Demonstrating effective grass farming practices

View the project final report

Commodities

• Agronomic: grass (misc. perennial), hay
• Animals: bovine

Practices

• Animal Production: grazing - continuous, grazing - multispecies, pasture fertility, pasture renovation, grazing - rotational, winter forage, feed/forage
• Education and Training: demonstration, extension, networking, workshop
• Farm Business Management: value added
• Soil Management: organic matter, soil quality/health

NELA helps farmers produce grassfed beef livestock. The meat is then processed and sold in a premium market, providing improved economic returns to farmers. NELA proposes to engage 15 Extension agents, 20 professionals from organizations such as NRCS and the Grasslands Conservation Initiative, and 40 farmers in a professional development program exploring the business and agricultural practices needed to succeed in grassfed livestock farming. NELA will provide a workshop on grassfed production, then create hands-on teams to work with individual grassfed livestock farms. The teams will learn from each other, the farmers, and NELA as they help the farmers refine their business plans, evaluate the costs and benefits of grassfed farming and identify agricultural and business practices that would improve the farm’s performance. NELA will support this work through a workshop series and by creating an online learning community with electronic learning resources and a listserv.

Of the 35 Extension and agricultural professionals, at least 15 will understand and advocate for grassfed livestock farming, and 10 will identify and work with at least 50 farmers interested in converting to grassfed farming within 18 months.