Basics to advance: Benefits of rotational grazing

Dairy Stream

We start with the basics and end with the specifics on managed rotational grazing. If you are just getting started with rotational grazing, the beginning will highlight environmental benefits, principles and practicalities, grazing for a variety of animals and common challenges. If you identify as an advanced grazer, then fast-forward to 27:29 in the podcast to jump into the specifics on economics, incentives, crop mixes and resources.

Our guests Luke Petersen, regenerative ag specialist with the Nature Conservancy’s North America Agriculture team, and Luke Wavrunek, dairy farmer and owner of Fairview Pastures in Wisconsin, share experiences and expertise with rotational grazing.

Special thanks to The Nature Conservancy of Wisconsin for sponsoring this episode.

About the guests:

• Luke Petersen is a Regenerative Ag Specialist with The Nature Conservancy’s North America Agriculture team. He works on an array of programs aimed at accelerating the uptake of farming practices that simultaneously benefit farmers and nature, including by partnering closely with the US dairy industry to achieve environmental goals on dairies across the country. He has a background in regenerative grazing management, and is a 5th generation farmer who grazes a small beef herd in SW Michigan.
• Luke Wavrunek is a 5th generation dairy farmer and the owner of Fairview Pastures in Northeast Wisconsin. He started rotational grazing in 2014 and runs 200 acres in rotational grazing and has 195 cattle including milk cows, heifers and some beef cattle on pasture.

Resources for grazing:

• Dairy Feed in Focus program
• Farmers for Sustainable Food Climate-Smart incentive program
• NRCS grazing incentives: Contact your local USDA service center
• Your state’s University Extension, Wisconsin resource
• Farmer-led watershed groups or to start a group
• Group referenced in the episode: Rock River Regenerative Grazers
• Grassland 2.0

This podcast is co-produced by the Dairy Business Association and Edge Dairy Farmer Cooperative, sister organizations that fight for effective dairy policy in Wisconsin and Washington, D.C. Become a sponsor, share an idea or feedback by emailing [email protected].