Posted: 10.07.2010
Wisconsin has over 2 million acres of pasture but only about ¼ of those acres are under rotational management to maximize yield and quality. Despite its many social, economic, and environmental benefits, managed grazing is far from reaching its full potential. Blue Sky-Greener Pastures is a new initiative that seeks to generate new thinking and imaginative projects (Blue Sky) to extend the benefits of grazing to more producers, more businesses, and more consumers (Greener Pastures).
To move grazing forward, the initiative will host a series of brainstorming sessions around the state, where people will come together to talk and listen, generate ideas, and form new partnerships. The nearly 50 people who attended the first session on August 5th at Arlington had a lively discussion. Additional sessions are set for Monday, October 25 in Richland Center, Wednesday, November 3 in Eau Claire, and Monday, November 8 in Oshkosh.
“Our goal is to foster discussion, make new connections…to refresh, rethink and reorganize!” said Gerald Jaeger, President of GrassWorks, Inc., the farmer-run organization that sponsors the WI Grazing Conference. GrassWorks and the University of Wisconsin Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems (CIAS) are spearheading the project, which is funded by a grant from the Wisconsin Institute for Sustainable Agriculture.
Other organizers include Rhonda Gildersleeve, UW Extension Grazing Specialist; Jennifer Taylor and Dick Cates of the UW School for Beginning Dairy Farmers; and Laura Paine, Grazing Specialist for the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection (DATCP).
“After the ‘brainstorming sessions,’ interested participants will reconvene for a plenary session on December 10th where ideas will be consolidated into themes for projects,” said Jack Kloppenburg, Co-director of CIAS. “We’re hoping to draw folks from all over the state and from a broad array of backgrounds to work together on these Blue Sky projects. We will support these teams as they develop proposals and seek funding for their projects.”
Everyone is welcome to participate in the meetings which will be held from 9:30am to 3:30pm. There is no charge. Meeting locations are as follows: October 25 at the Ramada Inn, 1450 Veterans Drive in Richland Center; November 3 at the Eau Claire Travel Center, Hwy 29 and County Road T, in Eau Claire; and November 8 at Sunnyview Expo Center (Winnebago County Fairgrounds), 500 E. County Road Y, in Oshkosh. Please RSVP to Stephen Thomforde with the date(s) you can join us, by e-mail to thomforde@wisc.edu, or by phone to 608- 441- 9048, or by mail to 350 Agricultural Hall, UW-Madison, Madison, WI 53706. Steve can provide more detailed information on the meetings and locations.
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