Brief Summary of Minutes of Annual Meeting

Snowstorm Nemo shortened the 2013 Northeast Pasture Consortium Conference and Meeting to one day, Thursday - February 7 as it moved into the Northeast by Friday, February 8 with great intensity. The states of Connecticut and Massachusetts closed roads to all travel by Friday evening. Snowfall amounts varied considerably, but Manchester had 20+ inches of snow on the ground by Saturday while areas of Massachusetts and Connecticut had over 3 feet of snow and massive power outages. A few of us who had flown into Manchester spent an extra day or two as guests of the Radisson until flights resumed on Sunday. The New Hampshire Grazing Conference scheduled for Saturday was canceled by noon on Thursday. We had coordinated this year's conference to dovetail with their conference so any of our members wishing to go their conference could stay over an extra day. As in the past, the conference was scheduled to be a two-day affair with business meeting and report session held on the afternoon of the second day. The morning of the second day was to host one technical session, Grain Supplementation Economics and Strategies for Pastured Dairy Cows, and a Pasture-Based Farming Research Needs Discussion Session, a new feature to the program. The tech-nical session speakers that were present on Thursday gave their presentations on Thursday evening as the Producer Showcase session on Bedded Pack was shortened to one speaker due to a last minute cancellation by the second speaker. The Pasture-Based Farming Research Needs Discussion session was canceled, but the Private Sector and Public Sector research needs reports were finalized after the conference and discussed at the February Executive Committee teleconference. This information will be used to promote collaborative research in the Region to address needs that have not been addressed yet or not fully. The report session was canceled. However, Dr. Peter Kleinman, Research Leader at the Pasture Systems and Watershed Management Research Unit, was given the floor briefly Thursday afternoon to give the ARS report to the membership. The national program leaders for range and pasture or their designate of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture and National Resources Conservation Service were to be given by speaker phone on Friday afternoon due to federal travel restrictions. They were notified that the Friday report session was canceled but sent in reports for use in the proceedings. The Business Meeting was very brief. It was held right after the last technical session speaker was finished Thursday evening. We nominated and approved the appointment of two new members-at-large to the Executive Committee. Dr. Les Vough, professor emeritus at the Univer-sity of Maryland became the 2013 Public sector member-at-large. Ms. Diane Schivera, Maine Organic Growers Association, became the 2013 Private sector member-at-large. James Cropper, Executive Di-rector, Northeast Pasture Consortium with the affirmation of the attending members closed the Confer-ence and Meeting shortly after 9:00 PM Thursday, February 7. Dr. Rachel Gilker, University of Ver-mont and Ms. Jill Ott, Natural Resources Conservation Service had completed their terms on the Executive Committee. Diane and Les replace them. Attendance was down this year due to travel restrictions at the both the state land grant universities and federal agency level. Total preregistration was 57 people. Twenty-one farmer members were in attend-ance. This was actually heartening as the snowstorm was predicted well in advance and people braved the elements to return home before conditions went from bad to horrible. Once the New Hampshire Grazing Conference was canceled around noon on Thursday, a close-eye was given to weather updates. By the end of the afternoon at the 5:00 PM adjournment for dinner, the membership was asked how they wished to proceed with the rest of the conference. A majority were interested in getting as much accomplished as possible on Thursday evening so they could start on their way home early Friday morning. As it turned out, this proved to be the correct course of action as by 2:00 PM on Friday, the blizzard had arrived at Manchester with sustained winds over 50 miles per hour. After introductions of all the attending members were completed, Technical Session 1, Efficient Pasture Systems Design for Natural Features and Management Challenges commenced at 8:30 AM February 7. Donald Wild, owner and operator of Wild Acres Family Farm, and former grazing lands specialist with the Natural Resources Conservation Service, gave a presentation entitled Efficient Pasture Systems Design on Irregular Topography. Rob