Mass Grass LEARN ABOUT GRAZING AT MASS GRASS EVENTS Local farmers and anyone interested in learning about grazing livestock are invited to attend a series of educational events this summer and fall hosted by Mass Grass, a state-wide grazing group of Massachusetts livestock farmers, leaders and educators from agricultural organizations,including the New Entry Sustainable Farming Project, the Northeast Organic Farming Association/Massachusetts Chapter, UMass Extension, UMass Center for Agriculture, and the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). Mass Grass has worked with a wide range of agricultural organizations to organize the series of 12 grazing events for 2009, including grazing workshops on farms across Massachusetts and nearby Connecticut, intensive one-day field schools at Tufts School of Veterinary Medicine and an annual Grazing School featuring seven workshops at the NOFA Summer Conference in August. Visit www.massgrass.org for more information about these events. Raising livestock on pasture offers farmers economic, animal health and labor benefits over feeding livestock grain-based feed. To help farmers properly manage a grazing system and achieve its benefits, this series will cover pasture management, organic transition and herd health, forage species, soil fertility, fencing and water systems and summer and winter grazing. Mass Grass serves as a resource for new, beginning and experienced graziers in Massachusetts to help them start and maintain a sustainable and profitable grass-based livestock operation and incorporate management practices that protect the state’s natural resources. For more information about Mass Grass contact Winton Pitcoff, NOFA/Mass, Email or 413-634-5728; Stephen Herbert Email, Univ. of Massachusetts, Amherst. ph. 413-545-2890, or Carrie Sears Email, Univ. of Mass., Amherst. ph. 413-549-3257; or Tom Akin, NRCS, Email, ph. 413-253-4365.Activites include, but are not limited to the areas listed below. Click on a single page printable pdf of the 2009 Summer Schedule and check each topic below as the description in the Summer Schedule may be brief and there are links for some events to a seperate page. Also, changes and schedule updates may be made to this page. Sheep Field School: Raising and Grazing Sheep and Lambs for Optimal Production and Profit The Sheep Field School will discuss pasture management and rotational grazing for sheep. Producers will learn about biosecurity, parasite management, genetics and breeding systems, winter feeding and nutrition, and marketing both meat and wool. Producers will also learn skills in “sheep tipping” for health examinations, hoof trimming, administering vaccinations, parasite evaluation, shearing considerations, herding/guard animals, fencing, and other practical skills. Small-Scale Dairies and On-Farm Processing Maribeth and Derek Ritchie raise registered Nubian Goats and purebred Finn Sheep at Sangha Farm in Ashfield (www.sanghafarm.com). They make goat milk cheese and other products, and sell vegetables from their fields and greenhouse through their CSA and at farmers markets. They also graze yaks and oxen, which have been trained to work the fields. Topics discussed at Sangha will include multi-species grazing, restoring old pastures and intensive grazing. Amy Klippenstein and Paul Lacinski run Sidehill Farm in Ashfield (www.sidehillfarm.net) where they raise Normande and Canadienne dairy cows. They sell raw milk and make yogurt in an on-farm processing plant, and raise vegetables in their greenhouses and fields. Topics covered will include on-farm processing, raw milk, the challenges of grazing non-contiguous land, and organic management. Poultry Field School: Raising and Grazing Meat Birds and Layer Hens for Optimal Production and Profit Poultry Field School will focus on pastured poultry and will feature enterprise budgets and record-keeping systems; breed selection and genetics; pasture management; fencing; coop construction and equipment; nutrition; disease prevention and remedies; biosecurity; slaughter and processing options; supplemental lighting/molting, and marketing opportunities. Producers will learn hands-on skills in assessing health indicators of poultry of various age cohorts, preventive treatments and vaccinations, candling eggs for market, and other topics. Opportunities to participate in the Azuluna marketing program will be discussed. Pasture and Angus Beef Field Day Meat CSA Kim Denney and Rich Jakshtis have worked since 1998 to transform an abandoned dairy farm into a thriving meat CSA (www.chestnutfarms.org), providing customers with beef, lamb, pork and poultry on a subscription basis with deliveries to nine locations across the state. The workshop will include discussions about multi-species management, reviving disused pastures, and marketing. Raising Meat Goats and the FAMACHA System Erica Fearn raises boer meat goats on pasture at her farm in West Suffield, CT. As a former Executive Director of the Connecticut Farm Bureau, Erica has a great deal of knowledge about the rules and regulations of raising and selling meat animals. She will also talk about her efforts in marketing to ethnic markets and health and nutrition issues for goats. This workshop will include a special training in the FAMACHA program, a way of measuring anemia and blood loss in goats to better treat animals for worms based on their individual conditions. This training will be offered by Joyce Meader, a Dairy/Livestock Educator with the Cooperative Extension System of the University of Connecticut. The farm is at 685 North Stone St., in West Suffield, 1.3 miles from the Massachusetts line, next to The Notch. The driveway is between two blue spruce trees, across from Oak St 2nd Annual Grazing School - August 8, 2009 Beginning and experienced graziers who would like to learn more about grazing systems and how to improve animal growth or production through better pasture management are invited to attend the second annual Grazing School to be held as part of the Northeast Organic Farming Association (NOFA) Summer Conference on Saturday, August 8th. To register for the Mass Grass Grazing School, visit the NOFA Summer Conference website at http://www.nofasummerconference.org/. Grazing School workshops are part of the summer conference. The Grazing School offers seven workshops, plus a pasture walk at the UMass South Deerfield Farm and Pasture Research Center. All summer conference attendees are welcome to participate in the Grazing School workshops, which include: NOFA/Mass Summer Conference at UMass August 7-9, 2009 Swine Field School: Farrowing and Finishing Swine for Optimal Production and Profit Swine Field School will compare and contrast confinement hog rearing, outdoor lots, and rotational pasture-based swine production. Producers will learn about biosecurity, federal and state regulations, nutrition, breed selection and genetics, reproduction and artificial insemination (AI), overall management, marketing, and other topics. Producers will also learn hands-on skills in assessing market weight, handling swine, evaluating animal health, castration, administering vaccinations, ear notching, and other practical skills. Grazing Basics Multi-Species Grazing for Meat Animals II Pasture Management Biofuel Research at UMass Beef Cattle Field School: Tapping into the Market for Grass-fed Beef, Considerations and Quality Control Beef Cattle Field School will discuss pasture management and rotational grazing for beef cattle. Producers will learn about genetics and breed selection, herd management, winter feeding and nutrition, principles of grazing, fencing requirements, local direct marketing opportunities and options to involve regional distributors, and other topics. Hands-on skills will include handling cattle (moving, restraint, corral safety), body scoring, preventive treatments and vaccinations (including med storage and injection sites), and other practical skills. --- These Mass Grass events have been organized or supported by Azuluna LLC, Farm Aid, the New Entry Sustainable Farming Project, the Northeast Center for Risk Management Education, the Northeast Organic Dairy Producers Alliance, the Northeast Organic Farming Association, Massachusetts Chapter, River Valley Fencing, UMass Extension, UMass Center for Agriculture and the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. # # # Other links to regional pasture groups: |