.jpg)
Two nationally renowned grazing experts will be leading in-depth training in October within easy driving distance of Rockbridge affording graziers the opportunity to learn about two essential topics in profitable and sustainable livestock production: infrastructure for grazing and financial management for grazing farms.
The first seminar will be the Grazing Infrastructure and Stockmanship Field Training to be held Tuesday and Wednesday, Oct. 3 and 4, in Weyers Cave.
This two-day seminar will cover the practical topics of modern permanent fence construction, electric fence installation and management, and grazing system layout with livestock behavior in mind. Curt Pate is a nationally celebrated expert on principles of animal behavior and welfare and how design principles can be applied to farms both large and small that decrease animal stress and increase productivity. Cost of the program is $60 per day with different topics covered each day and excellent lunch and supper included.
The second seminar is entitled “Ranching for Profit” and will be held in Waynesboro the following Tuesday and Wednesday, Oct. 10 and 11. Instructor Dallas Mount is a farm financial consultant and teacher who has hands-on experience working in cowcalf, yearling, feedlot and hay enterprises. This seminar also has one and two-day attendance options with those attending one day paying $100 and those attending both days paying $150. The first day of the seminar covers “The Three Secrets for Increasing Profits: Do You Own a Business Or Just a Pile of Assets and a Bunch of Jobs?” Setting a profit target and working backwards to achieve it!; and Using benchmarks to find profit drivers and dead wood to improve profitability. Day two will cover topics related to “Leveraging the Economics of Grazing.”
Printed copies of the detailed agendas for both these seminars are available at the Rockbridge Extension office. Register for these events through the Virginia Forage and Grassland website, vaforages.org.
If you need assistance with registering for either of these events, call me, Tom Stanley, at the Rockbridge Extension office at (540) 463-4734 or send e-mail to [email protected].
