Professional Development Workshop for USDA Southern Region focuses on Managing Livestock, Natural Resources

Do you want to learn more about a systems approach to livestock production, including well-tooled rotational grazing management and efficient transitions to organic production? Consider attending the Putting it All Together: Using Livestock to Manage Natural Resources, workshop designed for NRCS, Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES), and other agency employees who work with farmers in cattle and small ruminant production. The workshop is planned for May 24-26, at the Heifer Ranch in Perryville, Arkansas.

Funded by a Southern Region SARE professional development grant and hosted by the Heifer Ranch and the National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT), the workshop is open to all USDA Southern Region agency staff and farmers. NCAT is a nonprofit organization that works to help people solve problems through the application of appropriate technology.

The three-day course is designed to enhance knowledge of grazing management principles in concert with natural resources. NRCS staff and other attendees will have a chance will learn more about fine-tuning grazing management, utilizing small ruminants such as sheep and goats to help manage resources, and assessing and managing natural resources on farms and ranches where livestock play a large role. “We hope that the information provided in the workshop can be dovetailed with NRCS technical assistance and farm planning approaches and provide new ways for NRCS staff and clients to assess the farm together and use new technical resources to inform future decisions,” said Teresa Maurer, Sustainable Agriculture Program Manager at NCAT. “The workshop should also cover potential cross-compliance between NRCS practices and transition to organic systems,” she added.

The workshop will provide ample opportunity for NRCS to interact with CSREES, non-governmental organization staff, and innovative producers and 1890s representatives from across the region. Hands-on field demonstrations and other sessions will be led by farmers and educators who have direct experience in livestock production, marketing, research, extension and organic transition, including:
▪ Dr. Jim Gerrish, American Grazing Lands Services (grazier-writer);
▪ Peggy Sechrist, Sechrist Ranch  (co-founder of Homestead Healthy Meats);
▪ Martha Mewbourne, Thorntree Farm (organizer of lamb marketing group); and
▪ Steve Hart, Langston University (small ruminants).

Heifer Ranch, about an hour from Little Rock, Arkansas, is an internationally recognized learning center. Workshop attendees will see the results of recent changes to the ranch’s own livestock management work with stocker cattle and small ruminants.

SARE’s professional development program spreads knowledge about sustainable concepts and practices through ag professionals such as NRCS staff. NCAT’s workshop strives to present ideas and practices honed through past SARE research and education projects.

Apply on-line to attend the conference.  For more information, go to the NCAT website or contact Tim Johnson  or Teresa Maurer at 866-442-6085.