Five sites featured in upcoming Pasture Walk at New Deal Research Farm
By: Norman Martin
The Texas Alliance for Water Conservation (TAWC), the High Plains Underground Water Conservation District and the USDA Sustainable Agriculture Program, along with Texas Tech University's College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources and Tech's Department of Plant and Soil Science, will host a Pasture Walk from 8:30 to 10 a.m. on Tuesday (July 9) at the Texas Tech New Deal Research Farm.
The event will highlight current research on forages for grazing cattle at the research farm, said Chuck West, Texas Tech's Thornton Distinguished Chair of Plant and Soil Science and director of the university's CASNR Water Center.
West and his collaborators will lead an easy walk through five kinds of pastures, showing different options for grasses and legumes that work well in the region. Discussion will include grazing alfalfa, efficient use of water, native and introduced grasses, methane emissions from cattle, and building soil health.
To reach the facility from I-27, take exit 14 to FM 1729, and travel east for 6.1 miles. Turn south on County Road 300 at Texas Tech farm entrance sign. After 0.3 mile, turn west onto a dirt road and continue past green cattle pens until the end. Park on the grass alongside the fence.
"We'll walk to several pastures in the immediate area," West said. "Rides will be available for those unable to walk, and refreshments will be served."
Funded by a grant from the Texas Water Development Board, TAWC operates as a partnership of producers, technology firms, universities and government agencies working to extend the life of the largest subterranean aquifer in the United States. Stretching from the Texas panhandle in the south to the northern boundary of Nebraska, the Ogallala Aquifer lies beneath one of the most important agricultural regions in the United States.
The project uses on-farm demonstrations of cropping and livestock systems to compare the production practices, technologies, and systems that can maintain individual farm profitability while improving water use efficiency with a goal of extending the life of the Ogallala Aquifer while maintaining the viability of local farms and communities. All production-related decisions are made by the more than 20 producers involved in the project.
CONTACT: Samantha Borgstedt, Communications Director, Texas Alliance for Water Conservation Project, Texas Tech University at (806) 789-4177 or samantha.borgstedt@ttu.edu
0627NM19 / Editor's Note: For more information about the upcoming Pasture Walk, please click here
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