Management-intensive grazing workshop set for may 12-14 in Victoria

TSCRA Daily News Update, May 6, 2008

Management-intensive grazing workshop set for
May 13-14 in Victoria

Landowners and others interested in learning about optimizing their grazing production will have an opportunity on May 13-14, at the Management-Intensive Grazing workshop. The workshop will be held at the Wells Fargo Bank, 101 W. Goodwin Avenue, 5^th floor, in Victoria.

Nationally known grazing specialist Jim Gerrish will be teaching one and a half days in the classroom and half -day in the field taking landowners step-by-step through his Management-Intensive Grazing (MIG) system that includes: from the ground up - soils, growing quality pasture, matching forage and animals, managing pasture and animals, extending the growing season, animal care, fencing, water basics, designing your grazing system, and putting it all together.

Gerrish, an independent grazing lands consultant, provides service to farmers and ranchers on both private and public lands across the United States. His past experience includes more than 20 years of beef-forage systems research and outreach while on the faculty of the University of Missouri, as well as 20 years of commercial cattle and sheep production on his family farm in northern Missouri.

The University of Missouri Forage Systems Research Center (FSRC) rose to national prominence as a result of Gerrish's research leadership. His research encompassed many aspects of plant-soil-animal interactions and provided a foundation for many of the basic principles of Management-Intensive Grazing.

Gerrish currently writes regular columns in BEEF Magazine and The Stockman Grass-Farmer. His book, "Management-intensive Grazing: The Grassroots of Grass Farming," is one of the best sellers on the Stockman Grass Farmer's bookshelf.

Gerrish co-founded the very popular three-day grazing management workshop program at FSRC and speaks at 30 to 40 producer-oriented workshops, seminars, and field days around the U.S. and Canada each year.

His research and outreach efforts have been recognized with awards from the American Forage and Grassland Council, Missouri Forage and Grassland Council, National Center for Appropriate Technology, USDA-NRCS, the Soil and Water Conservation Society, Progressive Farmer, and American Agricultural Editors Association.

Registration begins at 8:30 a.m. May 13 and the workshop runs 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. both days. The workshop is $50 per person and covers lunches, notebook and materials.

To register, contact Tim W. Reinke at 361/576-1129 ext. 3. The Coastal Prairies Grazing Lands Conservation Initiative (GLCI) and the USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service is sponsoring the workshop.