Illinois Forage Expo - Manteno IL

The 2010 Illinois Forage Expo will be held on Wednesday, July 21 at Law-Rae Dairy Farm, Dave Surprenant operator, 5898 E. 7000 N Road, Manteno, Illinois in Kankakee County. The Expo will start at 9:00 am and conclude at 3 pm. The Surprenant dairy farm is a grazing based operation currently milking 150 cows. The operation utilizes forty 4-acre paddocks for intensive grazing of grass/clover pastures under irrigation.

The Forage Expo will include field demonstrations of forage harvesting equipment and commercial displays of forage related products and equipment. In addition, educational sessions will be presented that focus on forage specie selection and animal preference; forage fertility and weed control; hay preservatives and USDA/NRCS programs.

In addition, a Quality Hay & Haylage Contest will be available for producers to enter 2010 harvested bales and haylage. Entries in the quality hay contest

must be delivered on site from 9 am to 10 am. There is no entry fee and NIRS analysis

will be provided free of charge. Bales weighing over 100 pounds will need an official scale weigh ticket. Four hay and one haylage class will be available and class winners will receive a certificate. For further information concerning the Quality Hay/Haylage Contest, interested producers can contact Greg Clark, University of Illinois Extension, Whiteside County, phone 815-772-4075, gmclark@illinois.edu

The Forage Expo site is located about 4 ½ miles southeast of Manteno, Illinois in Kankakee County. Specifically the site can be reached by exiting Interstate 57, Manteno exit and go east on Division Street, then north (left) 2 blocks on Main Street, then east (right) on 3^rd Street/ 9000 N Road 2 ½ miles, then south (right) 2 miles on 5000 E Road, then east (left) 1 mile on 7000 N Road. From Grant Park go west & south 2 miles on Route 1/17, then west (right) 5 miles on 7000 N Road. Watch for signs and lunch will be available at the Expo site. Additional information concerning the Illinois Forage Expo is available at . http://www.illinoisforage.org/. For information concerning exhibiting a commercial display contact Gale Imig, GROWMARK, Inc., P.O. Box 2500, Bloomington, IL 61702-2500, phone (309) 557-6397.