A few weeks ago, I attended a Fall Forage Conference hosted by the Arkansas Forage and Grassland Council. One of the speakers was John Jennings, professor and Extension Forage Specialist with the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture. Jennings is considered a leading expert in the development of a 300-day grazing system. One of his fellow conference speakers even referred to him as the “Godfather of 300-Day Grazing.” 

Jennings’ program has helped producers across Arkansas and the Midsouth improve their forages, extend their grazing seasons and reduce hay feeding. During the conference he outlined five steps for getting started with 300-day grazing. 

That’s an incredibly brief summary of Jennings’ program, and if you’d like to dive deeper, there’s a great Extension publication online.

I ran across my notes from Jennings’ outline as I prepared to write this column. Maybe it’s end-of-year introspection, but I couldn’t help but think these five steps are good advice not just for forage management, but for business management and even personal development. An agricultural take on The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, if you will. 

As we begin the new year, many of us are thinking of new goals or ways to make improvements in 2021. Perhaps these five steps could keep us on track. 

Just as producers may not reach a 300-day grazing season in the first year, we probably won’t achieve every goal we set for 2021. The key is continually moving closer to the target. 

Best of luck to all of you in the New Year! And, of course, my thanks to Professor Jennings for the inspiration.