PROJECT DESCRIPTION

The minigrant will support an employee, soil testing and information/education activities. Press releases, development of informational materials and two field days are scheduled, one in August 1997 and another in August 1998, to inform producers that bermuda grass can have positive water quality benefits when poultry litter is applied properly.

Water quality issues are becoming a major concern in West-Central Missouri, due to the expansion of the poultry industry into the area. Five bermuda grass varieties are receiving two different rates of poultry litter applications in demonstration plots on Central Missouri State University's farm. Bermuda grass is a warm season, creeping perennial, deep rooted, sod-forming grass which propagates by seed, stolons and rhizomes and is excellent for erosion control. Active growth during hot periods in summer months makes it an excellent supplement to cool season grasses. Cattle are often allowed to graze pastures continuously, and as a result, pastures can have inadequate ground cover. The introduction of bermuda grass into grazing systems will provide adequate ground cover during critical summer growing periods, preventing erosion and nutrient transport from pastures.

PRODUCTS AND OBJECTIVES

Soil sampling will be done monthly to gather information on the movement and the build-up of nutrients in the soil. Sampling will compare bermuda grass plots and areas adjacent to the poultry litter applied sites. Soils analyses will provide livestock producers with needed information on plant utilization and the proper application rates of poultry litter for bermuda grass hay production. The project will last form
May 31, 1997 to November 15, 1998.

PROJECT SPONSOR

The Osage Valley Resource Conservation and Development Council, Inc.

COOPERATING AGENCIES

Central Missouri State University and Natural Resources Conservation Service

CONTACT