How to Write a Grazing Management Plan

As the Maine Dairy Grazing Series, this workshop will cover practical planning procedures, contingency considerations, economic factors, and on-the-ground decision-making that shape successful grazing systems. Participants will learn how to use a grazing chart effectively, adapt to challenges beyond their control, and build resilience into their operations. The session will conclude with a real-world look at a grazing plan in action, highlighting the daily management decisions and nuanced context that make it work.

PRESENTERS

Troy Bishopp is the original “The Grass Whisperer”, does a bit of “Linger Grazing”,

custom grazes cattle and farms for the next generations. The Pop Pop has been

managing lush, integrity pastures at Bishopp Family Farm in Deansboro, NY for 40

years. He also directs activities that help farmers for the National Grazing Lands

Coalition (NatGLC) as their Northeast Regional Grazing Manager covering 15 states

(https://www.grazinglands.org/troy-bishopp-bio) He’s an award winning free-lance

writer/photographer who focuses on rural life and pasture-based systems.

Graham Mallory is a logger and farmer from Jackson, Maine. He brings two decades of experience to his own enterprise, where he grazes Katahdin sheep in a developing silvopasture system, and to his job at Northern Tilth, where he writes Grazing Management Plans for farmers across New England.

Originally from Bogota (Colombia), Dr. Jaime Garzon graduated as Zootechnician (B.S. in Animal Sciences) and got a master’s degree in Animal Production at the Universidad Nacional de Colombia, advised by Dr. Edgar Cardenas Rocha. His research project evaluated the performance of cool and warm-season forages and greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture. During that time, Dr. Garzon also participated in two internships at the Instituto Nacional de Investigacion Agropecuaria (Uruguay), advised by Dr. Veronica Ciganda, and the UF North Florida Research and Education Center (Marianna, FL), advised by Dr. Nicolas diLorenzo, working with pastures, rangelands, and livestock management. In 2018, Dr. Garzon was awarded the Fulbright-ICETEX Pasaporte a la Ciencia scholarship, which allowed him to start his Ph.D. in Agronomy at the University of Florida, advised by Dr. Joao Vendramini. His dissertation evaluated the ecosystem services provided by bahiagrass pastures overseeded with aeschynomene, a warm-season legume adapted to soils with poor drainage.

Organized by the New England Grazing Network (faciliated by Wolfe's Neck Center), UMaine Extension, and the Maine Grass Farmers Network.

This program is generously supported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, under agreement NR243A750008C009 and The Cedar Tree Foundation

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Wolfe's Neck Center for Agriculture & the Environment, 184 Burnett Road, Freeport, United States