Brief Summary of Minutes of Annual Meeting

1. Private-sector Consortium members supported funding for Univ. Massachusetts which received $170,000 from the Massachusetts Agricultural Innovation Center for Integrated Pasture Management on Dairy and Livestock Farms. This funding was matched by $170,001 from Univ. Mass. 2. The Private-sector Consortium members also supported Univ. Massachusetts, in conjunction with Vermont and the ARS Pasture lab (PA), in receiving a SARE grant for $212,000 to evaluate 28 variety mixes/blends by farmers in all New England states who are growing 3-5 of the blends. 3. In 2008 ARS Pasture Systems and Watershed Management Research Station was selected for closure. The Private-sector Consortium members requested that Congress maintain funding ($4,400,000) for the ARS Pasture Systems and Watershed Management Research Station, University Park, PA. The Agriculture Appropriations act passed by the House on 26 June 2008 included funding for this research station. 4. Continued support and advocacy for private and public grant proposals that align with the six Consortium stakeholder pasture priority needs. 5. Informed Consortium participants of public hearing opportunities on grazing and conservation policies, e.g., Farm Bill and grass-fed standard definition. 6. Approved action agenda items for CY2008. These are listed in the Consortium annual meeting minutes. 7. Placed the proceedings of the 2008 annual meeting including power point slides and handouts on the Consortium website for post-meeting access. 8. A number of publications that support the goals of the Consortium have been published and are listed on the Publications page.

Adler, P.R. 2007. Biofuels and the Greenhouse Gas Factor. Solar Today 21:26,54. Adler, P.R., S.J. Del Grosso, and W.J. Parton. 2007. Life-cycle assessment of net greenhouse-gas flux for bioenergy cropping systems. Ecol. Appl. 17:675691. Carroll, John E. 2008. Pastures of Plenty: The Future of Food, Agriculture and Environmental Conservation in New England. New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Station Publication #2340, 142 p. Chianese, D.S., C.A. Rotz and T.L. Richard. 2008. Simulating methane emissions from dairy farms. ASABE Paper No. 084098, St. Joseph, MI: ASABE. Corson, M.S., C.A. Rotz, R.H. Skinner, M.A. Sanderson. 2007. Adaptation and evaluation of the integrated farm system model to simulate temperate multiple-species pastures. Agric. Systems 94(2):502-508. Crosson, P., C.A. Rotz, P. OKiely, F.P. OMara, M. Wallace, R.P.O. Schulte. 2007. Modeling the nitrogen and phosphorus inputs and outputs of financially optimal Irish beef production systems. Applied Eng. Agric. 23(3):369-377. Deak, A., M.H. Hall, M.A. Sanderson, and D.A. Archibald. 2007. Production and nutritive value of grazed simple and complex forage mixtures. Agron. J. 99:814-821. Dell, C.J., Salon, P., Franks, C., Plowden, Y. 2008. No-till and Cover Crop Impacts on Soil Carbon and Associated Properties on Pennsylvania Dairy Farms. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation 63(3):136-142. Ghebremichael, L.T., P.E. Cerosaletti, T.L. Veith, C.A. Rotz., J.M. Hamlett, and W.J. Gburek. 2007. Economic and phosphorus-related effects of precision feeding and forage management at a farm scale. J. Dairy Sci. 90:3700-3715. Goslee, S.C., and D.L. Urban. 