MANKATO, Minn. — Learn the basics of silvopasture establishment, operations and integration into your rotational grazing plan. See how silvopasture can improve and enhance production of your wooded pasture or your marginal crop/pasture land while achieving environmental integrity!
This workshop is scheduled for 2 days. The workshop will begin Monday, September 16 at 4 PM with presentations of two silvopasture case studies where participants will apply the principles and concepts of silvopasture. Part of the afternoon will also involve networking and a panel discussion composed of practitioners and natural resource professionals to share their experiences on silvopasture. The workshop continues on Tuesday, September 17 with 8 AM registration, 8:30 AM program, with indoor presentations on silvopasture design, establishment, and management. Tuesday afternoon will feature a tour of two silvopasture case study sites where we will apply silvopasture principles.
The farms we will visit include: 1.) Chengwatana Farm, operated by Lynn Mizner, is a small, diversified operation based on pasture and forestland. Livestock is rotated around a series of paddocks to enhance the fertility of the soil as well as enhance the health of the livestock. Vegetable and fruit production enhance the system and are grown using permaculture, alley cropping between perennial woody borders and some annual planting for market garden production. 2.) Willow Sedge Farm, operated by Jane Jewett, raises pigs, chickens, vegetables, and cover crops rotated among pens near the house. The remainder of the farm, except for a couple of wooded areas and one very swampy area, is fenced for rotational grazing of beef cattle.
The key take home skills of the workshop include: • Silvopasture establishment, design, and management, • Key considerations of converting existing wooded pastures to silvopasture, • Key considerations of converting marginal pasture to silvopasture, • Silvopastoral examples and • Case study exercises.
The workshop location is the Long Lake Conservation Center, 28952 438th Ln, Palisade, MN 56469.
Registration is $45, which includes: dinner, breakfast, lunch, and use of the facility. Participants can stay (optional) at the workshop venue at an additional cost. See registration for details. Register at: https://www.regonline.com/SilvopasturePallisade. (The web address is case sensitive. Also note that Palisade is misspelled)
For more information contact: Diomy Zamora: (zamor015@umn.edu or 612-626-9272), or Allison Rian: (allisonjrian@gmail.com or 218-831-8890).
Sponsors: UMN-Extension, Happy Dancing Turtle, Sustainable Farming Association, USDA-NRCS, Aitkin SWCD.
— Gary Wyatt, UM Extension, Extension Regional Office, Mankato
For more news from Minnesota, click here.