DeClue was the second and last presenter in this session on pasture system design. Rob is Area Grazing Lands Management Specialist with the Chenago County Soil and Water Conservation District. The title of his presentation was Landscape, Animal, Plant, & Operational Challenges for Successful Grazing Assistance. Both presenters described ways to overcome the challenges posed by the irregular topography throughout the Northeast in laying out rotationally grazed paddock systems. Suggestions were made on how to build electric fences, setup and install water systems, size paddocks based on number and class of livestock and the number of days or hours they were left on a paddock, and size the pasture system to feed livestock at the spring flush of grass growth and during the summer slump. A new feature to the conference and meeting was the review of current and planned research and on-farm demonstration work being conducted by members of the Consortium. This was the intent of Session 2 - Northeast Region Pasture-Based Research and On-Farm Demonstration Update. This session was moderated by Dr. Howard Skinner, ARS, Pasture Systems & Watershed Management Research Unit, University Park, PA. Howard led this session with his opening remarks entitled: Introduction: Coordinating Pasture Research in the Northeast. He pointed out that the Consortium was formed at the direction of US Senate Appropriations Committee in 1995. They wanted the Consortium to "promote applied pasture research, link existing resources, and foster continued state/federal and public/private partnerships for research in this area." To this end, at this annual conference we tried a new format. First, looking at current and planned research activities at this session; then meeting in two separate groups, private sector and public sector, immediately after this session to discuss research needs either not being addressed at all or in need of further work; and then coming together Friday morning to prioritize research items that need immediate attention (canceled due to snow storm). He introduced the 5 speakers who presented current research or on-farm demonstration work. They were: " Andre Brito, University of New Hampshire: Assisting Organic Dairy Producers to Meet the Demands of New and Emerging Milk Markets: An Update on Feeding Flaxseed to Organic Dairy Cow. Flaxseed contains omega-3 fatty acid by feeding this to organic cows it is hoped that this will make the milk they produce higher in omega-3 fatty acids, especially in the winter months when not on pasture to differentiate organic milk from conventional confinement fed cows. It is well known that pasture produced milk is already higher on omega-3 fatty acid than confinement fed cows. " Sid Bosworth, University of Vermont: Assisting Organic Dairy Producers to Meet the Demands of New and Emerging Milk Markets: An update on using complex blends of perennial ryegrass varieties for pasture. Sid Bosworth described a new experiment setup in 2012 to look at different blends of ryegrass varieties to see which ones were most effective in surviving Northeast weather conditions and provide the best quality forage to lactating dairy cows. " Jennifer Colby, University of Vermont: Developing Economic and Energy Tools to Aid Farmer Decision-Making. This Conservation Innovation Grant uses farmer supplied data to develop economic and energy tools for them to make day-to-day decisions on whether to graze or harvest forage crops. " Sarah Goslee, ARS, Pasture Systems & Watershed Management Research Unit: Pasture-Based Products within Regional Food Systems. (Howard Skinner Presenting) This research is looking at the ability of the Northeast US to produce pasture-based products and to consume these products within the Region. " Matt Smith, University of New Hampshire: Reducing Costs for Bedding and Energy on Organic Dairy Farms, reporting for John Aber. This research study is looking at the feasibility of producing wood chip bedding on-the-farm and then composting the soiled bedding in an on-farm heat-recovery composting facility. The intent is to see if it is economically feasible to do this on less than one hundred cow operations. The next session, Pasture-Based Farming Research Needs Determination, was a break out session. A Producer Sector session and a Public Sector session ran concurrently. These are the 2013 research needs requests from the Private Sector session. In order of priority, with statements in bold of specific items that need to be addressed. The top 4 are new this year. Not all priorities were reclassified as to priorities. The conference was cut short because of an incoming winter storm and blizzard so these research priorities could not be put before the whole Consortium. They were reviewed by the Executive Committee at their February teleconference. Further disposition is pending. 