Hands-on Training and Mentoring in Management Intensive Prescribed Grazing for Limited Resource Farmers

Management Intensive Prescribed Grazing (MIPG) is a well documented yet still innovative approach to managing resource problems such as overgrazing and erosion. Prescribed grazing involves managing the controlled harvest of vegetation with grazing animals and planning for the subsequent regrowth and its utilization, according to producer objectives. Many producers have yet to adopt this practice because it is a complex way of managing the Farm-level system and requires a significant investment in planning and monitoring of the farm. Given the challenges of implementing MIPG, limited resource farmers in particular resist adoption. With their restricted resources of time and money, these producers must see that conservation practices have an economic benefit before they can justify implementation. The purpose of this project is to develop and pilot an innovative, comprehensive training program to help limited resource farmers understand and implement MIPG Practices.