Calibrating Forage Seeding Equipment

Oat and ryegrass seeds mixed in the main seedbox. Smaller ryegrass seed increases the speed of the flow compared to oat only.

Establishing forages from seeds often requires precision equipment to achieve specific seeding rates for a proper pasture stand. Most pieces of equipment have calibration charts, which are useful guides for making an initial setting. However, due to variations in seed size, purity, moisture content, equipment performance, ground speed, and other factors, calibrating equipment prior to each use is recommended. This 5-page document discusses a few calibration techniques for drills and broadcast spreaders. Written by Marcelo Wallau, Joao Vendramini, and Ed Jennings, and published by the UF/IFAS Agronomy Department, revised November 2018.
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ag158

Florida 4-H Tailgate: Smoking and Slow Cooking Meat

Smoked meat at the University of Florida's meat lab.

The Florida 4-H Poultry BBQ program has existed for years, and the program for red meat cookery has been a huge success in Tennessee 4-H. With sponsorship for the winners at the state level, the Florida 4-H Tailgate Contest program will be a success in Florida as well. This program will strive to promote enjoyable outdoor cooking experiences, encourage the incorporation of animal protein in the diet in order to combat childhood obesity, improve youth nutritional knowledge and cooking skills, and impart knowledge about safe handling and proper degree of doneness to produce safe and delicious meat dishes. This 2-page fact sheet is the fourth publication in the Florida 4-H Tailgate series, and it discusses smoking and slow cooking meat. Written by Chad Carr, Brian Estevez, Sonja Crawford, Jason Scheffler, George Baker, Ed Jennings, and Mark Mauldin, and published by the 4-H Youth Development Department, December 2016.
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/4h375

Florida 4-H Tailgate: Fire-Building

A goat sausage link being cooked on a charcoal grill. IFAS Annual Research Report 2008. UF/IFAS Photo: Tyler Jones

The Florida 4-H Poultry BBQ program has existed for years, and the program for red meat cookery has been a huge success in Tennessee 4-H. With sponsorship for the winners at the state level, the Florida 4-H Tailgate Contest program will be a success in Florida as well. This program will strive to promote enjoyable outdoor cooking experiences, encourage the incorporation of animal protein in the diet in order to combat childhood obesity, improve youth nutritional knowledge and cooking skills, and impart knowledge about safe handling and proper degree of doneness to produce safe and delicious meat dishes. This 2-page fact sheet is the third publication in the Florida 4-H Tailgate series, and it discusses fire-building. Written by Chad Carr, Brian Estevez, Sonja Crawford, Jason Scheffler, George Baker, Ed Jennings, and Mark Mauldin, and published by the 4-H Youth Development Department, December 2016.
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/4h374

Florida 4-H Tailgate: Meat Selection

Steaks being grilled. Barbecue, grilling, meat, meat science, steak, beef, cooking, food, nutrition. UF/IFAS Photo by Tyler Jones.

The Florida 4-H Poultry BBQ program has existed for years, and the program for red meat cookery has been a huge success in Tennessee 4-H. With sponsorship for the winners at the state level, the Florida 4-H Tailgate Contest program will be a success in Florida as well. This program will strive to promote enjoyable outdoor cooking experiences, encourage the incorporation of animal protein in the diet in order to combat childhood obesity, improve youth nutritional knowledge and cooking skills, and impart knowledge about safe handling and proper degree of doneness to produce safe and delicious meat dishes. This 2-page fact sheet is the fifth publication in the Florida 4-H Tailgate series, and it discusses meat selection. Written by Chad Carr, Brian Estevez, Sonja Crawford, Jason Scheffler, George Baker, Ed Jennings, and Mark Mauldin, and published by the 4-H Youth Development Department, December 2016.
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/4h376

Florida 4-H Tailgate: Cooking Safety

Seasoned steaks on a platter, ready for the grill. Barbecue, grilling, meat, meat science, steak, beef, cooking, food, nutrition.