1. Exploring and explaining the impacts of stream and streambank exclusion. This priority is an immediate need and is based on problems in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed, especially in Maryland. Regulations are coming out of EPA's regulations, based on total maximum daily loads (TMDL). Currently, the issue is being interpreted by NRCS discretion, and farmers may have to completely fence out streams with a 10-foot wide buffer, and with permanent fence. In one instance at least, this is costing more than $75,000 and may push the farmer into cropping and out of livestock. There is not a clear scientific-based answer on the impacts of careful grazing manage-ment on streambanks and water quality. Therefore, the regulations are not based on sci-ence but by perception. Why does a grassed land use require an ungrazed grass buffer between it and the stream? Direct deposition of animal wastes in water is a very small portion of total waste excreted especially when riparian area pastures are rotationally grazed. This issue calls for further research or existing research be compiled and directed to the proper authorities on the impacts of grazing riparian areas. 2. More focus is needed on parasite issues for small ruminants, especially given climate change and possibly a longer grazing season. a) Efficacy of botanical wormers? Are products on the market worth the money? b) Effects of organic and conventional treatments on parasites? 3. Farmers need more information about FDA requiring all barns used to store food to be registered. Is there a minimum of $500,000 in farm revenues on this? Executive Committee determined this was actually not a research item, but a concern that needs to be directed to FDA for an answer. 4. How to improve land with low inputs, especially land with C+ slopes, and silvopasture. This is a primary concern, especially given losing moderate quality land to corn production and pushing marginal land into production and grazing. 5. Evaluate and promote forage species and improved varieties under grazing management and changing climatic and soil conditions with emphasis on extending the grazing season. Research problems with orchardgrass persistence. Specifically why is orchardgrass dying? - What is being done with this 2012 priority? 6. Determine the management strategies and costs of transition or conversion from row crops to productive and sustainable grazing lands and soils. How do you start the soil biological com-munity when transitioning from row crop to grazing lands? Study leading edge advances in alternative energy sources. 7. Quantify the economics of whole-farm systems including the effects of breed selection, livestock diversification, and grazing management on animals and pasture health to promote safe, healthy, and secure local community food systems. *Summarize CLA and human nutritional benefits present in grass-fed products. 8. Determine the environmental impacts and profitability of alternative supplemental feeding strat-egies for animals on high quality pastures. *What is the effect of stock density as it pertains to soil health and animal health? Compare high density or mob stocking to management inten-sive grazing. (Editor's note: This may be more a matter of definition of what mob stocking is. See Soder poster paper abstract, Case Study: Dairies Utilizing Mob Grazing in the Northeast, in com-panion document, NEPC 2013 Annual Conference Poster Paper Abstracts.) 9. Evaluate increasing production and quality management aspects of pasture-based animal products. What is the potential to increase production and what is the capacity of supply and demand? 10. Identify and address the limiting factors and marketing opportunities in dairy and livestock pas-ture-based production systems. Produce summaries that are accessible to Extension education and other non-profits. 11. Explore new alternatives for transfer of knowledge and information to increase adoption of re-search findings with the agricultural community such as mentoring, case studies, and creative use of technology in promotional materials. Produce summaries that are accessible to Extension Education and other non-profits. The Public Sector came up similar suggestions for needed research. They included orchardgrass die-off, demonstrating the water quality effect of livestock in grazed riparian areas, and silvopasture research. The silvopasture research area was extended to include conversion of understocked or low quality tree forestland to pasture. After lunch recess, Session 3, Economics of Confinement Dairy Farms versus Pasture Dairy Farms, began at 1:30 PM. Jim Cropper introduced Jason Karszes, Senior Extension Associate, Cornell University Dairy Farm Business Management Program. Jason Karszes' presentation looked at the session's title from the perspective of a business analyst. Each year DFBS compares grazing perform-ance to non-grazing performance. Grazing has been consistently better financially than confinement dairy farms. However, the spread has been shrinking. 