Progress report for LNE25-492
Project Information
Project Focus:
NJ livestock farmers face the highest costs for pastureland and farm real estate value yet are ranked 39th for net farm income in the country. Coupled with the economic challenges are erratic weather patterns that bring intense storms and drought conditions. Farmers are squeezed by environmental and economic pressures and need increased educational and technical resources to empower them with the knowledge and assistance to implement management practices that build climate and economic resilience onto their farms and pasture lands.
Adoption and improved use of rotational grazing and pasture management help meet those needs. Rotational grazing is a management strategy to benefit pastureland with controlled animal movements through observed grazing and rest periods to benefit soil, plant and animal health. While pasture management encompasses rotational grazing, it also entails practices like frost and interseeding, bale grazing, clipping for vegetative growth, and animal impact. Many livestock farmers in North Jersey RC&D’s seven-county service area struggle with accessing the limited educational and technical assistance resources to help them adopt or improve rotational grazing and pasture management.
Solution and Approach:
Farmers can learn about rotational grazing and pasture management through a Grazing School, field days, and technical assistance (TA). Through these resources, they will learn how to utilize tools such as pasture condition scores (PCS), grazing plans, record keeping, and soil testing to inform, plan for, and guide management decisions. PCS was developed by the Natural Resource Conservation Service to assess if a site is managed to its production potential and identifies factors causing low production. Grazing plans are farm-specific management tools that allow graziers to organize pastureland and animals to optimize targeted objectives, planning for necessary plant recovery, and ensuring the pasture health. Using these tools, farmers can see how their pasture productivity and soil health changes based on their management and adjust accordingly to make improvements.
Farmers will be supported and coached through a step-by-step process to assess their existing infrastructure and pastures to create farm-specific grazing plans for pasture improvement. Through this program, farmers will find resources, on-farm technical assistance, and tools to help build resilience into their farms.
30 farmers on an average of 20 acres (600 acres total) will improve pasture management and adopt rotational grazing. Rotational grazing will lead to an increase of 5 points on average on individualized pasture condition scoring.
New Jersey livestock farmers operate under some of the most challenging conditions in the country. NJ ranks 1st in pasture value ($16,600/acre) and 2nd in farm real estate value ($17,700/acre), yet its farmers rank 39th nationally in net farm income. These economic pressures are compounded by increasingly erratic weather patterns, including intense storms and droughts, which strain pasture productivity and farm viability. Many livestock farmers in North Jersey RC&D’s seven-county service area are particularly affected, as they face limited access to educational programming and technical assistance due to long-term declines in Cooperative Extension capacity—state funding has fallen by 45% since 2008. At the same time, farmers consistently identify soil health, pasture productivity, climate resilience, and technical assistance as their top needs.
This project addresses the opportunity to improve climate and economic resilience for livestock farmers through the adoption and improved use of rotational grazing and comprehensive pasture management. Rotational grazing along with practices such as frost seeding, interseeding, bale grazing, and clipping, can improve soil health, forage quality, pasture productivity, and farm profitability while reducing feed costs and environmental risk.
The project approach will deliver targeted education and hands-on technical assistance through a Grazing School, field days, and individualized on-farm support. Farmers are coached to use practical decision-making tools, including USDA NRCS Pasture Condition Scores (PCS), farm-specific grazing plans, soil testing, and recordkeeping. Through a step-by-step process, participants assess existing pastures and infrastructure, develop grazing plans with contingency strategies for weather extremes, and monitor improvements over time. By strengthening access to trusted education and technical assistance, the project aims to empower farmers to implement resilient pasture systems that improve soil health, increase productivity, and enhance long-term economic sustainability.
Research
Education
The project will use a hands-on, farmer-centered educational approach that combines structured learning with applied, on-farm support. Education will be delivered through a Grazing School, field days, and individualized technical assistance, allowing farmers to build both knowledge and practical skills. Participants will learn core concepts of rotational grazing and pasture management alongside decision-making tools such as pasture condition scoring, grazing plans, soil testing, and recordkeeping. Learning will be reinforced through real-world application, peer-to-peer exchange, and step-by-step coaching tailored to each farm’s conditions. This integrated approach ensures farmers can assess their pastures, implement changes, monitor outcomes, and adapt management to improve productivity, profitability, and climate resilience.
Milestones
Milestone 1 (Fall 2025/ 2026/2027)/ ENGAGEMENT
Status- In Progress
200+ livestock farmers learn about Grazing School via articles, newsletters, outreach from regional organizations, social media ads, flyers, direct emails, and targeted mailings. Farmer members of RFN-NJ will be invited and share with their networks. This will occur annually each fall. Engagement through social media will be tracked. 20-30 participants are expected to register for the Garden State Graziers Grazing School annually. Registration will ask participants how they learned of the opportunity.
