2023 Northeast Grazing and Livestock Conference

New this year, northeast grazing-focused organizations are collaborating – The New England Grazing Network, Maine Grass Farmers Network, Granite State Grazers, The Livestock Institute, Vermont Grass Farmers Association, University of Vermont Center for Sustainable Agriculture, and Cornell Cooperative Extension Capital Area Ag & Hort Program – to hold a region wide grazing conference.

The conference is the largest of its kind in New England, gathering over 300 participants from the northeast for two days of networking and educational workshops. This conference brings together new and experienced farmers alike as well as service providers, and non-farmers seeking to learn more ways to align with and support well managed pasture-based livestock production across our region.

Our 2023 Keynote speaker will be Dr. Allen Williams, who will lead a discussion on adaptive grazing. Additional programming will prioritize peer-to-peer farmer networking and practical implementation of managed grazing practices.

Agenda Highlights: (subject to change/substitutions/additions)

Each day will have two parallel tracks to choose from for panel discussions.

Friday, January 20

Disruptive Grazing – Allen R. Williams, Ph.D.

Speed Meet and Greet – Small Groups Networking - 10 minute virtual groupings of 4 people per group – a chance to meet new folks and connect with friends.

Meat Product Quality Discussion - butcher, processor, and aggregator panel moderated by Joe Emenheiser, Ph.D.

Dairy Grazing Apprenticeship Program - Apprentice and Mentor panel moderated by Glenda Pereira, Ph.D. and Mary Ellen Franklin

Being a Farmer and a Whole Human: Balancing Work, Rest and Play - Farmer wisdom sharing panel moderated by Jenn Colby

Introductions to grazing support programing happening in New England - New England Grazing Network panel moderated by Alex Gulachenski

Saturday, January 21

Coffee Chat with the Grass Whisperer and the Canadian Pasture Prophet - Troy Bishopp and Brian Maloney

Speed Meet and Greet – Small Groups Networking - 10 minute virtual groupings of 4 people per group – a chance to meet new folks and connect with friends.

50 Shades of Graze - Farmer wisdom sharing panel moderated by Steve Gabriel

Forage Biodiversty - Farmer wisdom sharing panel moderated by Heather Darby, Ph.D.

Fundamentals of Grazing - Daimon Meeh

Lambing/Calving on Pasture - Farmer wisdom sharing panel moderated by Jennie Kapszukiewicz

View most up-to-date schedule and details on our website

Registration: Tickets are $20*

*Please note: If you are a current member of the Vermont Grass Farmers Association (VT, link to renew), Granite State Graziers (NH), the Maine Grass Farmers Network (ME), or The Livestock Institute of Southern New England (MA, CT, RI) please reach out to your organization about receiving a member discount code to attend free of cost. Anyone is welcome to become a member in order to receive the member rate - and to support grass-farming across New England!

Why are we charging? The advantage of a virtual conference is that the costs are certainly much lower than in-person; however, there are still costs associated with hosting an online event. We added a sliding-scale option to make this event accessible to all, while still covering our costs.

Availability of Conference Content. All conference presentations will be recorded (unless noted otherwise) and will be available for participants to view up to six-months after the conference.

Contact Alex Gulachenski, NEGN Coordinator at agulachenski@wolfesneck.org with any questions.

This conference is facilitated by the New England Grazing Network and organized by Wolfe’s Neck Center for Agriculture and the Environment, and is made possible with generous support by The Cedar Tree Foundation.