2007. The ecodist Package for Dissimilarity-based Analysis of Ecological Data. J. Statistical Software Vol. 22, Issue 7, Sep 2007. Gregorini, P., S. A. Gunter, , P. A. Beck, K. J. Soder, and S. Tamminga. Review: The interaction of diurnal grazing pattern, ruminal metabolism, nutrient supply and management in cattle. Prof. Anim. Scientist. (In press).2008. Gregorini, P., Soder, K.J. 2007. A few hours grazing session seems to be enough. Lancaster Farming. October 6, 2007. p. E4. Gregorini, P., Soder, K.J. 2007. Allocating fresh pasture during the afternoon enhances daily weight gains& what about milk yield. Lancaster Farming. October 6, 2007. p. E8. Kleinman, P.J., and K.J. Soder. Cycling and management of nitrogen and phosphorus on dairy farms in relationship to the role of grazing. In McDowell, R. (ed.), Impacts of pastoral grazing on the environment. In press- Accepted September, 2007. (Book Chapter). McDowell, R.W., Z. Dou, J.D. Toth, B.J. Cade-Menun, P.J.A. Kleinman, K.J. Soder,, and L. Saporito. A comparison of phosphorus bioavailability in feed and feces of different dairy herds using 31P nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. J. Environ. Qual. (In press). 2008. McFarland, M.J., M.A. Sanderson, and A.M.S. McFarland. 2007. Wastewater and reclaimed irrigation water. p. 754-798. In: Design and operation of farm irrigation systems 2nd ed. American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers. Penn, C.J., Bryant, R.B. 2008. Phosphorus Solubility in Response to Acidification of Dairy Manure Amended Soils. Soil Science Society of America Journal 72:238-243. Penn, C.J., Bryant, R.B., Needleman, B., and Kleinman, P. 2007. Spatial distribution of soil phosphorus across selected New York dairy farm pastures and hay fields. Soil Science. 172:797-810. Porter, John. (ed.). 2008. The History and Economics of the New Hampshire Dairy Industry. Univ. NH Cooperative Extension Publications Center, Nesmith Hall, 131 Main Street, Durham, NH 03824. Rayburn, E. B., M. S. Whetsell, J. D. Lozier, B. D. Smith, W. L. Shockey, D. A. Seymore. 2008. Initial Nutritive Value and Utilization Affect Apparent Diet Quality of Grazed Forage. Forage and Grazinglands. (electronic journal) Rayburn, E.B. (ed.). 2006. Forage Production for Pasture-based Livestock Production, NRAES-172. Natural Resource, Agriculture and Engineering Service, Ithaca NY. 139 p. Rayburn, E.B. (ed.). 2006. Managing and Marketing for Pasture-based Livestock Production, NRAES-174. Natural Resource, Agriculture and Engineering Service, Ithaca NY. 116 p. Rayburn, E.B. (ed.). 2007. Forage Utilization for Pasture-based Livestock Production, NRAES-173. Natural Resource, Agriculture and Engineering Service, Ithaca NY. 185 p. Rayburn, E.B. (ed.). 2008. Animal Production Systems for Pasture-based Livestock Production, NRAES-171. Natural Resource, Agriculture and Engineering Service, Ithaca NY. 185 p. Rotz, C.A. 2007. Managing Machinery in the Biological Farm System. Resource Magazine. 14(3):4-5. Rotz, C.A. 2007. Modeling integrated farm systems: a tool for developing more economically and environmentally sustainable farming systems, Proc. International Symposium on Integrated Crop-Livestock Systems, 13-15 August, Curitiba, Brazil. Rotz, C.A. 2007. Storage can make or break a harvest. Hoard's Dairyman. 152(10):379. Rotz, C.A., G.H. Kamphuis, H.D. Karsten and R.D. Weaver. 2007. Organic dairy production systems in Pennsylvania: a case study evaluation. J Dairy Sci. 90:3961-3979. Rotz, C.A., H.D. Karsten and R.D. Weaver. 2008. Grass-based dairy production provides a viable option for producing organic milk in Pennsylvania. Online. Forage and Grazinglands doi:10.1094/FG-2008-0212-01-RS. Rotz, C.A., Karsten, H.D., Weaver, R.D. 2008. Grass-Based Dairy Production Provides a Viable Option for Producing Organic Milk in Pennsylvania. Online. Forage and Grazinglands doi:10.1049/FG-2008-1212-01-RS. Rotz, C.A., M.S. Corson, and C.U. Coiner. 2007. Integrated Farm System Model: Reference manual, version 2.1. Available at: http://ars.usda.gov/naa/pswmru. Rotz, C.A., P.J. Kleinman, C.J. Dell, J.P. Schmidt, D.B. Beegle. 