Forage Legume Webinar Series Recordings & Resources

2021 Virtual Legume Confernce

The 2021 Forage Legume Conference was held virtually this year. There were six 20-minute presentations followed by a Q&A session provided via Zoom every Thursday night from April 1 through May 6, 2021.

Legumes are important plants for forage production in Florida. They can supply highly nutritious feed for grazing animals, and when properly inoculated, they supply nitrogen for their own growth, as well as providing nitrogen for other plants growing with or following them.  The concept of a forage legume conference was developed to educate livestock producers on practical ways to integrate these unique plants into grass-based grazing systems. In 2021, the Forage Legume Conference was held virtually with a series of six webinars.

If you participated in any of the live sessions, or watched the recordings, please give us some feedback by completing the online survey.  There are only 10 multiple choice questions and one suggestion box, so this can be completed in a few minutes.

Forage Legume Webinar Series Survey

The following are the recordings of the six 25-30 minute presentations and the question and answer sessions that followed.   Also included are printer friendly PDF versions of the Power Point presentations used for each session.

1 – Forage Legumes for the SE USA: Myths and Facts

Dr. Ken Quesenberry, Emeritus Professor, UF/IFAS Agronomy Department, provided an overview of the most productive cool-season and warm-season forage legumes in Southeastern US.  He discussed some of the most common varieties as well as some of the others that can be grown, but may have very limited seed available in the commercial market.

Presentation Link:  Forage Legumes for the SE US

Fact Sheets Dr. Quesenberry recommended for additional information:
Alfalfa and Cool-Season Clovers
Winter Forage Legume Guide
Aeschynomene
Alyceclover—Summer Annual Legume
Rhizoma Perennial Peanut
Strip-Planting Rhizoma Peanut into Grazing Systems

2 – Breeding New Forage Legumes for the Southeastern US

 Dr. Esteban Rio, Forage Breeder, UF/IFAS Agronomy Department

3 – How Much Nitrogen Can Legumes Provide in Grazing Systems?

Dr. Jose Dubeux, Forage Management Specialist, UF/IFAS NFREC Marianna

Presentation link:  Adding Nitrogen to Grazing Systems with Forage Legumes

Additional information:
Strip-Planting Rhizoma Peanut into Grazing Systems
Ecosystem Services Provided by Grass-Legume Pastures

4 – Nutritional Benefits of Forage Legumes in Livestock Systems

Kalyn Waters, County Extension Director, UF/IFAS Extension Holmes County

Presentation link:  Nutritional Benefits of Forage Legumes for Livestock

Additional information:
Creep Grazing for Suckling Calves—A Pasture Management Practice

5 – Alfalfa-Bermudagrass Mixtures in the Southeastern US

Dr. Jennifer Tucker, UGA Beef & Forage Specialist

Presentation Link:  Alfalfa-Bermudagrass Mixtures in Hayfields and Pastures

6 – Legumes for Wildlife and Pollinators

Dr. Marcelo Wallau, UF/IFAS Forage Extension Specialist

Presentation link:  Forage Legumes for Wildlife & Pollinators

Additional resources:
2019 Cool-Season Forage Recommendations for Wildlife Food Plots in North Florida
Establishing and Maintaining Wildlife Food Sources
Annual Warm-Season Legumes for Florida and the US Gulf Coast: Forage Yield, Nutritional Composition, and Feeding Value
Cool season legumes
Inoculation of Agronomic and Forage Crop Legumes
Alfalfa and Cool-Season Clovers