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8-4-06
AUGUST 10 WORKSHOP TO FOCUS ON GRAZING NATIVE PLANTS
AMES, Iowa -- Farmers, landowners, conservationists and crop consultants are
invited to attend an August 10 workshop to learn how Iowa prairie plants can be
managed for livestock forage and how grazing can be used for land management for
wildlife and native plants.
The workshop, Grazing Native Plants for Land Management and Animal Production,
will begin at 8:30 a.m. at the Starlite Village Conference Center in Ames. The
day-long workshop is sponsored by Iowa Native Lands, the Leopold Center for
Sustainable Agriculture, Iowa Natural Resources Conservation Service and Iowa
Forage and Grasslands Council.
"Conservation and grazing do not have to be mutually exclusive activities on
native prairies," said Inger Lamb, director of Iowa Native Lands who organized
the workshop. "We're beginning to understand how proper grazing management can
be part of a plan to protect our prairies, woodlands and savannahs."
The workshop will highlight current research on forage quality of native
grasses, integrating cool-season and warm-season species, the use of goats to
remove woody plants, patch-burn grazing systems, and mobile grazing operations
(using temporary infrastructure and water supply for short-term grazing in small
areas). A panel of producers also will share their experiences grazing cattle
and bison on native prairie.
Lamb also is working ISU Extension forage specialist Steve Barnhart on a
double-crop field experiment funded by the Leopold Center Ecology Initiative.
They have planted native grasses with traditional cool-season species and
alfalfa to provide forage in spring and mid-summer on plots at the ISU Armstrong
Research Farm near Lewis and private property near Ames. They also are
experimenting with various mowing heights to determine best management of those
native species.
Participants can register at the door. The $35 fee includes lunch and materials.
For more information, contact Lamb at (515) 250-1693,
ingerlamb3@mchsi.com.
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