Feb 15 to 16, Dayton Ohio OEFFA conference
I will be teaching 4 workshops at this conference in Ohio on February 15 and 16 2018. Workshops will include:
Full Day Grazing School
In this day-long workshop we will spend the morning on the basic principals of good grazing management systems. Topics will include grazing and non grazing adapted plant species, soils and management systems that improve pasture quality and productivity. Using examples of real farm grazing systems we will cover system design, fence, water systems, lanes, paddock sizing and acreage requirements. In the afternoon we will go into more depth in our discussion of how to use different stocking densities, pre and post grazing heights, length of rest periods, different plant species to improve pasture and maximize dry matter intake from pasture. We will use photos of pastures and cows to talk about how to observe and monitor pastures and cattle so that we can better understand if our grazing systems are working the way we want them to.
Key Principals of Well Managed Grazing Systems
What are your livestock and pastures telling you about your grazing management system? This workshop will cover the basic principals of good grazing management systems, first from the perspective of the plants, and then from the perspective of the livestock. Once we put those two important pieces together, we will discuss how to monitor pastures and animals so that we can maximize dry matter intake from pasture and use grazing to improve pasture quality and productivity.
Fine Tuning Your Grazing System
This session uses real on-farm examples to help us learn how to “listen” to what our farms, pastures and animals are telling us. Observing plants, soil, animals and the interactions between them can guide us to improve the conversion of sunlight into high quality plants and healthy livestock through good grazing management. Topics will include pasture condition scoring and monitoring, grazing management techniques, pasture ecology, and the use of fence, water system, lanes and different stocking densities and re-growth periods.
Grazing Q&A & Troubleshooting Your Grazing system
This session will not be a formal presentation. Instead, bring your questions about grass based ruminant farming and we can share ideas and discussion.