Clemson Forages Team
2025 Cool-season annual forage grass variety recommendations for South Carolina
2025-26 Cool-season Forage Demonstration Plot Results from the Edisto REC
Check out the results from our demonstration plots from the past season! This can help support decisions for variety selection for this upcoming season in your location! For any questions, please reach out. #foragedrops
Nitrate toxicity in forage crops
Liliane Silva, Forages Specialist Nitrate is a naturally occurring component in plants, and its accumulation is usually associated with plant stress conditions (e.g., prolonged drought). When plants grow slowly, they continue to update nitrates, but these do not convert to proteins and amino acids, so there is a buildup of nitrates in the plant. […]
Clemson University Forage-Livestock Systems Program – Research highlight summary
Using multi-species forage ecosystems to enhance production, diversify income and support environmental benefits in operations in South Carolina The forage-livestock systems program is under Dr. Liliane Silva, Forages Specialist, and focuses on developing management strategies to improve forage production and quality, animal performance, profitability, and resilience of forage-livestock operations in South Carolina. Multidisciplinary efforts are […]
Stockpiled bermudagrass systems help to fill the forage gap
Stockpiling is a management practice that defers forage availability for use later. This practice helps to decrease costs associated with feeding hay in livestock operations. In the southeast U.S., perennial grasses such as bahiagrass and bermudagrass are used to close the forage gap in early fall and extend the grazing season. Stockpiled bermudagrass has moderate […]
Bermudagrass stem maggot control
By Liliane Severino da Silva, Forages Specialist The bermudagrass stem maggot [BSM; Atherigona reversura Villeneuve (Diptera: Muscidae)] is an invasive species in the southeastern USA. This insect was first reported in California in 2009 and in Georgia in 2010, but it is native to South Asia. It is unclear how BSM was introduced to the United […]
Animal production and welfare benefits under silvopasture systems
Silvopasture systems are defined as the integration of tree, forage, and livestock in the same area (Figure 1). These systems allow for income diversification through forestry and livestock production, while optimizing resource use for environmental, economic, and social benefits of operations. In the Southeast region, heat stress is a major issue to livestock, and it […]
Cooping with high fertilizer costs in forage systems
By Liliane Silva, Clemson Forages Specialist Management practices are crucial in determining forage production and quality in forage systems. Among them, fertilization is essential to supply nutrients needed by plants. Over the past decades, the fluctuation of costs of fertilizers has elevated the importance of improving nutrient use efficiency, while also seeking alternative strategies to […]
Managing Fescue Hay During the 2026 Spring Drought
By Christopher LeMaster, Clemson Extension Livestock Agent and Dr. Liliane Silva, Clemson Extension Forage Specialist Following a dry fall and winter, much of our region is now classified in Extreme Drought (D3). For a cool-season grass like tall fescue, which relies on spring moisture for the bulk of its annual forage production, this rainfall deficit is a […]
