Join us for a fun and informative day learning about integrated beneficial management practices you can use on your farm. Cover cropping and rotational grazing can help to build soil, sequester carbon, improve pastures, increase crop yields and create a diversified ecosystem where plants and animals can thrive.
Cover cropping is a sustainable agricultural practice that involves planting crops specifically to improve soil health, increase climate adaptability and promote climate mitigation. Cover crops are grown primarily for the benefits they provide to the soil and the ecosystem and, when careful chosen and managed, can be hugely beneficial to farmers. Benefits include, protecting the soil from erosion, suppressing weeds, reducing soil compaction, increasing soil organic matter, improving soil structure, increasing soil water-holding capacity, and enhancing nutrient cycling. In addition, cover crops can provide a habitat for beneficial insects, such as pollinators and predators of pests.
Rotational grazing is a set of techniques used to control the time aspect of grazing that typically leads to overgrazing in a continuous grazing system. Livestock are moved into a defined area, typically called a paddock, where they have access to graze the plants in that area. They are then rotated to a new paddock while grazed plants have a chance to recover. The livestock are not moved back to that paddock again until the plants there have fully recovered. In this field day, we will discuss the key tools that you need to ensure a successful rotational grazing program:
- Continuous movement
- Portable infrastructure
- Balance between grazing and rest
- Correct stocking rate & stocking density
- Appropriate species/breed
We invite farmers to join us and hear from guest speakers, tour Lost Savanna Farm, see a variety of cover crops and livestock and learn about their cover cropping and rotational grazing program. Farmers will be able to meet other farmers in the area and learn about different operations. This will be an opportunity to hear from industry specialists, fellow farmers, and the owner/operator of our host farm. Lunch will be provided.
Click here to register on Eventbrite. Registration is free, but required.
