The NEPC 2024 Annual Meeting, A Gathering of Good Graziers, was held at UMass Amherst, January 25-27, 2024, in partnership with the Northeast Grazing & Livestock Conference.
Thu Jan 25¶
Welcome & Consortium Overview
- Jennifer Colby, Northeast Pasture Consortium Executive Director
Red Clover/Legume Research in Beef, Sheep and Dairy Systems
- Brittany Davis, USDA-ARS, Animal Scientist
- Andre Brito, University of New Hampshire, Associate Professor
Legumes are an important part of cool-season grazing systems. This session includes research results from a multi-year series of grazing experiments in steers evaluating different levels of red clover growth performance, an initial year of red clover supplementation on feed efficiency in sheep, and research in legume utilization in dairy systems.
Research on the importance of legumes in dairy systems and energy and N utilization in daory cows fed alfalfa versus red clover baleage. As well as research on the impact of management and environmental factors on the forage quality and concentration of phytoestrogens in legumes.
Measuring Impacts From Field-Level to Landscape-Level
- Erik Tasso-Johnson, Ecdysis Foundation, Agroecology Field Technician
- Sarah Goslee, USDA-ARS, Ecologist
- Mario Machado, Philo Ridge Farm, Research Manager
Historically, much of scientific data collection has focused on limiting external variables and finding highly defined answers. More recent trends highlight whole system impacts, based on field-level data to better understand how very localized conditions affect broad-scale systems. The panel session will highlight several current National and Northeast projects and how modeling and synthesis from experimental results can be used to develop decision support tools that producers can use.
Establishing, Managing and Evaluating Silvopasture and Agroforestry Systems
- Brett Chedzoy, Cornell Cooperative Extension, Senior Resource Educator
- Austin Unruh, Trees for Graziers, Founder
- Joseph Orefice, Yale University, Director of Forest & Agricultural Operations
Increasingly, combining woody species with open areas for grazing animals is being adopted as a tool to provide shade, increase biodiversity and profitability, and elevate productivity per acre. This session will address the major ways to establish silvopasture on working livestock farms, guidance on overall management, and updates from ongoing agroforestry research in the Northeast.
Farmer Showcase
- Ben Nottermann of Snug Valley Farm
Fri Jan 26¶
Nutrient Density in Meat Systems
- Stephan Van Vliet, Utah State University
Farmer Focus Group: Prioritizing Pasture Research Across the Northeast Region
This session solicits farmer input to the NEPC 2024 Research Priorities.
Phytonutrients, Nutritional Wisdom, and the Value of Meat: Two Experts Weigh In
- Mark Schatzker, Author
- Stephan Van Vliet, Utah State University
Understanding the Sensory Quality of Grassfed Milk and Beef
- Roy Desrochers, UVM
This three-hour workshop includes interactive smelling and tasting exercises to understand the basics of sensory analysis with a focus on grassfed milk and beef. The session will be divided into three parts. First, you will be asked to participate in a grassfed milk and grassfed beef taste test. Your opinion matters and we want to collect it. Next, Mr. Desrochers will use various food products and reference standards to teach you the basics of objective descriptive sensory analysis. Last, Mr. Desrochers will lead you through a taste session of several grassfed milk products and grassfed beef products.
Find your competitive advantage. Is this enterprise a profit driver or a distraction?
- Cheryl Cesario, American Farmland Trust, Senior Livestock & Grazing Specialist
What sets you and your farming business apart from the herd? Can you capitalize on this to move your business forward? Where to do you want to be in 5 years? What is going to give you an advantage to realize the vision you have? In this session we will explore these questions and dive into discussing the purpose of why we do the work we do, core principles and beliefs, and value propositions. We will work on exercises to get you started on finding your competitive advantage. In part II of this session, we will switch gears a bit and dig into looking more closely at enterprises within a business. It is often suggested that the key to success is diversifying. However, sometimes this can spread us too thin. We will look at some real-world examples to determine if an enterprise is worth adding/keeping or is it a distraction that takes away from the core production of the business.
How can the next farm bill support regenerative grazing?
- Erica Campbell
The farm bill has an outsized influence on agriculture and food systems, and overall, it has done little to support regenerative, organic, and regional food systems compared to the way it bolsters convensional agriculture. With the current farm bill extension through September 2024, what are some promising marker bills that would have a positive impact on pasture-raised livestock farms? What are some key issues we should be worried about? And how can we help protect the IRA’s $20 billion for NRCS conservation programs aimed at addressing climate change?