The Florida 4-H Poultry BBQ program has existed for years, and the program for red meat cookery has been a huge success in Tennessee 4-H. With sponsorship for the winners at the state level, the Florida 4-H Tailgate Contest program will be a success in Florida as well. This program will strive to promote enjoyable outdoor cooking experiences, encourage the incorporation of animal protein in the diet in order to combat childhood obesity, improve youth nutritional knowledge and cooking skills, and impart knowledge about safe handling and proper degree of doneness to produce safe and delicious meat dishes. This 3-page fact sheet is the second publication in the Florida 4-H Tailgate series, and it addresses cooking safety. Written by Chad Carr, Brian Estevez, Sonja Crawford, Jason Scheffler, George Baker, Ed Jennings, and Mark Mauldin, and published by the 4-H Youth Development Department, December 2016.
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/4h373

Florida 4-H Tailgate: Cooking Equipment

Kabobs being cooked on a grill. Photo taken 09-10-16.

The Florida 4-H Poultry BBQ program has existed for years, and the program for red meat cookery has been a huge success in Tennessee 4-H. With sponsorship for the winners at the state level, the Florida 4-H Tailgate Contest program will be a success in Florida as well. This program will strive to promote enjoyable outdoor cooking experiences, encourage the incorporation of animal protein in the diet in order to combat childhood obesity, improve youth nutritional knowledge and cooking skills, and impart knowledge about safe handling and proper degree of doneness to produce safe and delicious meat dishes. This 2-page fact sheet is the first publication in the Florida 4-H Tailgate series, and it discusses cooking equipment. Written by Chad Carr, Brian Estevez, Sonja Crawford, Jason Scheffler, George Baker, Ed Jennings, and Mark Mauldin, and published by the 4-H Youth Development Department, July 2016.
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/4h372

Creeping Indigo, A Poisonous Plant of Concern in Florida Pastures

Flowers of creeping indigo arise from the base of the leaves and are pink to salmon in color.A recent rise in suspected horse poisonings has brought new attention to creeping indigo (Indigofera spicata), a toxic plant which has reportedly been in Florida for as long as 90 years. This new 5-page fact sheet covers plant description, signs of creeping indigo toxicity, and roles of creeping indigo’s toxins, as well as treatment and management. Written by Robert MacKay, Ed Jennings, Brent Sellers, Jason Ferrell, and Amanda House, and published by the UF Department of Agronomy, August 2015.
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ag399

Control of Lantana in Pastures (SSAGR359/AG368)

Figure 2. Lantana flowers of (A) purple/white and (B) red/yellow are common.Lantana is currently one of the top 10 most troublesome weeds in Florida. Although it is still sold as an ornamental, commercial varieties are sterile and considered to be non-invasive. It can quickly invade disturbed sites by producing plant toxins in its roots and stems, that either slow the growth of other plants or totally remove them. These leaf toxins are damaging to grazing animals. If animals consume the leaves, they often begin to show symptoms of skin peeling or cracking. Once animals show these symptoms, there is little or no treatment that can reverse the process. Although lantana’s leaves are poisonous, its berries are not. Birds readily consume the fruit and disperse the seed. This 2-page fact sheet was written by J. Ferrell, B. Sellers, and E. Jennings, and published by the UF Department of Agronomy, February 2012.
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ag368

AN244 Winter Feed Estimator: A Practical Tool for the Beef Cow-Calf Producer

AN244, a 3-page fact sheet by Mark Warren, Ed Jennings, and Matt Hersom, provides a simple approach for estimating dry matter feed requirements of the beef herd and then converting those requirements into an estimate of required hay or silage round rolls. Published by the UF Department of Animal Science, June 2010.
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/an244

AN229 Fresh Meat Selection for Consumers

AN229, a 5-page illustrated fact sheet by Chad Carr, Ed Jennings, and Larry Eubanks, aims to provide consumers with a solid working knowledge of fresh meat terminology so that they can select meat cuts that will perform desirably in all recipes. Includes references. Published by the UF Department of Animal Science, October 2009.
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/AN229

VM-171/VM133 Methods of Large Animal Carcass Disposal in Florida

VM-171, a 4-page fact sheet by J.K. Shearer, Max Irsik and Ed Jennings, describes for livestock producers several methods of carcass disposal — burial, composting, tissue digestion, incineration, and rendering. Includes references. Published by the UF College of Veterinary Medicine — Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences, July 2008.
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/VM133