The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and the Minnesota Grazing Lands Conservation Association (GLCA) invite you to attend an on-farm field day on Aug. 15, from 3:45 to 7:30 p.m.,  at the Greg Pederson Site in Southern Pope County. Greg Pederson and Byron and Joanne Braaten welcome you. The field day will focus mainly on beef cattle management, but these practices can be applied to all classes of grazing livestock. Topics will include viewing an active rotational grazing system, talking about the benefits Greg and Byron have seen to wildlife, and utilizing cover crops in a grazing operation. A light evening meal will be provided.       

The Braaten’s have been rotational grazing since the early 1990s, when they started rotational grazing their dairy herd. They eventually switched to beef cattle and currently graze 470 acres of pasture, are developing another 96 acres to rotational grazed pasture. Byron is always trying to improve his operation and has tried many different conservation practices over the years.      

In 2013 NRCS, Byron and Greg, started developing a grazing plan for Greg’s land, Byron would operate the system. It took a few years to get the system into place, but the system now has been rotationally grazed for several years. Greg is an avid hunter and likes the improvements he sees on his land. He liked it so much so that in 2019, he looked into converting expiring CRP into a rotational grazing system, expanding the rotational grazing system on Greg’s land.

This event is free and open to the public. For more information on this field day or grazing programs please contact either Melissa Behrens 320-634-5143 x111. Reservations are not required but are strongly encouraged for ordering of the food. Please make reservations by Aug. 10. 

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