South Dakota and surrounding Northern Plains states are now home to a new group, the Northern Plains Forage Association. The new association is opentoforagegrowers,buyers,industrypartners,and anyinterestedstakeholdersintheforageindustry.The group intends to create a forage networking and education community in order to ‘promote sustainable, quality, profitable forage production’ in our region.

The Northern Plains Forage Association is planning its first formal meeting during the Sioux Falls FarmshowonJanuary26at2:30pmintheSiouxFalls Arena lobby. The meeting is sponsored by Tri-State Neighbor; it will last one hour and is open and free to anyone interested in learning more about the group.

“South Dakota is one of the top producing forage states in the nation and this group will work towards furtherpromotinganddevelopingtheforageindustry in South Dakota and surrounding states. At our first formal meeting, we intend to discuss the intentions of the association and benefits of membership. Board members also plan to answer questions and listen to any suggestions attendees may provide,” said Sara Bauder, SDSU Extension Forage Field Specialist and association coordinator.

The board of directors is made up of growers and industry partners who intend on teaming together to provide forage stakeholders with educational opportunities such as field days and programs as well as in-person and online networking events to help keep forage growers and utilizers up-to-date on the latest research and best management practices.

In addition to discussing the mechanics of the association, the group will host Lynn Boadwine, local dairy producer and owner of Boadwine Farms Inc. Lynnwilldiscuss‘foragecroprotationsutilizingcover crops’ and the benefits and challenges of doing so.

“Cover crops are a hot topic in our industry and making sure elements of forages and soil health work together in a positive way is very important. We want to raise great quality forage profitably while respecting the land that allows us to do so,” Bauder said.

No registration is required for the meeting and Sioux Falls Farm show entrance is free of charge. To learnmoreaboutthemeetingcall605-995-7378orvisit extension.sdstate.edu/events. Watch for a Facebook page for the group to be available soon.

Northern Plains Forage Association to host kick-off