Learn More about Farming for the Future September 23 and 24
SPRING HILL, Tenn. – Beef cattle producers and those interested in the industry, as well as those interested in poultry production, are welcome to visit the University of Tennessee Middle Tennessee AgResearch and Education Center on September 23 and September 24 for two outstanding educational opportunities. The field day program on September 23 will focus on the latest research and best practices for beef production and forage systems, and an event highlighting precision livestock farming (PLF) technologies will be presented at the same venue on September 24.
Both events are hosted by the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture, and visitors may attend either or both days.
The Tuesday, September 23, event is designed for Tennessee’s beef and forage producers and industry professionals. Experts from UT AgResearch and UT Extension will discuss how producers can increase production and profitability thus sustaining operations for the future. A full day of practical presentations and demonstrations will focus on topics like safe cattle handling, rotational grazing and boosting summer forage with warm-season grasses. The event begins at 8 a.m. and ends at 3 p.m.
Pre-registration is available online at tiny.utk.edu/BFFD by September 16. The cost to attend is $10; however, UT students, faculty and staff may attend for free. Same-day registration begins at 8 a.m. CDT, with the first presentation starting at 9 a.m. Lunch will be provided, and vendor exhibits will be on display.
A panel discussion during lunch includes Josh Woodard from United Producers Inc., Tim Riley from Mid-South Regional Livestock Center LLC and Charley Martinez, assistant professor in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics at UTIA.
The event on Wednesday, September 24, will showcase the precision livestock farming (PLF) research at the Middle Tennessee AgResearch and Education Center and across the UT AgResearch system. The work is essential to the UTIA goal of positioning Tennessee farmers and the state’s agricultural industry – particularly livestock-related businesses – for future success through applications of existing and emerging technologies. Farming for the future with PLF technologies can improve the health and well-being of animals through real-time collection and analysis of behavioral images, sounds and other biological, physiological and environmental parameters. PLF technologies are also expected to improve human working conditions and increased economic, environmental and social sustainability of operations and the industry statewide and beyond.
The day will begin at 8 a.m. with a breakfast sponsored by C-Lock Inc. followed by a brief overview of the UTIA PLF team and their aspirations of farming for the future with PLF, also called smart farming, technologies. The program includes a panel discussion featuring UTIA PLF experts Troy Rowan, assistant professor and Extension specialist with the Department of Animal Science, and Hao Gan, associate professor in the Biosystems Engineering and Soil Science Department. The panel will also include Mike Dodd, senior scientist with the Sustainable Agri-Systems team at AgResearch, based in Palmerston North, New Zealand, and Matthew Wilson, director of the West Virginia University Alliance for Regenerative Livestock.
Following the panel discussion, a wagon tour of the center and the PLF pastures as well as the future home of the UT AgResearch Broiler Innovation, Research and Demonstration (BIRD) facility will conclude the day’s activities. Participants are asked to reserve a seat at the event by responding by email to Ashley Savage at savage15@utk.edu by September 8.
The Middle Tennessee AgResearch and Education Center at Spring Hill is located at 1000 Main Entrance Drive in Spring Hill, Tennessee.
The University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture is comprised of the Herbert College of Agriculture, UT College of Veterinary Medicine, UT AgResearch, and UT Extension. Through its land-grant mission of teaching, research and outreach, the Institute touches lives and provides Real. Life. Solutions. to Tennesseans and beyond. utia.tennessee.edu.