58 Development of Forage Establishment and Management Educational Resources for Alabama Farmers

Abstract

Forage-based livestock production systems are one of the largest economic drivers for agriculture in the southern USA. There is a strong reliance on forages as the primary feed source due to favorable climatic conditions and wide range of adapted species. Increasing population growth and urbanization has exacerbated the need to enhance productivity per land through improved management strategies of forage systems. An increase in the number of beginning farmers seeking forage-based livestock systems management information has exacerbated educators to improve educational resources available to reach a wide spectrum of Extension clientele. Resources created by the Alabama Cooperative Extension System (ACES) include a new online course, Forage Basics, which was released in September 2021 to provide a broad overview of concepts as forages, soils, weed and insect management in the Southeast region. A sister resource, the Alabama Forages Handbook, was also developed and provides more detailed information on similar topics. This printed resource will serve as a reference guide and curriculum base resource for Extension educators in the Alabama to hold associated trainings. A one-day in-service training was conducted with county and regional extension agents in Alabama to evaluate perceptions of these resources and potential use in Extension programming. There was a 55 % response rate (n = 20 respondents). Using a Likert scale, most respondents indicated that they are very likely to integrate both the coursework (55%) and the handbook (64%) into their programming activities in the next year, and that they often refer to the ACES resources to support their program. Suggested topics for resources included forage system for other animal categories and expansion of some of the forages topics. This information will support upcoming efforts to develop new resources statewide and expand the content for associated trainings to the handbook.