Multi-Species Rotational Grazing Field Day

The BC Climate Agri-Solutions Fund (CAF) provides funding to help farmers tackle climate change by adopting beneficial managing practices (BMPs) in three specific areas: Nitrogen Management, Cover Cropping and Rotational Grazing. CAF is funded by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada through the On-Farm Climate Action Fund and delivered by the Investment Agriculture Foundation of BC.

Climate Agri-Solutions Fund via IAF

Join us at Whiskey Creek Ranch for a day of learning about multi-species rotational grazing practices!

Whiskey Creek Ranch

We invite farmers to join us and hear from our speakers, tour Whiskey Creek Ranch and learn about their rotational grazing program and cover cropping. Farmers will be able to meet other farmers in the area and learn about different operations. This will be an opportunity to hear from industry specialists, fellow farmers, and the owner/operator of our host farm. Join us for a fun and informative day learning about multi-species rotational grazing practices you can use on your farm. Beneficial management practices like cover crops and well-managed grazing can help to build soil, sequester carbon, improve pastures, increase crop yields and create a diversified ecosystem where plants and animals can thrive. We will start with the basics so beginners are welcome but more experienced grazers who are interested in optimizing their systems and improving their management practices will also benefit from this program. We will leave lots of time for questions and networking so we can all learn from each other. Rotational grazing is a set of techniques used to control the time aspect of grazing that typically leads to overgrazing in a continuous grazing system. Livestock are moved into a defined area, typically called a paddock, where they have access to graze the plants in that area. They are then rotated to a new paddock while grazed plants have a chance to recover. The livestock are not moved back to that paddock again until the plants there have fully recovered. In this field day, we will discuss the key tools that you need to ensure a successful rotational grazing program:<ul><li>Continuous movement</li><li>Portable infrastructure</li><li>Balance between grazing and rest</li><li>Correct stocking density</li><li>Appropriate species/breed</li></ul>We will also get an overview of the <a href="https://peacelivinglab.ca/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Peace Region Living Lab (PRLL)</a> which is part of the federal Living Laboratories Initiative which uses a producer-centred approach to agricultural innovation. The program brings together farmers and ranchers with scientists, and commodity groups to co-develop and test innovative practices and technologies to address agri-environmental issues, including mitigating and adapting to climate change, protecting soil and water quality, and maximizing biodiversity in agricultural landscapes.In addition to classroom learning, there will be a farm tour and hands on workshop stations and demonstrations on building, maintaining and troubleshooting electric fence infrastructure including: <ul><li>Permanent high tensile fencing</li><li>Tying knots</li><li>Installing insulators</li><li>Grounding, energizers and troubleshooting</li><li>Portable electric fences and rotational grazing infrastructure</li></ul>The farm tour will include:<ul><li>Moving hogs &amp; poultry in a rotational grazing systems=</li><li>Fencing for pigs</li><li>Managing feed &amp; water</li><li>Housing infrastructure</li><li>Cover crops</li></ul>Attendees can purchase $10 lunch tickets in advance. <h2>A﻿bout the Farm</h2><a href="https://whiskeycreekranch.ca/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Whiskey Creek Ranch</a> practices regenerative agricultural principles on the land, leveraging their livestock and management of them to maintain, and in some cases restore, the ecological diversity of the land. They rotationally graze their laying hens, meat chickens, hogs, and cattle and manage them in a way that allows them to express their natural behaviours and contribute to the biodiversity of the ecosystem and to soil health.The Schaeffer family are working to understand and apply decades and centuries of agricultural learnings, current and evidence-based scientific research, and their will for moving forward in a direction that will continually benefit the ecology, diversity, and health of their land.They believe that appreciating all aspects of food production requires a first-person and full-loop experience. This is where their choice to direct market our products, offer on-farm events, and advocate for a strong and localized food system complements the food production aspect of Whiskey Creek Ranch.<h2>S﻿peakers</h2>M﻿ichelle SchaefferMichelle Schaeffer was born and raised just outside of Kamloops, British Columbia. After completing her post-secondary education in physical geography and environmental studies, she moved to northeast BC where she has been living since 2006. Michelle is a first generation farmer and with her husband, Gaston, and young family they are raising chickens, turkeys, hogs, beef, and honeybees at Whiskey Creek Ranch. They operate a Farmgate Plus abattoir where they process their poultry, hogs and beef. Their on-farm commercial kitchen supports local retail markets as a regional hub for processing soft fruits and field vegetables and value-adding goods for retail sales. Professionally, Michelle is a practicing Professional Agrologist and has been working privately and within provincial Crown corporations in the resource industry on vegetation, soils, and groundwater management for over fifteen years. Michelle is a founding member of the Small-Scale Meat Producers Association and serves as Secretary on the Board of Directors. Locally, Michelle is an active member of and fills various Board positions for a number of her local community and/or agricultural organizations. N﻿adia MoriNadia is the coordinator for the Peace River Forage Association of BC and the extension coordinator for the Peace Region Living Lab, a five-year producer-led research project. She received her Master of Science at the University of Saskatchewan and served in the role of forage extension specialist for over 10 years working with the Saskatchewan and BC provincial government prior to stepping into a private contractor role. When Nadia wears a farmer hat, she produces microgreens and fresh vegetables at SquigglyThings to bring fresh, local, and nutritious food to northern communities.J﻿ulia SmithJulia is a grazing mentor with the Farm Resilience Mentorship (FaRM) Program. She has been raising a wide range of livestock including cattle, sheep, poultry and pigs over the past 12 years. Range riding, grazing sheep and working to preserve critically endangered Red Wattle hogs keeps her busy these days at Blue Sky Ranch in Nlaka&#x27;pamux Territory near Merritt, BC. She is a founding member and Past-President of the Small-Scale Meat Producers Association where she now serves as Executive Director and Project Manager. Julia is currently serving on the board of directors for Farmers for Climate Change Solutions and was Vice-President of the National Farmers Union where she continues to be active on the livestock committee.-﻿-This event is supported by the BC Climate Agri-Solutions Fund (BCCAF). Funding for the BCCAF has been provided by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada through the Agricultural Climate Solutions – On-Farm Climate Action Fund. BCCAF is delivered by the Investment Agriculture Foundation. To learn more about the BC Climate Agri-Solutions Fund, visit <a href="https://bccaf.ca/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">www.bccaf.ca</a>.

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Multi-Species Rotational Grazing Field Day

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Multi-Species Rotational Grazing Field Day

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