Land Stewardship Project

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Grazing

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A functioning ecosystem isn’t complete without animals to help close the nutrient loop. One key way farmers are building soil organic matter, cycling nutrients, and adding economic value to their farmland is by integrating ruminant livestock — beef cattle, dairy cattle, sheep, and goats — into a well-managed grazing system. Simply turning animals out onto open pastures and allowing them to roam creates its own problems. Farmers raising livestock as a soil- and profit-building tool are using managed rotational grazing of livestock. A managed rotational grazing system generally includes:

  • Being goal-oriented and flexible.
  • Using higher stock densities and moving livestock more frequently to graze and distribute fertility across the landscape evenly.
  • Relying on temporary fencing technology for frequent movement.
  • Increasing rest periods to allow for plant root system recovery.

Managed rotational grazing systems can go beyond sustainability — they can help to regenerate soil by sequestering carbon, supercharging biological activity, and building soil structure. Many farmers are using managed rotational grazing to increase productivity of perennial pastures and allow for multiple uses of annual cropland through grazing of cover crops and crop residue.Check out the resources on this page to learn more about managed rotational grazing and the ways farmers are implementing this tool.

 

Field Days & Workshops

See our web calendar for LSP field days, workshops  & pasture walks

Soil Health Podcast Series

Check out LSP’s ongoing Ear Dirt podcast series for conversations on cover cropping, no-till, managed rotational grazing, fungi, and just about anything else that builds soil health.

Grazing Videos

Check out LSP’s series of videos featuring farmers and other experts talking about the role grazing and other regenerative practices can play in building healthy, profitable soil.

Got an Idea?

If you have an idea you’d like to have featured in a video, blog, podcast, or field day, contact us.

Grazing Fact Sheets

• Financial Analysis of Cow-Calf Grazing
• Grazing For Landowners: Livestock as a Tool for Land Management
• Managed Grazing: Soil Health & Profitability for Farmers With Livestock
• Farming with Well-Managed Grazing & Continuous Living Cover Enhances Soil Health & Addresses Climate Change

White Paper: Grazing, Continuous Living Cover, Climate Change & Water

In early 2020, LSP published a white paper showing that farming systems that integrate managed rotational grazing and continuous living cover can help us tackle the twin problems of climate change and water pollution. Check it out here.

Related Posts

  • Ear to the Ground No. 255: Embracing the Weed

    https://landstewardshipproject.org/podcast-player/2646/ear-to-the-ground-no-255-embracing-the-weed.mp3

    Download file | Play in new window | Duration: 20:17 | Recorded on September 1, 2021

    What happened when beginning farmers Rachelle and Jordan Meyer started listening to the land and turned livestock loose on a “bacterial farm.”

    • Check out this…

    Ear to the Ground No. 255: Embracing the Weed
  • Ear to the Ground 222: Painting a New Picture for Landlords

    https://landstewardshipproject.org/podcast-player/2646/ear-to-the-ground-no-255-embracing-the-weed.mp3

    Download file | Play in new window | Duration: 20:17 | Recorded on September 1, 2021

    Renter Mark Erickson shows landowners the benefits of converting cropland to pasture.

    Ear to the Ground 222: Painting a New Picture for Landlords
  • LSP Pasture Walk to Feature Spring Grazing of Cover Crops May 19 near Ossian 

    April 25, 2022
    https://landstewardshipproject.org/podcast-player/2646/ear-to-the-ground-no-255-embracing-the-weed.mp3

    Download file | Play in new window | Duration: 20:17 | Recorded on September 1, 2021

    OSSIAN, Iowa — Spring grazing of cover crops will be the focus of a Land Stewardship Project (LSP) pasture walk May 19, from 5 p.m…

    News Releases
    adaptive managed grazing, bale grazing, cover crops, grass, grazing, livestock
    LSP Pasture Walk to Feature Spring Grazing of Cover Crops May 19 near Ossian 

Soil Health Team

  • Shona Snater, Programs Department co-director,
    612-767-9886, e-mail
  • Alex Romano, grazing,
    612-767-9880, e-mail
  • Barbara Sogn-Frank, field crops,
    612-400-6357, e-mail
  • Robin Moore, non-operating landowners,
    612-767-9480, e-mail
  • Maura Curry, field crops,
    612-767-9882, e-mail
  • For Farmers & Landowners
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      • Farmland Clearinghouse
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Upcoming Events

