For the first time since 2014, the Iowa Forage and Grasslands Council will hold its annual conference in Des Moines. The conference is Nov. 26-27 at Des Moines Airport Holiday Inn.

While plans are still being finalized, two featured speakers include Jim Gerrish, renowned grazing consultant from American GrazingLands Services, and Byron Shelton, program director of the Savory Institute. They will speak during the Nov. 26 evening session and again on Nov. 27 in in-depth sessions.

Tour of cover crop grazing farms
New this year, the event will begin with a bus tour of cover crop grazing farms in central Iowa. This tour is sponsored by the Fall Grazing Cover Crops project, funded by the North Central Extension Risk Management Education Center, the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture and the Iowa Beef Center at Iowa State University. After the tour, a producer panel will discuss cover crops, along with the presentations by Gerrish and Shelton.

The Nov. 27 agenda includes in-depth sessions by Gerrish and Shelton, and breakout sessions on grazing, wildlife, conservation and other production topics. Conference and registration information are available at IFGC and IBC. 

 If you have questions, contact either IFGC President Patrick Wall at [email protected] or 515-450-7665, or IFGC meeting chairman Jeff Matthias at [email protected] or 515-323-2257. Wall is an ISU Extension beef specialist.

Jim Gerrish, American GrazingLands
Gerrish has experience including 20 years of beef forage systems research while on the University of Missouri faculty, as well as 20 years of commercial cattle and sheep production on his family’s farm in northern Missouri. The University of Missouri Forage Systems Research Center rose to national prominence with his leadership. His research covered many aspects of plant-soil-animal interactions and provides foundation for many of the basic principles of management-intensive grazing.

Gerrish was co-founder of the popular three-day grazing management workshop program at FSRC. He’s an instructor in the University of Idaho’s Lost River Grazing Academy each June and September. Visit americangrazinglands.com.

Byron Shelton, Savory Institute
Byron is program director for the Savory Institute. His role involves providing training in holistic management for the worldwide network of Savory Institute hubs and accredited professionals. He also provides farm and ranch management consulting for Savory Institute. Byron is a Savory Institute master field professional.

He’s founder and managing member of a private consulting firm providing facilitation and training in whole farm planning using holistic management decision-making, financial planning, ecosystem processes management, planned grazing, ecological monitoring, land planning, policy analysis and development processes, and low stress animal handling in ag, natural resource, business, family and community settings. He’s worked with large and small beef and dairy operations, as well as with a wide range of other livestock and crop enterprises across North America, Europe, Africa, Asia and the Mideast. Learn more at No-till. 

Source: Iowa Beef Center at ISU