 2015, four webinars were conducted and three more are planned for 2016.

Most all materials for the webinars as well as a You Tube link of post-webinar recordings are posted on the dedicated PDP website (http://pss.uvm.edu/pdpforage/). The You Tube recordings are most likely viewed by PDP participants since they are not available for a public search at this time. Below are a list of the webinars offered in 2015:

February 3, 2015: Weed Management Techniques for Pasture and Hay – Attended by all 21 participants and viewed 11 times by the You Tube production.

March 10, 2015: Gearing Up For the Field Season – Working With Your Project Farmers – Attended by 14 participants and viewed 5 times by the You Tube production.

April 7, 2015: Forage Selection and Mixtures for New England – Attended by 13 participants. Unfortunately, a technical problem caused this webinar to not be recorded.

December 8, 2015: Chemical Management of Weeds in Perennial Forages – Attended by 13 participants and viewed 5 times by the You Tube production.

Milestone 4 [Identify weed of focus. Each participant will assemble, evaluate and use effective web-based and hard copy references for weed and forage identification and adaptation. They will use a management strategy template to develop a “helps” factsheet which outlines forage and weed identification and management recommendations.]

During the first in-service training (Milestone 2), participants signed up for a weed of choice to research and produce a factsheet. A template was provided and posted on the project website. Twenty of the 21 participants completed their first draft by June 2015. Two additional factsheets were written by two project coordinators as well. Two copies of each draft were then reviewed by a respective participant as well as the coordination team with feedback and comments sent back to the original authors. Final factsheets are due in April 2016.

Milestone 5 [Participate in second in-person training. Participants will present the factsheet they prepared about their weed/forage of focus. They will also learn about best management adult education and IT techniques to use with farmer clients during field season.]

The second in-service training was conducted June 3-4, 2015 near Keene, NH. All participants but one were able to attend. All four project coordinators also attended. Due to a strong request by the participants, we chose to focus much of the training to pasture systems.   We worked with three farms in the area (medium sized dairy, small dairy, and a sheet farm). Participants were able to learn from the farmers how they made decisions regarding their pasture and forage programs. They also discuss some of their most problem weeds. We also produced specific on-farm trainings in forage and weed identification, determining pasture composition, pasture mass assessments and pasture intake calculations, and pasture condition scoring. There was an evening program to discuss the weed factsheet development and farm case studies.

A post evaluation of the in-service training (n=15) showed that 53 percent found the training to be “helpful” and 47% “extremely helpful”. When asked what aspects of the training they found most useful to them, 67% indicated farmer interaction and ability to compare different forage/pasture systems, 47% indicated learning pasture measurement skills, 40% indicated continued pasture identification skills, and 33% indicated connecting and interacting with fellow participants.

Milestone 6 [Use collection of factsheets to adapt to local conditions in their work with farm clients. They will develop video and/or conduct farmer education event.]

Although the factsheets are not complete, participants have used their newly gained knowledge while conducting farmer education activities. In an end of the year survey, all of the responding participants (16 out of 20 responding so far), indicated that they have applied their skills gained in this program, collectively working with 210 farmers representing 4945 acres. The types of education the participants reported included one-on-one interactions (n=12), pasture walks/field days (n=8) and workshops/courses (n=6).

Milestone 7 [Will work with no fewer than five farmers per year. They will document, via a case study example participating farm(s). Conduct evaluation among farmer clients.]

In an end of the year survey, 18 of the 20 participants indicated that they have five farms they are working with toward their case studies and the 19^th has three farms so far. The other participant primarily teaches at a university and indicated most of his gained knowledge is being applied toward his students.

• SARE PDP Forage and Weed ID and Mgt Participants and Instructors
• NESARE PDP Forage and Weed ID and Mgt Training Inservice

Impacts and Contributions/Outcomes

Based on an end of the year survey of participants (16 out of 20 responding so far), 100 percent of the responders indicated that they have learned new information about managing forages, 100% gained new insight into identifying forage species, 88% gained identification skills of pasture weeds, and 81% learned methods to better manage weeds. All of the responding participants indicated that they have applied their newly gained knowledge when working with farmers either in one-on-one basis or in workshops and/or field meetings. Observed outcomes of their efforts have included improvements in management practices (ie., improved grazing management, reduction in overgrazing, grazing plans, testing of forages, field renovation, improved forage storage, raised cutting height, pasture and weed ID, soil testing, change in fertilizer use, better species selection) and increased protection of resources (improved soil quality, reduced runoff).

• Cumulative Milestone Accomplishment Table

Collaborators: