Another Nebraska Grazing Conference is in the books. There are two of many highlights worth emphasizing. The first is, that for the first time, a tour was added to the conference agenda on Monday prior to the long-established Tuesday and Wednesday presentations. This year we toured the Choquette Ranch and the Rowe Sanctuary. The tour was very well received by those who attended. The following comment from one of the tour participants accurately summarized the conference goal for including a tour this year.
“The ability to view and hear in field practices significantly improved my understanding of transitional practices for effective grazing.”
The second highlight is the number of first-time attendees. This year, there were 14 first-time attendees to the conference. It is important to engage these newcomers, so if you know of an innovative or young rancher who would benefit from attending the Nebraska Conference for the first time, please contact Margo McKendree (mmckendree14@unl.edu) to nominate them for a conference scholarship.
The Nebraska Grazing Conference’s strong producer focus makes it unique from other grazing conferences. The registration fees for the Nebraska Grazing Conference are well below the costs for attending other conferences; participants receive two days of research-based information serving as a timely review for many previous attendees, but that may be new information for many first-time attendees; much of the information is on the front-edge of grazing lands and forage management for the transition area between the Northern Great Plains and Southern Great Plains.
It is worth repeating that one of the conference goals is to provide information of interest to those groups interested and invested in grazing lands management. However, it is also important to remember that not all of those groups have similar goals. The following comments outline those differences:
“(It was) very good to learn about managing for birds and other wildlife.”
“(This conference) would be great to invite non-ag people to improve public perception.”
We are in the very early planning stages for the 2019 conference. The dates for the 2019 Nebraska Grazing Conference are August 12-14 in Kearney. Mark your calendars and plan to attend!