I will give a 1-hour session on the basics of MIG — Management Intensive Grazing. This will be part of a day-long workshop that focuses on fencing and pasture management. Other speakers will present information on techniques for electric fencing, fence construction, stream-bank erosion, Federal programs for riparian restoration and fencing. The entire day’s workshop will be held outdoors, in a beautiful field next to the Coquille River in Coos County, Oregon. Instructor on fencing will be Randy Bailey of Gallagher Electric Fencing.

At the DCLA Spring Livestock Conference, Sutherlin, Oregon:

My talk (4:30-5:30) is entitled “New Forages, Traits We Can Use”. I’ll focus on the new species and cultivars that can be utilized in PNW pastures on the west side of the Cascades (Western Oregon, Western Washington, and the north Coastal area of California). Forages like the improved hybrid brassicas, BMR sorghum-sudangrass, Grazing Brome, Italian Ryegrass, Balansa and Persian clovers, the new cultivars of Tall Fescue, and a few surprising others.

This is an educational event put on by the Douglas County Livestock Association (DCLA). The Conference begins at 1:30 and ends with an after-dinner speaker at 8:00 pm. Held at the Umpqua Golf Resort, just west of I-5 at Exit 136. There will be lots of educational sessions and also a delicious tri-tip BBQ. And the entire event is free!

Sheep are magnificent animals that evolved to eat grass. A sheep’s rumen allows it thrive on high-fiber forage and effectively convert sunlight and atmospheric nitrogen (nitrogen “fixed” into forage protein by legumes like clovers and alfalfa) into valuable human products like meat and wool and milk. But how can shepherds use sheep to harvest this forage in a profitable and sustainable way?

By grazing. But good grazing is not just opening the gate and putting sheep into a pasture. Good grazing requires knowledge and good technique. In this Webinar we will discuss how to do this. We will review how forages grow and how to use sheep to manage your forage in a sustainable and efficient way. We will cover the principles of Management Intensive Grazing (MIG). This is not just rotating sheep through small paddocks. MIG is a way of understanding forage growth, relating the amount of pasture to animal requirements, allocating feed, and using sheep to manage forage efficiently and effectively. By properly managing our forages, we can reduce our feed costs,  improve pastures, reduce weeds, reduce our breakeven price, and increase the chances of turning a profit.