Sat Jan 27¶
What I have learned since publishing Steak: One Man’s Search for the World’s Tastiest Piece of Beef
- Mark Schatzker, Author
New England Feeding New England
- Christian Peters, USDA-ARS, Supervisory Research Biologist / Research Leader
What would it take for New England to provide 30 percent of its food needs from regional farms and fisheries? This session will dive into the results of Volume 2 of the New England Feeding New England project’s final report, which examines the region’s production potential. We will review estimates of the region’s current capacity to supply its own food and also discuss scenarios for how the region could supply 30 percent of its food. Special attention will be paid to how livestock products were considered in the analysis and how agricultural land use would need to change to meet the production targets considered in the scenarios. The session will wrap up by discussing implications of the study’s findings and nagging questions about the region’s food self-reliance that remain unresolved.
Farmers Doing Interesting Things
- Ben Notterman, Snug Valley Farm, Farmer
- Ryan Martens, Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture, Livestock Manager
- Hannah Sessions, Blue Ledge Farm, Co-owner
- Heather Donahue, Balfour Farm LLC, Farmer Owner
- Rhonda Miller, Molly Brook Farm, Owner
- Jeff Moore, Windswept Maples Farm
- Bruce Hennessey, Maple Wind Farm, Inc., President and Farmer
Highlight of innovative farmers across our region/network - Farmers Doing Interesting Things (FDIT). This unique session will be a lightning round for one hour. Nominated regional farmers present for approximately 10 minutes each, showcasing a very cool thing they are currently doing on their farm.
Managing Cattle through “Perpetual Novembers”, better known as “I hate mud and what to do about it”
- Troy Bishopp, Madison County Soil and Water Conservation District, Farmer, Grazing Specialist and Journalist
We’ll take a practical approach, from hardened experience, in managing through our Northeast’s changing climate. Whether utilizing an extended grazing strategy, bale grazing, retrofitting barns, building new sacrifice areas, using shelterbelts, moving animals off the farm to cover crops or a combination of many site-specific practices, we will brainstorm ideas that work and that fit a financial and environmental context for farmers.
High Stakes Effective Communication on the Farm: How to Talk to Anyone about Anything with Positive Results
- Bruce Hennessey, Maple Wind Farm, Inc., President and Farmer
Bruce will use interactive skill building and storytelling to illustrate the essential farm and business benefits derived from effective communication, especially in high stakes situations. Topics will include:- Building Trust within your community (family, suppliers, staff, customers and regulators)- Checking our stories at the door: On the human instinct of creating a story to fit a set of facts, regardless of what the real story is.- Strategies for having hard conversations while maintaining a standard of respect for all.- Managing change on your farm (getting people to buy in and dealing with resistance)- Why being vulnerable as a leader (NOT as a farm, business, or system) makes you more effective.- Do you or people you work with react to challenging situations by clamming up or acting out? Learn about a third way that leads to better outcomes.- The bedrock of resilience: relationships.
Land Access and Transfer Solutions Roundtable
- Benneth Phelps, The Carrot Project and Agricultural Viability Alliance, Executive Director
- Deanna Levanti, Land for Good, Southeastern New England Field Agent
- Heather Weeks, Farm Credit East, ACA, Farm Business Consultant
- Jamie Pottern, American Farmland Trust, New England Program Manager
Access to land continues to be cited as the number one issue facing beginning farms in this country today. Secure land tenure is also a major issue for established farmers. Crafting successful exits from farming that transfers businesses and land to the next generation also affects access to land. With real estate values increasing, less than 1% of farmland being sold annually on the open market in the US, and a third of US agricultural land held by non-farmers, it can be hard to imagine how one could ever access land?! Come share your needs and challenges around land access and transfer, ask questions and discuss issues such as transferring an active business with land. This session is facilitated by a team of service providers whose work focuses on solving land access and transfer challenges and supporting farmers through various types of business and financial transitions. This session is a roundtable discussion format, where we hear from you about your needs, you are able to ask questions, and benefit from experience from the group and panelists.
Hogs on Pasture - Farmer Panel
- Tricia Park, Creekside Meadows , Manager
- Nick Weinstock, BOTL Farm, Owner/Farmer
- Ashlyn Bristle, Rebop Farm, Owner
Join a farmer discussion about how hogs fit into enterprise stacking - how are folks managing hogs in relation to their mix of on-farm enterprises. As well as lessons learned over the years about the role of pastured pigs in their over arching land management goals. Pigs on pasture can be a challenge, come hear the ups and downs from a few farmers and feel free to add your voice into the mix.
