We are excited to announce the release of a couple of new educational handbooks. The “Establishment and management of silvopasture systems in South Carolina” (Figure 1) is a great multidisciplinary collaboration among 12 specialists and graduate students to discuss aspects related to the establishment and management of silvopasture. This handbook provides concepts and research-based information on the establishment and management of silvopasture for Extension and agricultural educators, producers, students, and the public in South Carolina. The goal is to provide a practical resource that any producer can understand and use, regardless of their background or scientific training. This handbook encompasses topics related to trees, forages and livestock management, water quality, ecosystem services, economic considerations to adopt silvopasture, and more.
The second resource is our revised “South Carolina Forages: Research-based concepts for forage management” handbook (Figure 1). The first edition of this resource was released in 2023, and now, through the support of the South Carolina Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program, we have been able to revise it and print more copies to be distributed to our producers. This resource is designed to be a handy resource for those interested in learning more about forage and livestock management and to serve as a go-to manual with practical information. Chapters were updated and content incorporated in this new version to meet the needs of our producers and also share some results from ongoing trials being conducted under the forage-livestock systems program.
Both resources are free of charge. Those interested in getting a copy should contact their local livestock and forages Extension agent, or if able to, stop by at the Edisto Research and Education Center in Blackville, SC. For more information, please contact Dr. Liliane Silva (lseveri@clemson.edu).
Figure 1. New written resources on management of forage and livestock systems available for South Carolina producers.
