Training in Sustainable Livestock Production Systems on Rangelands of the Western Dakotas

Training in Sustainable Livestock Production Systems on Rangelands of the Western Dakotas

Summary

Training of North and South Dakota Extension Educators and NRCS staff in sustainable range livestock production systems occurred with a 3-day workshop and a 2-day classroom session in 2001. Thirty-two participants were given training in production disciplines, adult education techniques, and systems integration by 15 trainers (SDSU, NDSU, NRCS). A major focus was development of teach-coach-mentor relationships between trainers and participants and among the participants themselves. Noticeable changes in knowledge, confidence, and programming efforts have already become apparent in a number of participants. Two more training sessions will occur in 2002 to continue progress with these and additional participants.

Objectives/Performance Targets

The goal of this project is for ag advisors to gain the knowledge, skills, and confidence to help livestock producers incorporate information on sustainable range livestock production into their operations and develop a commitment to it. The overall objective of this project is to provide CES and NRCS staff with professional development training in sustainable livestock production systems on rangelands of western SD and ND. This project focuses on three major objectives:
1. Provide information and hands-on training in the diverse areas, and more importantly the interrelationships among those areas, impacting sustainable livestock production systems on rangelands of the western Dakotas, including natural resources, animal husbandry, rangeland management, rangeland livestock nutrition and behavior, economics, and marketing.
2. Provide CES and NRCS staff with experiential learning situations that will teach them effective methods for transferring information to their clientele.
3. Evaluate the success of this training and modify these approaches for future training opportunities.

Accomplishments/Milestones

Objective 1: The workshop and classroom sessions in 2001 provided participants with information and hands-on training in natural resource assessment, rangeland management, grazing, stocking rates, animal nutrition, livestock behavior, economics, and production systems. Participants were surveyed after each session to determine the extent to which their needs had been met and to get their input on topic areas that need further development. The participants were very enthusiastic about the instruction received and requested additional training in a number of areas. They found the hands-on activities to be particularly useful, and several have plans to use those same activities in their programming efforts with clientele. In our next two sessions, we will provide further instruction in the areas identified by participants, especially regarding economic analyses and integration of production components into sustainable production systems.

Objective 2: A major emphasis of the workshop and classroom sessions in 2001 was to teach participants effective ways to transfer information to adults. We focused on teach-coach-mentor, which progressively develops a relationship between two individuals that empowers the “student”. In this method, one moves from being a teacher to a coach and then, finally to a mentor for an individual. The relationship of the trainers to the participants has progressed from teachers to coaches during the 2001 sessions, and we expect to move steadily toward mentoring participants in 2002. Progress toward this objective has been made through a variety of hands-on activities, many of which involved the transmission of discipline-related information to participants. We have both discussed and demonstrated the techniques, and will continue to do so in 2002.

Objective 3: We initiated our evaluation efforts at the beginning of the project by evaluating the initial knowledge of the participants on the variety of topics and concepts to covered in the 2-year program. Participants will be surveyed at the end of the project to determine the impact it has had on their knowledge and understanding. We have also surveyed the participants after each session to get their input on the topics covered, the effectiveness of the instructional activities, and their perception of needs for future sessions. Participants’ responses have been critical in shaping subsequent sessions, thereby allowing us to better meet their needs. These evaluations have also led us to develop and submit a proposal for an advanced training program to further meet the needs of the CES and NRCS staff beyond the scope of the current project.

Impacts and Contributions/Outcomes

Although we have, thus far, completed only half of the training planned for this project, changes in CES and NRCS staff knowledge, confidence, and programming efforts are already apparent. As an example, one SD Extension Educator has progressed from asking SDSU Range Specialists to help her resolve nearly every range-related question, to now offering a producer workshop where she will provide the range-related information with only some coaching from Specialists. Other participants are planning workshops in their regions that will use some of the hands-on activities we have used in our sessions. We have had the participants teach each other during our sessions, and have noticed a marked improvement in not only their knowledge base, but also in their confidence and enthusiasm. CES and NRCS participants have also developed some multi-discipline, multi-agency, multi-state networks through this project that will allow them to work together as teams to solve producer problems. We expect that these changes will lead to improvements in the ability of CES and NRCS personnel to help producers improve the sustainability of their rangeland livestock operations in both North and South Dakota.

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