Flowers, Power and Grazier Leadership: Healing our Watershed Homes
- Abe Collins, Land Care Cooperative
Abe will describe the work of the Land Care Cooperative and LandWEB to rapidly heal our watershed homes and achieve distributed economic and environmental security. We will review: 1) detailed fundamentals of our Prairie Strategy for healing land, including the use of the Vermont Ripsower 2) Our Science - scientific landscape-feedback for land stewards and our communities, 3) Economic democracy - non-extractive economics to hire organized land stewards growing deep topsoil watersheds.
Grazing Fundamentals
- Daimon Meeh, NEPC Executive Committee
There is a lot to think about when grazing animals on pasture: goals of the operation, type of animals, electric fence, water systems, managing plant diversity and more. This session will review all the fundamental considerations you need to think about when managing grazing animals and how to balance them all into an effective system.
Exploring Upcoming Regenerative & Climate Smart Projects in the Region
- Karna Ray, Wolfe’s Neck Center
- Julie Michaelson, Xerces Society, Pollinator Conservation Specialist
- Sarah Heller, American Farmland Trust, Soil Health Project Manager
- Stephen Taranto, Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture (CISA)
The past few years have seen record investment in on-farm regenerative projects and support for conservation practice implementation nationwide. Join us for a roundtable discussion to learn more about the opportunities available in our region. This session aims to provide a broad overview of these new projects. Gain insights, ask questions, and explore upcoming project enrollment opportunities that can support your on-farm conservation project goals.
Our panel includes representatives from organizations at the forefront of these new projects in 2024 and beyond. In particular, numerous regional organizations will be launching new projects under the USDA Partnerships for Climate Smart Commodities program (PCSC). American Farmland Trust and Xerces Society will share on the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) and their PCSC programs. Wolfe’s Neck Center and CISA will share insights into their involvement in administering PCSC projects.
Growing for the Halal Market
- Imam Borhan Uddin, Halal Monitoring Services Northeast, Director of Operations
- Imam Shakil Miah, Halal Monitoring Services Northeast, Board Member Northeast Chapter
- Samer Saleh, Halal Pastures, Owner/Operator
Communities across New England are seeking a direct connection to their meat purveyors. Small and mid sized grass based farms have an advantage raising high quality livestock for specific markets including Halal. In this workshop we will explore what Halal means with regards to raising animals, processing and customer needs as well as opportunities and barriers for small farms entering this growing market.
UMass Soils Labs Tour
- Samantha Glaze-Corcoran, UMass
Join us for a lab tour of the UMass Extension Soil and Plant Nutrient Testing Laboratory, led by lab manager Sam Corcoran. Prior to managing the lab, Sam worked as an agronomist, with a focus in forage production and nutrient management. The tour will give you a behind the scenes look at how the a nutrient laboratory receives, processes, and a analyzes samples.
Tree Fodder: The history, systems and management
- Meghan Giroux, Interlace Commons, Inc., Founding Executive Director
- Eli Roberts, Interlace Commons, Agroforestry Technical Service Provider
- Eric Toensmeier, Interlace Commons
Tree fodder systems feed the leaves of trees to livestock. This can provide seasonal supplementation, high protein, methane reduction and other benefits. This presentation will offer an overview of the history of this practice, along with systems, tree species, and a case study from New York state.
Consumer-focused Marketing: Practical Ways to Take Your Meat Sales to the Next Level
- Matt LeRoux, Cornell University, Extension Associate
Whether you sell meat by-the-cut or in bulk, a strategy focused on your customers informs better marketing technique, leading to the ability to gain customers and support pricing. In this session, learn how to improve your marketing techniques based on your understanding of your customer and walk away with new ideas to implement.
Developing & Operating a Profitable Pastured Broiler Operation
- Amy Barkley, Cornell Cooperative Extension, Livestock and Beginning Farm Specialist
- Rachel Moody, Cornell Cooperative Extension, Livestock Educator
- Patrick McNiff, Pat’s Pastured, Farmer CEO
- Robert Friedman, Robariah Farms, Owner
Raising chickens pasture for meat production is a keystone for many small and diversified farming operations. Their quick return on investment, the potential to process and package on farm, and ubiquitous consumption make them attractive to raise. However, research is indicating that profitability of broiler enterprises across NYS is a highly dependent on management practices, processing, pricing, and marketing where most farmers are not breaking even. Join us for a discussion on management options that promote efficient growth, reduced mortality loss, and higher carcass quality of broiler chickens. Following this, our three farmer panelists will take audience questions as they share their experience in building their enterprises and their keys to profitability.