2011 was the first year since the project started that non-grazing dairies out-performed grazing dairies. One big reason seems to be the steadily declin-ing amount of milk produced per grazing cow since 2006. After Jason, Wally and Eric Sheffer, Sheffer's Grassland Dairy, Hoosic Fall, NY gave a pasture-based dairyman's perspective on the profitability of stocking lactating dairy cows on pasture. They had 188 lactating dairy cows in 2012 and intend to increase that to 200 cows in 2013. They built a double-12 swing parlor and holding area, using logged wood from their farm and sawed into lumber at their own sawmill during the winter of 2007-08. They have increased forage production on their pastures from 5000 pounds per acre annually to 8000 pounds per acre by reseeding their pastures to improved grass varieties and eradicating tall fescue. They use the tools, the Dairy Farm Business Summary that Jason Karszes presented and the Dairy Profit Monitor, to help measure and monitor performance and progress. At 3:00 PM, the poster break session was held in Salon C. The poster paper titles and authors are listed below by topic of interest: Inventorying and Monitoring Pastures Application of Rising Plate Meter to Estimate Forage Yield on Dairy Farms in Pennsylvania. Authors: Hafla, Aimee1*, Kathy Soder2, Melissa Rubano3, and Robert Stout4. 1*Post Doctoral Research Animal Scientist, 2Animal Scientist, 3Agricultural Science Research Technician, 4Agronomist, USDA/Agricultural Research Service, Pasture Systems & Watershed Management Research Unit, University Park, PA 16802 Pastures from Space: What can we learn from satellite images? Author: Goslee, Sarah*. *Ecologist, USDA/Agricultural Research Service, Pasture Systems & Watershed Management Research Unit, University Park, PA 16802 Nutrient Management on Pasture-Based Farms Raw Waste Milk as a Pasture Amendment Authors: Hilshey, Bridgett1, Sid Bosworth2*, and Josef Gorres3. 1Graduate Student, 2*Extension Agronomist and Instructor, 3Associate Professor, Plant and Soil Science Dept., University of Vermont, Burlington, VT 05405 Bedded Pack on Five Vermont Farms Authors: Gilker, Rachel1*, Deborah Neher2, Joshua Bakelaar3, Mark Cannella4, Jennifer Colby5. 1*Partner & Research Consultant, Vermont Pasture Network, University of Vermont Center for Sustainable Agriculture, Colchester, VT 05446 2Chair and Professor of Soil Ecology, Plant & Soil Science, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT 05405 3Former Graduate Student, Plant & Soil Science, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT 05405 4Farm Business Management Specialist, Extension - Programming & Faculty Support, University of Vermont, Berlin, VT 05602 5Program Coordinator, Vermont Pasture Network, University of Vermont Center for Sustainable Agriculture, Colchester, VT 05446 Bedded Pack System Assessment in Vermont Authors: Alvez, Juan P.1*, 2Jennifer Colby, and 3Rachel Gilker. 1*Pasture Program Technical Coordinator, Vermont Pasture Network, UVM Extension, Center for Sustainable Agriculture, Colchester, VT 05446 2Program Coordinator, Vermont Pasture Network, University of Vermont Center for Sustainable Agriculture, Colchester, VT 05446 3Partner & Research Consultant, Vermont Pasture Network, University of Vermont Center for Sustainable Agriculture, Colchester, VT 05446 Forage Management on Pastures Alternative Forages, Formerly Known as Weeds Authors: Gilker, Rachel1*, Sid Bosworth2, Jenn Colby3, Kathy Voth4. 1*Partner & Research Consultant, Vermont Pasture Network, University of Vermont Center for Sustainable Agriculture, Colchester, VT 05446 2Extension Agronomist and Instructor, University of Vermont Plant and Soil Science Department, Burlington, VT 05405-0082 3Program Coordinator, Vermont Pasture Network, University of Vermont Center for Sustainable Agriculture, Colchester, VT 05446 4Consultant, Livestock for Landscapes, LLC, Loveland, CO 80538 Case Study: Dairies Utilizing Mob Grazing in the Northeast. Authors: Soder, Kathy1*, Mena Hautau2, Melissa Rubano3, Aimee Hafla4, Brian Moyer5, and Robert Stout6. 