News & Events

Grazing Conference 2008

By Stephenie Buhrow

My friend Krista and I attended the Grazing Conference held in Steven Point Feb 14^th – 16^th.  As always, it proved to be a wonderful experience and we were overwhelmed (in a good way) with all the great information provided.  I’ll share few things here.

A topic that was talked about on several occasions was extending the grazing season as long as possible.  This concept means you should “stockpile” forage (standing grasses) in the field to graze even after the growing season is done.  Anytime you allow the cattle to harvest their own forage, it reduces the amount of fossil fuels required in production and reduces soil compaction risks.

Plant varieties, both annuals and perennials, were presented with various benefits.  We learned about both varieties we had never seen before and more about the varieties we’ve become familiar with over time.  There was a lot of real-world experiences shared which is always good.  I like these various sessions because they share both the good and the bad. 

One of the most interesting topics was a presentation on how animals learn to eat and how they can be trained to try plants they previously would not touch.  The presentation showed how animals learn from their mothers, from their peers, and from their stomach’s evaluation of nutritional value.  This presentation wasn’t just focused on beef, it was focused on a broader group of animals.     http://www.livestockforlandscapes.com

Every year the Grazing Conference provides us with something new.  We return inspired once again with our hopes for the year and lots of ways to conquer our tasks.  Now for the hard part - adapt what we learned to our situation.  I can’t wait for spring!

PASTURE WALK - 2007

By Stephenie Buhrow     3/01/2008

The pasture walk was again a success this year as we had about 20 people in attendance.  We had many new faces and came back from previous years to check on our progress.  We toured the pastures, talked through our struggles and successes, and lots of good food to eat when we were done!