USARAAI SUMMIT 2021 Part 2
Part 2
The 2nd day of the Summit was off and running with a presentation by Ward Labs on soil testing, followed by the very popular pasture walk where folks can see, touch, compare soil samples, and ask questions about anything to do with the pasture. It’s a time of seeing first-hand the impact certain pasture practices have on the overall environment, including insects, birds, and wildlife. The speakers show examples and answer questions.
Back for another wonderful lunch, with lots of lively conversations going on all around.
Dr. Gary Bates, director of UT beef and Forage Center, was the first afternoon speaker. He teaches best practices needed for profitable forage production and more, at UT, and that was his topic of discussion.
Dr. Allen Williams, Greg Judy, and Russ Wilson rounded out the afternoon with presentations on adaptive grazing, multispecies grazing advantages, and how biodiversity can make the farm more productive.
I saw lots of farmers taking notes, and when Q&A time came there were many hands up. So much of what was being taught seemed like it should be common knowledge, and probably was before the tractor was invented. Once again folks are seeing that Nature had it right all along.
The final day a team of three, made up of John Foye, John Fike, and Aakash Ahamed, started us off with their experiences with silvopasture and carbon sequestration. They’re the founders of Working Trees, a group promoting silvopasture in the southeast.
Russ Wilson was back with winter grazing and solutions for more efficient grazing. He had some amazing slides of his cattle grazing forage through a deep snow.
Dr. Forbes Walker was next. He has been all over the world doing research and development projects in agriculture. He’s currently the environmental soil specialist with UT and educates farmers on optimizing production without negatively impacting the environment. He spoke on what we’ve learned in 40 years of researching no-till, soil health, and climate-smart agricultural practices.
After lunch Kelsey Keener, of Sequatchie Cove Farm, in Chattanooga. His family raises several grass-fed species and has a good-sized egg laying operation. He spoke on the lessons and challenges, especially in finding the proper balance on a diversified farm. He also spoke on incorporating pastured poultry into a cattle/sheep grazing operation. Very interesting!
Dr. Allen Williams and Greg Judy brough the Summit to a close with regenerative case studies, and how to secure and develop long-term profitable grazing leases.
Once again, my head was so full of all I had heard the past three days. I’m sure I wasn’t the only one. I can imagine some of the conversations in the cars, on their long journeys home. I can also imagine that many of those new ideas and methods were put into practice as soon as the farmers could implement them.