2007. Environmental and economic comparisons of manure application methods on dairy farms. ASABE Paper No. 074068, St. Joseph, MI: ASABE. Sanderson, M.A. 2007. Yield and persistence of forage and root-type chicory cultivars. Forage and Grazinglands. (Online) www.plantmanagementnetwork.org doi:10.1094/FG-2007-1119-01-RS. Sanderson, M.A. 2008. Upland switchgrass yield, nutritive value, and soil carbon changes under grazing and clipping. Agronomy Journal 100(3):510-516. Sanderson, M.A. L. Holden, E.B. Rayburn, K.J. Soder, and W.B. Bryan. Assessing forage mass and forage budgeting. p. 20-42. In: Forage utilization for pasture-based livestock production. Natural Resources and Agric. Eng. Service (NRAES) publ. 173. Sanderson, M.A., Adler, P.R. 2008. Perennial forages as second generation bioenergy crops. International Journal of Molecular Sciences 9:768-788. Sanderson, M.A., Corson, M., Rotz, C.A., Soder, K.J. 2007. Economic analysis of forage mixtures for pastures. Project Grass Magazine. P. 4-6. Sanderson, M.A., Goslee, S.C., Stout, R.C., Gonet, J.M. 2007. Pasture Condition Scoring at the Whole-Farm Scale. Lancaster Farming 52(5)E17. Sanderson, M.A., S.C. Goslee, K.D. Klement, and K.J. Soder. 2007. Soil seed bank composition in pastures of diverse mixtures of temperate forages. Agron. J. 99:1514-1520. Sanderson, M.A., S.C. Goslee, R.H. Skinner, K.J. Soder, B.F. Tracy, and A. Deak. 2007. Plant species diversity, ecosystem function, and pasture managementA perspective. Can. J. Plant Sci. 87:479-487. Sedorovich, D.M., C.A. Rotz, P.A. Vadas, and R.D. Harmel. 2007. Simulating management effects on phosphorus loss from farming systems. Trans. ASAE 50(4):1443-1453. Skinner, R.H. 2007. Winter carbon dioxide fluxes in humid-temperate pastures. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology 144:32-43. Skinner, R.H. 2008. High biomass removal limits carbon sequestration potential of mature temperate pastures. J. Environ. Qual. 37:1319 1326. Skinner, R.H. 2008. Yield, root growth and soil water content in drought stressed pasture mixtures containing chicory. Crop Sci. 48:380 388. Skinner, R.H., M.S. Corson and T.G. Gilmanov. 2008. Simulating gross primary productivity of humid temperate pastures. Agron. J. 100:801 807. Soder, K.J, L.S. Saporito, W.L. Stout. Effect of by-product gypsum application rate to grass pasture, grass hay, and corn silage on fermentation by rumen microorganisms in continuous culture. Anim. Feed Sci. Tech. 132:331-340. 2007. Soder, K.J. Meeting nutrient needs of grazing ruminants. Proc. NW PA Grazing Conference, Dubois, PA. 2007. pp.6-10. Soder, K.J. Incorporating a total mixed ration into pasture-based dairy systems: The best of both worlds? Project Grass magazine. 5(7): 19-21. 2007. Soder, K.J., A.J. Rook, M.A. Sanderson, and S.C. Goslee. Invited review: Interaction of plant species diversity on grazing behavior and performance of livestock grazing temperate region pastures. Crop Sci. 47:416-425. 2007. Soder, K.J., and L.D. Muller. Case study: Use of partial total mixed rations on pasture-based dairy farms in Pennsylvania and New York. Prof. Anim. Scientist. 23:300-307. 2007. Soder, K.J., and M.A. Sanderson. Effect of morphological traits on intake characteristics of four grass species found in temperate biodiverse pasture systems. Proc. American Forage and Grasslands Council, State College, PA. 2007. pp. 30-33.. Tracy, B.F., and M.A. Sanderson. 2007. Decomposition of forage species mixtures in pasture has inconsistent effects on soil nitrogen. Forage and Grazinglands (Online) www.plantmanagmentnetwork.org doi: 10.1094/FG-2007-0625-02-RS.