In 2020, Lebanon County organic dairy farmer Matt Bomgardner partnered with Penn State University Extension agronomist Dave Wilson to run a summer annual forage trial on his farm. Matt and Dave examined a variety of summer annual forage options, including eight different species and three different grazing mixes. The forage was sown using a diverse range of tillage treatments that included no till, rototill, and moldboard plow.
In this webinar, Matt and Dave will discuss the results of their forage trial, including lessons learned and plans for moving forward. Graziers interested in potentially including a summer annual in their grazing rotation will learn what worked best for Matt, both in terms of species selection and tillage treatment.
Matt Bomgardner is an organic dairy farmer in Lebanon County. He is the lead organizer for the Lebanon County Graziers group, a master grazier in the national Dairy Grazing Apprenticeship program, a soil health research partner with Pasa, and a former chair of the Pennsylvania Grazing Lands Coalition.
Dave Wilson has over 20 years of experience as a research agronomist in field crops, cover crops, forages, pasture management, grazing, soil health, and farming rotations. Dave’s background includes dairy farming, maize breeding, certified hybrid corn production, certified soybean and small grain production, and agricultural pesticide research. His prior experience includes working as a research agronomist for King’s Agriseeds Inc. as well as the Rodale Institute. He is a member of the Pennsylvania Forage and Grassland Council and interacts with Project Grass projects and PA No-Till Alliance.
Contact Aaron de Long at aaron@pasafarming.org or 814.349.9856 x709.
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