Pastures for Profit: Registration Open

This year between January and March in 2021, the Pastures for Profit curriculum will be offered as a virtual course.

The Pastures for Profit program is a collaboration between Ohio State University Extension, Central State University, USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service, Ohio Federation of Soil and Water Conservation Districts, Ohio Department of Agriculture, and the Ohio Forage and Grasslands Council. One live webinar will be offered per month along with “work at your own pace” videos and exercises that accompany each webinar.

Event organizer, Christine Gelley, Ohio State extension educator in Noble County, welcomes organic participants. She sees pasture management as a naturally low-input farming system if it’s done right, relying on holistic thinking and species diversity.

Each webinar will be offered live on Zoom at 7 P.M. and feature three presentations in a 90-minute span. Attendees will be able to interact with the speakers and ask questions in real time. Once registered, attendees will be granted access to the online course including the webinars and complementary resources. Participants that attend all three webinars will have the opportunity to earn a certificate of completion. Registered participants will also receive their choice of a curriculum binder or USB drive of the traditional course by mail.

The webinar schedule and topics are as follows.

Webinar One- Core Grazing Education: Wed., January 13th at 7 p.m.

- Evaluating Resources and Goal Setting

- Getting Started Grazing

- Soil Fertility

Webinar Two- The Science of Grazing: Wed., February 3rd at 7 p.m.

- Understanding Plant Growth

- Fencing and Water Systems

- Meeting Animal Requirements on Pasture

Webinar Three- Meeting Grazing Goals: Wed., March 3rd at 7 p.m.

- Pasture Weed Control

- Economics of Grazing

- Creating and Implementing Grazing Plans

A series of additional videos that complement each webinar will be accessible to registered participants that include topics such as:

- Soil Health & Fertility

- Species Specific Tips

- Stocking Densities

- Forage Sampling and Analysis

- Winter Feeding Strategies

- Conservation Practices

- Genetic Traits of Forages

- Pasture Layouts

- Farm Economics

- Pasture Walks/Virtual Tours

These videos will focus on more specific pasture management topics at the beginner and experienced manager levels.

The Pastures for Profit course utilizes Scarlet Canvas. For best performance, Canvas should be used on the current or first previous major release of Chrome, Firefox, Edge, or Safari. Canvas runs on Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android, or any other device with a modern web browser.

Cost of the course is $50, which includes the Pastures for Profit manual. Current and new members of the Ohio Forage and Grasslands Council are eligible for a $10 discount on registration. Register for the course by visiting https://afgc.org/ofgcwebinar.