The Dairy Pasture-Based Inservice Training will feature classroom instruction, hands-on field demonstrations, farm visits, and a dairy grazing case study. The group will explore the topic "Grazing Can Be a Reality," featuring guest researchers from either Missouri and/or North Carolina. Participants will install demonstration fencing and watering systems, plus analyze dairy cattle grazing systems. Forage systems and plots of different forage plants and stages of maturity will be available for tour. The following are planned additional topics of instruction:

    • cow management
    • death loss
    • pest control
    • labor management
    • heifer systems
    • financial management

We will have dairy farm managers share their grazing stories as they relate to production, labor, cash flow, and profitability. Project groups will work on a dariy grazing case study. The study groups will be visiting a working dairy to secure information to complete a grazing plan. We will also be addressing the issue "What questions need to be asked before making a grazing recommendation?"