1*Animal Scientist, USDA/Agricultural Research Service, Pasture Systems & Watershed Management Research Unit, University Park, PA 16802 2Extension Educator-Field Crop Systems, Berks Co Cooperative Extension, Pennsylvania State University, Leesport, PA 19533 3Agricultural Science Research Technician, USDA/Agricultural Research Service, Pasture Systems & Watershed Management Research Unit, University Park, PA 16802 4Post Doctoral Research Animal Scientist, USDA/Agricultural Research Service, Pasture Systems & Watershed Management Research Unit, University Park, PA 16802 5Program Assistant, Pennsylvania State Extension, Allentown, PA & Owner and Operator of Green Haven Farm in Berks County, PA 6Agronomist, USDA/Agricultural Research Service, Pasture Systems & Watershed Management Research Unit, University Park, PA 16802 Investigating Livestock Agriculture Impacts on the Environment & the Economy Livestock GRACEnet Presenter: Skinner, R. Howard*. USDA/Agricultural Research Service, Pasture Systems & Watershed Management Research Unit, University Park, PA 16802 Author: Leytem, April. Research Soil Scientist, USDA/Agricultural Research Service, Northwest Irrigation and Soils Research Laboratory, Kimberly, Idaho 83341 Dairy Systems and Sustainability Authors: Alvez, Juan P.1*, Allen Matthews2, Jon Erickson3, Joshua Farley4, Abdon L. Schmitt5. 1*Pasture Program Technical Coordinator, Vermont Pasture Network, UVM Extension, Center for Sustainable Agriculture, Colchester, VT 05446 2Program Coordinator, Chatham University, School of Sustainability and the Environment, Pittsburgh, PA 15232 3Professor and Interim Dean, University of Vermont, Rubenstein School of Env. and Nat. Resources, Burlington, VT, 05405 4Associate Professor, University of Vermont, Community Development and Applied Economics, Burlington VT, 05405 5Visiting Scholar, University of Vermont, Gund Institute for Ecological Economics, Burlington VT, 05405 Possible Tools for Pasture Soil Quality: Keyline Plowing and Forage Radishes Authors: Gilker, Rachel1*, Josef Gorres2. 1*Partner & Research Consultant, Vermont Pasture Network, University of Vermont Center for Sustainable Agriculture, Colchester, VT 05446 2Associate Professor, Plant and Soil Science Dept., University of Vermont, Burlington, VT 05405 Evaluating Agricultural Management Strategies In The Upper Chesapeake Bay Watershed Authors: A. D. McLean1, T. L. Veith2*, C. A. Rotz2, J. M. Hamlett1, J. S. Shortle3 1 Agricultural and Biological Engineering, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA. 2 USDA-ARS Pasture Systems and Watershed Management Research Unit, University Park, PA. 3 Agricultural and Environmental Economics, Pennsylvania State University Grazing-Based Food Systems in the Northeast Author: Goslee, Sarah*. *Ecologist, USDA/Agricultural Research Service, Pasture Systems & Watershed Management Research Unit, University Park, PA 16802 Nutritional Quality of Pasture-Based Dairy Milk Case History: Tracking the Nutritional Value of Milk from Transitioning-to-Organic Dairy Herd Authors: D.L. Van Hekken1*, M.H. Tunick1, M. Paul1, E.R. Ingham2, R. Seidel3, and P.M. Tomasula4 1*Research Chemist(s), USDA/Agricultural Research Service, Dairy and Functional Foods Research Unit, Eastern Regional Research Center, Wyndmoor, PA 19038 2Chief Scientist, Rodale Institute, Kutztown, PA 19530 3Research Agroecologist and Farming Systems Trial Project Leader, Rodale Institute, Kutztown, PA 19530 4Research Leader, USDA/Agricultural Research Service, Dairy and Functional Foods Research Unit, Eastern Regional Research Center, Wyndmoor, PA 19038 *Presenter and/or Principal Correspondent The abstracts of these poster papers are available for reading in another document, NEPC 2013 Annual Conference Poster Paper Abstracts. Agricultural Research Service Report Upon reconvening back at Salon A at 3:45 PM where the general session was being held, Jim Cropper called upon Dr. Peter Kleinman to give a brief Agricultural Research Service (ARS) Report to the Con-sortium members. Peter announced the formation of the USDA Long-Term Agro-ecosystem Research (LTAR) Network administered by ARS. The Pasture Systems and Watershed Management Research Unit at University Park was one of the 4 pillars of pasture research within ARS. The other 3 research units were the Grazinglands Research Laboratory's Forage and Livestock Production Research Unit at El Reno, OK, the Northern Great Plains Research Laboratory at Mandan, North Dakota, and the South Atlantic Area Crop Genetics and Breeding Research Unit at Tifton, GA. This was extremely good news. This, along with the research unit's involvement in the Grazing Lands Conservation Effects Assessment Program in determining the effects of NRCS conservation practices on the environment and the grazing land resource, bodes well for the continuation of the research