Posted: 09.21.2010
Free educational seminars and an afternoon reception are part of a growing presence for managed grazing at World Dairy Expo (WDE). This year’s events will include an all-day seminar series on Friday in the Expo Center followed by a free reception from 3 to 6 pm in the Grazing Pavilion. Like last year, the pavilion will be full of 20 to 30 vendors providing grazing related products and services, including reception sponsors Bavarian Fleckvieh Genetics, The Coburn Company, Inc., CRV, Geno Global, LIC, and Normande Genetics.
The four free seminars will be held on Friday October 1 in Mendota 3 room in the Exhibition Hall, starting at 10 o’clock with a presentation on the “Nuts and Bolts” of managed grazing. Extension Grazing Specialist Dr. Rhonda Gildersleeve and Extension Agriculture Agent and grass-based dairy farmer Vance Haugen will provide an overview of the best management practices of profitable dairy graziers. “Managed grazing is a profitable business model for modern dairy production that can be scaled to fit any size operation,” said Haugen. “We’ll share some of the economics of these systems as well as some tips for how to make the transition.”
From 11:00 to 12:30, participants will hear from three “early career” grazing dairy farmers about how they got started and why they chose a pasture-based system. Presenters will include Tim & Heidi Vosberg, 140 cow organic, grass-based dairy, Cuba City, WI, Ryan and Cheri Klussendorf, 140 cow grass-based dairy, Medford, WI, and Matt & Tabitha Hartwig, 150 cow grass-based dairy, Athens, WI. “These producers selected managed grazing as a low-capital means of entering the industry,” said Gildersleeve, who is organizing the session. “They’ll talk about how and why they got started and share some of the economics of their operations.” The interactive session will be moderated by Joel McNair, editor of Graze Magazine.
The third session from 12:30 to 2 pm will focus on dairy genetics for pasture-based systems. “This is a topic of great discussion among dairy farmers,” said Laura Paine, Grazing Specialist with the Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection and organizer of the seminar series. The session will include a presentation from Dr. Michael Schutz, dairy breeding expert from Purdue University on the basics of breeding and selecting traits for your operation, as well as perspectives from producers on pure-bred and cross-breeding strategies. “This will be a lively discussion with Dan and Ruth Vosberg from South Wayne, WI talking about cross-breeding strategies and Jock Fulton, a New Zealander, sharing his ideas about grazing 1000+ pure-bred Holsteins in Missouri,” said Paine.
The final session from 2 to 3 pm will address raising heifers on pasture. “Even if you don’t graze your milking herd, you may want to consider grazing heifers and dry cows,” said Paine. “Many larger dairies are having their heifers custom raised on pasture and are happy with the results and the cost.” Current research from the University of Wisconsin Marshfield and Arlington Research Stations will be shared by Dr. David Combs, UW-Dairy Science Department. Gerald Jaeger, a custom heifer raiser from Campbellsport, WI will share information about his operation as well as data from studies on raising heifers on pasture from New York and Minnesota.
The seminar speakers will be on hand for the reception in the Grazing Pavilion starting at 3 pm immediately following the last seminar. “The goal of the reception is to give interested farmers a chance to network and socialize with the speakers and with each other,” said Danyel Hosto, Marketing Coordinator for CRV which is helping sponsor the seminars and the reception. “We’re pleased to support an increased presence of grazing at World Dairy Expo.”
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