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June 2022

Tuesday June 7

10:00 am – 5:00 pm
Volunteer Johnson-Su Bioreactor Construction Event
Volunteer Johnson-Su Bioreactor Construction Event
Tuesday June 7
10:00 am – 5:00 pm

This is the second year of a two-year research project through the Minnesota Department of Agriculture looking into creating on-farm compost recipes using the Johnson-Su Bioreactor design. Land Stewardship Project staff are working with five farms to build a total of 10 bioreactors in the month of June. We are looking for 3 to 5 member-volunteers for the days of June 7, 9, 15, 17, and 29. Details are here.

E-mail Shona Snater at ssnater@landstewardshipproject.org for more information and to sign-up as a volunteer.

Thursday June 9

10:00 am – 5:00 pm
Volunteer Johnson-Su Bioreactor Construction Event
Volunteer Johnson-Su Bioreactor Construction Event
Thursday June 9
10:00 am – 5:00 pm


This is the second year of a two-year research project through the Minnesota Department of Agriculture looking into creating on-farm compost recipes using the Johnson-Su Bioreactor design. Land Stewardship Project staff are working with five farms to build a total of 10 bioreactors in the month of June. We are looking for 3 to 5 member-volunteers for the days of June 7, 9, 15, 17, and 29. Details are here.

E-mail Shona Snater at ssnater@landstewardshipproject.org for more information and to sign-up as a volunteer.

12:00 pm – 1:30 pm
LSP Deep Canvass Training
LSP Deep Canvass Training
Thursday June 9
12:00 pm – 1:30 pm

Deep canvassing is a candid, non-judgmental, two-way conversation where canvassers ask voters to share their relevant, emotionally significant experiences and reflect on them aloud. It is one of the most durable and proven forms of persuasion when talking to people who might hold differing beliefs than you and is going to be critical in creating the world we want and need.

Join the Land Stewardship Action Fund to learn about deep canvassing, what it is and why it’s important, and get trained on how to deep canvass so you’re able to powerfully participate in LSAF’s upcoming deep canvasses and put these important skills to use in your community. Register at https://secure.everyaction.com/c1uCBAiC6UObLs1U2jjieA2.

Wednesday June 15

10:00 am – 5:00 pm
Volunteer Johnson-Su Bioreactor Construction Event
Volunteer Johnson-Su Bioreactor Construction Event
Wednesday June 15
10:00 am – 5:00 pm

This is the second year of a two-year research project through the Minnesota Department of Agriculture looking into creating on-farm compost recipes using the Johnson-Su Bioreactor design. Land Stewardship Project staff are working with five farms to build a total of 10 bioreactors in the month of June. We are looking for 3 to 5 member-volunteers for the days of June 7, 9, 15, 17, and 29. Details are here.

E-mail Shona Snater at ssnater@landstewardshipproject.org for more information and to sign-up as a volunteer.

Friday June 17

10:00 am – 5:00 pm
Volunteer Johnson-Su Bioreactor Construction Event
Volunteer Johnson-Su Bioreactor Construction Event
Friday June 17
10:00 am – 5:00 pm

This is the second year of a two-year research project through the Minnesota Department of Agriculture looking into creating on-farm compost recipes using the Johnson-Su Bioreactor design. Land Stewardship Project staff are working with five farms to build a total of 10 bioreactors in the month of June. We are looking for 3 to 5 member-volunteers for the days of June 7, 9, 15, 17, and 29. Details are here.

E-mail Shona Snater at ssnater@landstewardshipproject.org for more information and to sign-up as a volunteer.

View Full Calendar

Recent Posts

  • LSP Applauds USDA’s Step to Promote Transparency & Address Exploitative Poultry Contracting System May 27, 2022
  • 2022 Minnesota Legislative Session Wrap-up — Maybe? May 25, 2022
  • Small, Complex & Focused May 23, 2022
  • Minnesota Legislative Leadership Squanders Opportunity to Fully Support Farmers, Food Systems & the Land in Ag Budget  May 21, 2022
  • Let’s Get a Robust State Budget Across the Finish Line! May 17, 2022

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