unit for some time into the future. This was heartening after the loss of two ARS research units in fiscal year 2012 that col-laborated with the Northeast Pasture Consortium, Coshocton, OH and Beaver, WV. The conference then proceeded with its scheduled Session 4, Developing Economic and Energy Tools to Aid Farmer Decision-Making a few minutes late. Jennifer Colby, Program Coordinator of the Vermont Pasture Network at UVM, Colchester moderated this session. She introduced Dr. Eric Garza, who gave a presentation entitled Energy Life Cycle Assessment in Food Systems. Eric gave some background information on economic theory as it applies to the Conservation Innovation Grant project on developing economic and energy tools to aid pasture-based farmer decision-making. Jenn Colby then took the floor to wrap up this technical session. She gave some history on dairy farm economics. However, this has been a dairy focus. It has extensive records so it is a great snapshot of grazing dairy farm profitability running now over a decade of results. Expanding economic analysis into non-dairy is challenged by a lack of farm numbers in the New England area but not in the Northeast Region. In closing, Jennifer asked the question, "How to address the challenge?" The CIG Energy project goals are to use this opportunity to look at energy use in a new way and incorporate that perspective into day-to-day farm-level decisions. Many of the farmer members of the Consortium could participate in this project for their own edification and give the project the requisite sample size and scope. The general session then recessed for dinner. At 7:00 PM, the members returned to Salon A for the Evening Session, Producer Showcase - Bedded Pack, the Complete Scoop. Mark Russell, Swallowdale Farm, Orwell, VT gave his presentation, Bedded Pack - Challenges and Benefits. A major challenge is to design and build housing that is big enough to house the dairy herd and have sidewalls that can take the pressure of the bedded pack as it builds up overwinter against them. The facility is a major invest-ment, but if designed right, it can lead to these benefits: cow comfort during the winter season, strong sidewalls to keep the building wall from kicking out, and provide a good feeding area when it is too muddy or deep in snow outside. The other challenge is to harvest enough bedding material. Mark bales up reed canarygrass hay to use as bedding material. The bedded pack is removed from the loafing shed when the ground is dry enough to support machinery. It is composted and then spread on fields during warm weather. With the impending snowstorm bearing down on Manchester, Session 5, Grain Supplementation Economics and Strategies for Pasture Dairy Cows began right after Mark Russell's presentation. Dr. Andre Brito moderated this session. Andre introduced Dr. Hubert Karreman, DVM, Organic Valley CO-OP, Penn Dutch Cow Care, Lancaster, PA. Dr. Karreman presented Reading and Feeding Cows on Pasture. Dr. Karreman described how to tell if a cow had a full rumen or not since this is of daily importance in her producing the most milk. It was also important to note whether a cow had a full belly or not as this reflects how her forage intake has been for the last week. He also cited some work being done by Organic Valley looking at the difference between organic milk from pastured cows versus conventionally fed cows' milk in fatty acid content, principally omega-3 and omega-6. Organic Valley milk had a much lower ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 of 2.17:1 than conventional milk, 5.26:1 on average. There was a wide variation in these ratios depending on region of the country, however. After Dr. Karreman finished his presentation, Fay Benson, Project Manager NY Organic Dairy Initiative, Cornell University, introduced the subject of feeding barley fodder (sprouts) to organic dairy cows and then, farmer speaker, John Stoltzfus, Be-A-Blessing Organic Dairy near Whitesville, NY, who explained how he grows barley fodder for his milking herd. He hydroponically grows barley sprouts and feeds them to his lactating cows since they are high in protein and fiber, and are naturally balanced in protein, fat and energy. Compared to corn, barley fodder has 95% of the energy and higher digestibility. Barley fodder is one of the most nutritious sprouts being full of essential nutrients, vitamins, and minerals. Feeding barley fodder improves the overall health and well-being of the cows, and they eagerly eat it. This ended all the technical presentations. An abbreviated business meeting followed and the conference was adjourned shortly after 9:00 PM. Brent Beidler, Beidler Family Farm, Randolph