Maine Grass Farmers Network - Annual Grazing Conference

Maine Beef Producers Assoc. and Maine  Grass Farmers Network present

8th Annual Grazing Conference

Saturday, March 17, 2012
8:00am – 4:00pm

Kennebec Valley Community College – Fairfield, ME

Register Online
www.umext.maine.edu/forms/waldo/MGFN/reg.htm

 SCHEDULE

8 – 9am	Registration
9 – 9:15	Intro and Welcome KVCC: New Role in Agricultural Education
9:15 – 10:50	Keynote Address Ben Bartlett: Managed Grazing Systems
10:50 – 11	Break
11 – 12 pm	Sid Bosworth Forage Species Selection and Management	Jim Ochterski Marketing Your Farm Products Like You Mean It!		Mike Baker Finishing Cattle on Grass and Results from NY Trials
12 – 1	Lunch with Trade Show
1 – 2:30	Jim Ochterski Marketing Your Farm Products Like You Mean It! (repeat from morning) with discussion		Cole Ward Pork Cutting Demonstration
2:30 – 3	Trade Show
3 – 4	Mike Baker Nutritional Requirements and Feeding Strategies for Over-Wintering Calves to be Finished on Grass		Ben Bartlett Managing Grazing Systems for Sheep Producers

 

KEYNOTE SPEAKER: Ben Bartlett

Certified Holistic Management Educator

Benjamin B. Bartlett , “Ben”, received a BS in Animal Husbandry and a DVM in Veterinary Medicine, from Michigan State University.  He began his professional career with MSU in 1977 as the manager of the U.P. Experiment Station.  He joined MSU Extension in 1983, serving as the Upper Peninsula’s (UP) Dairy and Livestock Agent / Educator for 28 years.  He received the Distinguished Extension Academic Staff Award and was awarded the title of “Senior Extension Educator”.   He specialized in dairy, beef, and sheep education and research work, helping producers to improve their production and profitability. Farmers often commented on how they appreciated Ben’s ease in “presenting technical information in such a way that we all understand it.”  His work focused on areas that fit the UP and were low cost, such as grazing, low stress animal handling, and working smarter not just harder. Ben received an Eisenhower Fellowship which awarded him travel to Argentina to  study their grazing and livestock production expertise.  He also organized study trips to Argentina, Scotland, Australia and New Zealand for fellow US livestock producers.   Ben has received numerous awards, including the ESP Visionary Leadership Award, Outstanding Extension Educator Award, the American Sheep Industry Flock Guardian Award, and Growing UP Agriculture Association’s Distinguished Service to Agriculture Award to name a few. For the last 30 years, Ben has helped better the lives of Michigan and US livestock producers through his forward thinking, outstanding teaching abilities, his practical and useable newsletters, articles, and bulletins.

 

Speaker: Cole Ward

“The Gourmet Butcher”

Cole has been working with meat since he was fourteen – stuffing sausage in his godfather’s meat market for 24¢ per hour. He has worked throughout the country from preparing meat props for CBS studios and national TV commercials to preparing specialty meat cuts for celebrities in Hollywood. Cole loves to teach people about good meat. His recent DVD release, “The Gourmet Butcher: From Farm to Table”, has been described as “sheer pleasure of watching a craftsman operate”. Cole will be cutting a pig and explain why “the Boston butt comes from the front shoulder while the picnic shoulder comes from lower down”.

 

Speaker: Sid Bosworth

Agronomy Specialist

Sid teaches forages at the University of Vermont and conducts research throughout New England. A past chair of the Northeast Pasture Consortium, Sid has recently conducted forage variety and species trials from Maine to Pennsylvania and will be presenting some of his research as well as practical knowledge concerning the management of these species by graziers.

 

Speaker: Mike Baker

Cornell Beef Specialist

Dr. Mike Baker is a Beef Cattle Extension Specialist with Cornell University and has conducted a wide variety of research projects at the Cornell Beef Teaching and Research Center and across the state. Mike is also a beef producer and has helped start the Grass Finished Beef Discovery Program in New York.  Mike will talk about finishing beef and overwintering calves on grass.

 

Speaker: Jim Ochterski

Cornell Extension

Jim is a senior Extension agent and currently leads the Agriculture Team at Cornell Extension of Ontario County.  Jim has assisted 100’s of farms with marketing efforts and realistic and timely advice.  From maple producers, to mushroom farmers, to hay processors, Jim has used his small business insights to turn farm products into reliable income.  He was recently awarded a national sustainable agriculture fellowship and is exploring and documenting sustainable farm business practices across the country.  Jim’s areas of expertise include farm marketing, business development, sustainable farming, and community relations.