The Eighteenth Annual Nebraska Grazing Conference (NGC) is August 6-8 at the Ramada Kearney in Kearney, NE. This year’s conference has expanded, and includes more opportunities for producers to share their insights and experiences on a range of topics. Daren Redfearn, Chair of the NGC Planning Committee says, “Some of the changes are somewhat significant, but they are also based on comments and suggestions from previous conference attendees. We hope these changes provide additional learning and engagement opportunities for the conference participants.”
New to this year’s conference is a complimentary half-day field tour, which will focus on monitoring. “The tour is designed to complement some of the conference presentations,” according to Redfearn. Chartered buses will depart the Ramada Kearney for the tour site, where attendees will hear Christine Su, CEO of PastureMap, speak on field applications of pasture and ecological monitoring. Producers utilizing monitoring will also share their experiences throughout the afternoon. The Buffalo County Extension office will host a dinner and speaker to conclude the day’s events.
Day two of the conference provides a full day of speakers and producer panels. Topic categories include keeping farms in the family, mixed-species grazing, and grazinglands and wildlife. After an evening banquet, Dr. Ron Hanson, Harlan Agribusiness Professor Emeritus, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, will moderate a producer panel discussing the generational transfer of farms and ranches. Plenty of time has been built into the days’ schedule for networking and visiting exhibit booths to learn about new services and products.
The final day of the NGC provides panel discussions on monitoring, as well as planting decisions for alternative forages. Homer Buell, Shovel Dot Ranch, will close out the conference by providing a producer reflection of conference insights and relevance to producers.
Register online at https://grassland.unl.edu/2018-ngc. For assistance with online registration, call (402) 472-8747.
More details at: https://go.unl.edu/deky