Livestock producers and land managers in southeast Iowa have an opportunity to sharpen their grazing management skills this summer as the Iowa Grazing Academy brings one of its three in-person field days to Lockridge in Jefferson County, according to Iowa State University Extension and Outreach.
The southeast Iowa field day will be held at K7 Hereford in Lockridge on Tuesday, July 28th from 3:00 to 8:00 p.m. The hands-on event will cover summer annual integration, rotational stocking, and grazing management in cool-season pastures. In-person registration is $20 per person, and pre-registration is encouraged to help organizers plan meals, though on-site registration will also be accepted.
The field day is part of the broader Iowa Grazing Academy, which also includes a series of online sessions running July 13th through 22nd from noon to 1:30 p.m. each day. Participants can join all sessions or select those that fit their schedule, and all sessions will be recorded and made available for later viewing. Topics covered in the online sessions include forage growth and species selection, animal nutrition and health, rotational stocking, alternative forages, pasture infrastructure, enterprise budgets, weed management, and grazing technology. Online participation is offered at no cost, and attendance is optional but highly recommended for those planning to attend a field day.
Two additional field days will be held in other parts of Iowa — one at Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids on July 23rd and another at 2XL Cattle Company in Boone on August 4th.
The Iowa Grazing Academy is funded by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service Grazing Lands Conservation Initiative. Participants can register online at go.iastate.edu/AWTQUQ. Those registering for the online sessions should do so at least two days in advance, as the link to join will be sent the day before each session.
For more information, contact Shelby Gruss, assistant professor and extension forage specialist at Iowa State University, at sgruss@iastate.edu or 515-294-3832.