Dec 2025 Update: Milestone met
- Direct Mailing: 414 individual farm addresses, Mailed 12/10/25 (SARE recognition on included flyer)
- Newsletters, North Jersey RC&D and Regenerative Farm Network: 927 individual email addresses/ 201 identified farmers
- Organizations that shared opportunity NJ Farm Bureau, NOFA NJ, local 4H leaders, Rutgers Extension, NJ Department of Agriculture and Next Gen Farmers, NJDA Historically Underserved Network, county board of ag meetings (6)
- Project website: https://www.northjerseyrcd.org/grazing-school
- Technical article in NJ Ruminant Report
- Physically posted flyers in local Tractor Supplies and feed stores
- Social media posts and ads (Instagram 839 views/ Facebook 307 views)
- 34 applications to date/ Learned of Grazing School through:
Our newsletters (20)
Other organizations (7)
Word-of-mouth/Meetings (4)
Mailer (1)
Internet search (1)
Social media (1) - Future planned outreach: Conference presenter NOFA-NJ discussing pasture management and rotational grazing (1/31/26)
Milestone 2 (Jan-Mar 2026/ Jan-Mar 2027/ Jan-Mar 2028)/ LEARNING
Status- In Progress
30 farmers attend the Grazing School at a central location. School consists of two separate in-person sessions, followed by two evening remote follow-up workshops via Zoom. Farmers complete grazing plans through guided instruction. A grazing calendar with grazing tips by season will be provided. Farmers will take soil samples and then participate in a follow-up remote workshop to discuss. Sign up sheets and attendance will be recorded at the Grazing school and follow-up workshops. Pre-implementation surveys will be filled out by farmers.
Dec 2025 Update: Planning for Grazing School in progress
- Grazing School location secured in central location (Duke Farms in Hillsborough, NJ) for dates in Feb 2026 (with a secured snow date as well)
- Grazing calendars designed and printed
- The Art and Science of Grazing books secured
- Grazing School curricula outlined
- Timing for soil samples confirmed with Penn State lab/ Confirmed Sarah Crooke of Crooke Ag Consulting’s involvement in Zoom presentation and soil test recommendations
Milestone 3 (Fall 2025 - Fall 2026/ Fall 2026 -Fall 2027/ Fall 2027 - Fall 2028)/ LEARNING
Status- In Progress
30 farmers learn pasture management via on-farm individualized technical assistance visits, including completion of the initial Pasture Condition Score assessments. This tool will help farmers focus attention where needed to improve their existing pastures. Farmers will also benefit from access to a "Fencing Reference Library." This "Library" can be trialed at each farm with the NJRCD agricultural specialist and farmer and will be utilized to reinforce farmer learning.
Dec 2025 Update: Planning for on-farm individualized technical assistance visits in progress
- Grazing Plan and Pasture Condition Scoring prepared for Kirk Stephens, Vernon Valley Farm in fall 2025 to create template and focus resources in readying for Grazing School participants. Kirk will be participating in the school and is also a farmer member of the project Advisory Committee. The Grazing Plans and Pasture Condition Scoring for remaining participants will take place in 2026. No others were done prior as we did not know who would be applying for the school.
- Took stock of resources in assembling NJRCD Fencing Reference Library to make sure we catalogued current needs and resources still needed. The library will be housed in a trailer that NJRCD owns. Organization of resources is occurring in preparation for Field Days and on-farm visits.
Milestone 4 (Fall 2025- Fall 2028 on-going)
Status- Not Begun
30 farmers learn through peer-to-peer interactions on a Facebook page hosted by NJRC&D. The page allows farmers more control over their learning, asking time-sensitive questions, and receiving prompt responses from the online peer community while building up the farmer network of those interested in rotational grazing and pasture management. NJRC&D will be sure all questions receive attention if not answered adequately by the online community. NJRC&D will also enliven the page by curating content and posting resources to accommodate different learning styles twice per month or more.
Dec 2025 Update: First in-person training days of the Grazing School will be in February 2026. Online networking with participants will begin then.
Milestone 5 (Fall 2025 -Fall 2026/ Fall 2026 - Fall 2027/ Fall 2027 - Fall 2028) LEARNING
Status- Not Begun
50 farmers will learn through attending two field days each year. The field days will incorporate farms which have implemented a particular pasture improvement practice. NJRCD will seek regional experts to present at the field days. Farmers will have the opportunity to acquire knowledge from these outside experts, gathering fresh perspectives from larger regional and national frames of references. Sign up sheets will be at each event and post-field day assessments will be gathered.
Dec 2025 Update: First Field Days will be held in 2026. {Possible topics for field days, locations, and speakers have been identified. Topics of field days may include:
- “Grass Roots Knowledge: Species ID for Better Pastures”
- “Pasture Partners: Working with Dung Beetles”
- “Made in the Shade: Silvopasture for Productive Farms”
- “From the ground up: Pasture Soils”
- “Small Ruminants, Big Rewards; Special Opportunities and Challenges on Pasture”
- “Grazing on leased acreage”
Milestone 6 (Spring-Fall 2027)/ LEARNING
Status- Not Begun
50 farmers will watch 3-5 YouTube testimonials created documenting local farmers transitioning to rotational grazing and better pasture management. Testimonials will be shared over social media. Engagement will be tracked.
Milestone 7 (Late Fall 2026/ Late Fall 2027/ November 2028)/ EVALUATION
Status- Not Begun
30 farmers complete follow-up surveys and phone interviews, documenting behavior change and addressing identified needs for the following year. Farmers complete their second annual and/or final project PCSs with NJRCD assistance and are coached to make updates to their grazing plans as needed. Farmers to complete post-implementation surveys, share their final PCS, and latest grazing plans to assist in quantification of measurable change.