“Our neighbor watched what we did to improve our pasture, and was so impressed she wanted her’s to look the same,” said Scott Whitney of Maquoketa. Whitney installed a managed grazing system including stand improvement, subdivision fences, brush control, and rotational grazing, and now is working to do the same thing to his neighbor’s pasture.
Whitney will share his experiences at a pasture walk on Thursday, July 20, starting at 6pm. In addition, Lori Schnoor, Jackson County NRCS District Conservationist, will speak on cost share opportunities to improve pastures, Ryan Drollette, ISUEO farm management specialist, will talk about landlord relationships and Denise Schwab, ISUEO beef specialist, will discuss pasture improvement. Some of the grazing practices to be highlighted include buried water lines, brush control, subdividing pastures and rotationally grazing.
The pasture is located at 5704 Caves Rd, Maquoketa, which is one mile north and 1 mile west of Maquoketa.
Other pasture walks are July 10, at the Nathan Manternach farm 23476 Hwy 136, Cascade, and July 27, at the Neal Siela farm at 2211 57th St. Trail, Vinton. Manternach installed a managed grazing system including a central watering site, subdivision fences, and rotational grazing in 2014, and now is intensifying that system to include annual forages, interseeded legumes, and strip grazing. Siela is developing a managed grazing system including a well with buried water lines, subdivision fences, and weed control. He also interseeded a winter annual to increase grazing days in the spring, and will probably interseeded improved forages in the future.
Pasture walks are informal educational programs designed to demonstrate key areas of pasture management, as well as answer any questions you might have. Each has a slightly different focus and all producers who are dependent on forage production are invited to attend to improve their own pasture management.
This event is co-sponsored by the Jackson County Soil & Water Conservation District, NRCS, ISU Extension and Outreach and the Iowa Beef Center. For more information, please contact Denise Schwab at 319-472-4739 or email at dschwab@iastate.edu .
