FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FRIDAY, SEPT. 14, 2007

Farmers can learn about baling, using cornstalks, soybeans
for livestock feed at workshop Sept. 21 near Butner

RALEIGH – North Carolina farmers can learn about using baled cornstalks and soybeans for animal feed at a workshop Friday, Sept. 21, from 10 a.m. to noon near Butner. The workshop is free.

The workshop will be at N.C. State University’s Butner Beef Cattle Field Lab, 8800 Cassam Road, Bahama.

“There is little hay in North Carolina and surrounding states, but baled corn fodder and soybeans cut for hay are two feed options that could help some farmers get through the winter,” said Robin Watson, regional agronomist with the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. “We’re giving farmers the opportunity to see these forage materials up close and learn how to feed them to their animals.”

Topics will include nutritional components of cornstalks and soybean hay, forage sampling for nitrates and aflatoxin, and incorporating cornstalks into a balanced feed ration. The field day will include a demonstration of how to bale cornstalks.

The workshop also will cover topics such as crop insurance, pesticide residues on soybean plants, and how to safely move baled forage to prevent the spread of noxious weeds and fire ants.

For more information about the workshop, contact Watson at (336) 570-6850 or Kim Brooks with N.C. Cooperative Extension at (336) 599-1195.

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