Perennial Pastures with Sarah Flack: Session One

How do perennial pasture plants grow both above and below ground, and how do our grazing management decisions create more productive pastures with more high-quality forages.  This session will look at the practical application of basic guidelines of good grazing management and pasture ecosystem monitoring, based on plant physiology and soil health.  We also need to understand the nutritional and behavioral needs of cows, sheep, and goats.  So this session will also delve into how to design grazing systems which make it easier to maximize pasture intake by the herd or flock, while also improving plant and soil health.

There will be time for a break, as well as to ask your grazing questions directly to Sarah during this webinar.

This is an excellent opportunity to learn from an expert for farmers who are thinking about getting into grazing, as well as those who are more familiar. Note that Sarah Flack is doing a second session on January 24th which will build on this session. You can attend either of both, and do not need to attend the first to attend the second.

About the speaker

Sarah is an author, consultant, and speaker who specializes in grass-based livestock farming systems. Sarah takes a practical approach in applying the science of agronomy and grazing, combined with farm business planning, to allow farmers to make well informed decisions.  Her goal is to help create more farms with successful grass-based management systems, empowering farmers to create positive change for pastures, soils, livestock, and farmers’ quality of life. 

Her unique approach is based on what she learned while consulting, teaching and writing on the topic over several decades. Sarah grew up on a family farm in Vermont after living in New Zealand for several years.  On the farm in Vermont, her family used high stock density management intensive grazing to successfully improve the productivity and ecological health of the land and livestock. She later studied Holistic Planned Grazing, Management Intensive Grazing and the science of pasture management in graduate school. Sarah works with beef, sheep, goat and dairy farmers including both organic and non-organic.  More recently, Sarah’s focus has been working with 100% grass-fed dairy farmers and she has been participating in several research, consulting and writing projects on that topic.

Sarah is author of The Art and Science of Grazing,  Organic Dairy Production and co author of The Organic Dairy Handbook, Vermont Grass-Based Beef Profitability: Lessons and Budgets, and Transitioning to Organic Dairy and most recently, The Grass-Based Dairy Production Manual as well as numerous articles.

She is passionate about helping farmers find ways to be financially viable while carefully stewarding their land and livestock.  She lives on the farm she grew up on where she is surrounded by pastures, wetlands, forests, livestock and wildlife.

This event is held in partnership with Farmers for Climate Solutions

This event is an OSCIA-recognized Knowledge Sharing Event (KSE) for farmers with On-Farm Climate Action Fund (OFCAF) projects in the Grazing category. Questions about OFCAF should be directed to OFCAF@ontariosoilcrop.org.

In order to make our events accessible to all current and aspiring farmers in Ontario, EFAO uses a “pay what you can” model. To register using this model, please complete this form!