Center, VT was to make the last presentation for the session, Grain Supplementation Economics and Strategies for Pastured Dairy Cows. However, due to the weather he was unable to attend in person and our attempts to schedule him to use the speaker phone Thursday evening failed. His PowerPoint presentation was forwarded to us and was incor-porated into the Conference's proceedings. Two agencies reports, NIFA and NRCS, were prepared for the 2013 Annual Conference to be given by speaker phone message during the Reports Session Friday afternoon, February 8. They could not be delivered due to the cancellation of the second day of the Conference, February 8 due to a major snow storm that swept in Friday. They are listed here for completeness and were transcribed in the Confer-ence's proceedings to inform the membership of recent developments in grant funding and technical assistance for grazing lands. James B. Dobrowolski, USDA-National Institute of Food & Agriculture National Program Leader for Rangeland and Grassland Ecosystems, prepared a presentation, NIFA Update: USDAs Extramural Funding for Pasture and Grazing Land Research, Education and Outreach. The Natural Resources Conservation Service agency report was prepared by Kevin Ogles, Grazing Specialist, East National Technology Support Center, USDA-NRCS.

1. Two newsletters were published, one in July and another in November of 2012, and distributed primarily as attachments to emails to all of the membership. 2. The 2013 Annual Conference and Meeting of the Consortium was held on February 7 at the Radisson Downtown Hotel and Conference Center in Manchester, NH. It was to be a 2-day conference, but the second day, February 8, was canceled due to Snowstorm Nemo's arrival on that day. Fifty-seven people attended the annual meeting. Several people had to cancel at the last minute as Nemo arrived on the second day of the annual meeting. Some state university and federal personnel were unable to attend due to travel restrictions caused by budget cuts. 3. The proceedings of the 2013 annual conference and meeting including power point presenta-tions and handouts, poster paper abstracts, and speaker biographical sketches are cued up to be put on the Consortium website, Northeast Grazing Guide, for post-meeting access. 4. The Northeast Grazing Guide website for the Consortium is at: http://grazingguide.net/. Sarah Goslee of Agricultural Research Service Research Unit at University Park, PA is our web master. 5. The letter of pledge/support written in April 2012 for a Natural Resources Conservation Service Conservation Innovation Grant (CIG) proposal entitled Energy savings through holistic planned grazing and management submitted by the University of Vermont Center for Sustain-able Agriculture, Pasture Network and Pasture Program, bore fruit. The grant proposal was approved in August 2012. It was presented at the 2013 Annual Consortium Conference by Jennifer Colby and Eric Garza so farmer members could see how their farms' records could be used in the grant study to produce new economic and energy tools to make rational choices between grazing or harvesting forages, and between options available when managing grazing livestock and forage species composition on pastures. 6. USDA research grant proposal submitted in 2011 by Dr. Andre Brito of the University of New Hampshire (OREI Integrated Project Proposal entitled Assisting Organic Dairy Producers to Meet the Demands of New and Emerging Milk Markets) was funded in 2012. The Consortium had written a letter of support in February 2011 for this proposal at Andre's request. James Cropper, Executive Director, serves on the Advisory Board for this OREI project. He participated in the first advisory board meeting on September 27, 2012 at Brattleboro, VT. This research project was showcased at the 2013 Annual Consortium Conference in its 3 components: feeding flaxseed as a supplement to organic dairy cows, ryegrass varietal blends forage trials, and on-farm sourcing of bedding from pine wood chips and heat-recovery composting of the soiled bedding. Collaborators with UNH are University of Vermont, USDA-ARS at University Park, PA, University of Maine, and Cornell University. 