AoR 49: Steve Fransen, How Grass Grows is More Exciting Than You Think

Did you think of dormant-season grazing as grazing standing hay--not much to worry about? There's more going on in the plant than you think. Dr. Steve Fransen sheds some light on multiple dormancy and root shedding periods in grasses as well as eight other growth phases where there is more than meets the eye. Knowledge of these phases should change how we think about grazing grass throughout the year. Dr. Fransen is leading a Pacific Northwest Inland Pasture Calendar project designed to guide grazing management through detailed understanding of plant physiology and phenology. This project will help ranchers and other varieties of 'grass farmers' optimize pasture and rangeland and hay productivity for maximum profitability. Dr. Fransen, Washington State University's forage specialist, has a team of experts offering a 3-day training that is available to anyone interested. This material is applicable to anyone anywhere who is growing cool-season forage species. Register for the November 3-6, 2020 online conference and training at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/pnw-inland-pasture-calendar-training-tickets-118686349065. After the event, we will post the conference materials webpage in this same space. That website will host ongoing training opportunities. RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE Pasture calendar for Western Oregon and Washington: https://pubs.extension.wsu.edu/the-western-oregon-and-washington-pasture-calendar PNW Publication, PASTURE AND GRAZING MANAGEMENT IN THE NORTHWEST https://www.extension.uidaho.edu/publishing/pdf/pnw/pnw0614.pdf TRANSCRIPT The full transcript of this episode is available at: https://bit.ly/3m6jNfJ