Bermudagrass (Cynodon spp.) is an important warm-season, perennial, sod-forming forage grass in Georgia and throughout the Southeast. Bermudagrass is productive from spring until fall and is well-suited for grazing or hay production. Several varieties of bermudagrass are used in Georgia, ranging from common bermudagrass to the high-yielding, good quality hybrid bermudagrasses. The best variety to use depends on your location in the state and the intended use.

Baled silage, or “baleage,” is an excellent method for forage harvest, storage, and feed efficiency. Conserving forage as baleage enables harvests to be performed on a timely basis, allowing harvests to capture higher quality forage. This publication focuses on common questions about making and feeding baleage.

The geographic and environmental diversity of Georgia allows for the extensive use of both cool and warm season grass species. In general, cool season grass species provide higher nutritional quality than warm season grasses. In contrast, warm season grasses generally yield more than cool season grasses. Each type and species, however, offers its own unique qualities and benefits to the forage system. In this section, the most important grass species in Georgia are introduced and discussed.

White clover (Trifolium repens L.) is a cool season perennial legume of Mediterranean origin. White clover has been used as a forage in North America since Colonial times. Benjamin Franklin noted its prevalence in cleared and disturbed land as early as 1746. There are many animal and agronomic related reasons for establishing a productive stand of white clover in existing grass pastures. This publication covers tips on selecting, establishing and managing white clover to help ensure a productive stand.

Conservation tillage with agronomic crops (i.e., cotton, corn, soybeans, etc.) has been successful in Georgia production. Such production practices have several benefits, the most notable being the elimination of soil erosion. Other benefits include but aren't limited to increases in soil organic matter, maintaining a healthy rhizosphere (root-zone soil), reduction of riparian and waterway pollution, and water conservation. Some examples of conservation tillage practices include no till, ridge till, and strip till. No–till production involves no tillage of field soils and leaves all of the previous crop residue on the soil surface. Ridge–till production involves building a ridge during cultivation, then scalping the ridge and sowing seed. The scalping process moves most of the previous–crop residue to the row middles, leaving a clean row for sowing. Strip–till production is when a narrow strip is tilled for each row that will be planted, leaving the row middles intact with the previous–crop residue. Strip–tillage may reduce yields if weeds in the untilled area are not killed, as these weeds will compete with the crop for water and nutrients. Although the planted row is free of previous crop residue, it may be advantageous to kill the cover crop to prevent it from competing for nutrients and water with the vegetable crop.

One tool that aids producers in the efficient and profitable production of beef cattle is live animal carcass ultrasound. The use of carcass ultrasound is an economical way cattlemen can make genetic improvements in carcass traits, which will, in turn, put profits in their pockets.