7. Sent support letter in March 2012 to Diane VanHekken, ARS Wyndmoor, PA for their USDA Organic Research and Extension Incentive (OREI) research project proposal "On-Farm and Milk Processing Factors that Affect the Beneficial Compounds of Organic Milk". Unfortunately, this proposal was not funded in 2012. It was ranked as outstanding, the highest level in scoring, but still did not get selected for funding. However, they have forged ahead with ARS funding and are collaborating with Rodale Institute looking at the difference on amount bioactive compounds in milk between grazing cows and confinement fed cows using 2 farms near the Rodale Institute. Although there are various claims that there is no difference in milk constituents based on what lactating cows are fed, there is growing evidence that this is far from the truth. It really depends on which constituents are being monitored and how they are affected by heat pasteurization. Diane reported on their preliminary work with a poster paper at the 2013 Annual Consortium Conference. 8. Pasture Systems and Watershed Management Research Unit, University Park, PA was named as one of 4 ARS sites doing Conservation Effects Assessment Program work on pasture resource conservation practice effectiveness in enhancing productivity and environmental protection. 9. Kept all members of the Consortium up-to-date on 2012 Farm Bill progress in the US Senate and House of Representatives throughout 2012. It was not passed by the House so a continuing resolution was passed to keep the 2008 Farm Bill provisions in place for the 2013 fiscal year. 10. Kept the Executive Committee abreast of the disposition of the ARS North Appalachian Experimental Watershed at Coshocton, OH. It was closed as an ARS research facility in 2012. Negotiations are on-going with Ohio State University and ARS for Ohio State to assume control of the federal research acreage. Our interest is to make sure the lysimeters and gauging stations at the research unit remain in place and continue to collect rain infiltration and runoff and soil water balance data from pastured fields. 11. Jim Cropper, Executive director, participated in the Nutrient Management Expert Panel of the Chesapeake Bay Agricultural Work Group via teleconferencing and Share Point during 2012. Provided input on pasture nutrient management issues to support modeling of nitrogen and phosphorus runoff to the Bay from the pasture landuse. 12. Jim Cropper, Executive director, also participated via speaker phone with the Chesapeake Bay Ag. Workgroup at several teleconferences held throughout the year to provide input on how to improve conservation practice data collection and upgrade the Bay Model to increase its precision in modeling conservation practices effects in reducing sediment, phosphorus, and nitrogen loads to Bay waters. 13. Teleconferences are held monthly by the Executive Committee to plan the next annual meeting and address other issues that come up during the year. 14. Forward email message to Private Sector Dairy members and Dairy Scientists about the 2012 Mid-Atlantic Dairy Grazing Conference that was held at Chestertown, MD on July 25-27. This conference is yearly and is headed up by Dr. Steve Washburn at NC State. This was the first year it was held in the Northeast Region. 15. Jim Cropper, Executive Director, reviewed, edited, and added narrative and photographs to the NEERA-1000 Northeast Pasture Consortium Impact Statement that was being prepared by a new Impact Communications Specialist at Colorado State for Multistate Research Fund projects. The final impact statement was released on August 31. It was sent electronically to Consortium members and allied groups and agencies. 16. A Final Report of the Northeast Pasture Consortium was sent to ARS at their request in December 2012. This report was required by ARS to document what they received from the Northeast Pasture Consortium for their funding it over a 5-year period that ended in fiscal year 2011, September 30, 2011. Some of the funding was carried over and spent in fiscal year 2012. 17. Continuing education credit (CEU) requests were sent to the American Society of Agronomy and the American Forage & Grassland Council for certified crop advisors and certified forage and grassland professionals, respectively for the 2013 Annual Northeast Pasture Consortium Conference and Meeting. These were granted prior to the conference and certified crop advisors and grassland professionals in attendance were able to get CEU's by signing their names to a sign-in sheet for each session granted CEU's. 18. Letter of support sent in February 2013 to Dr. Andre Brito of the University of New Hampshire for a research grant from USDA-AFRI's Foundational Program for a proposal entitled: "Forage-Based Approaches for Improved Profitability and Ecosystem Services of Dairy Farms." This was approved for funding. Collaborators with UNH are Pennsylvania State University and USDA-ARS, University Park, PA. 19. Revised and updated research need priorities at the 2013 Northeast Pasture Consortium Annual Conference and Meeting. See the summary minutes of the conference for details.

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