Brief Summary of Minutes of Annual Meeting

The Consortium met on January 23 and 24, 2003 in Montpelier, VT. This was the largest of the seven annual meetings held to date. This year, 62 persons attended - 23 producers from 12 states (Connecticut, Deleware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and Virginia); 16 persons from land-grant universities; 12 from the USDA/Natural Resources Conservation Service; 7 from the USDA/Agricultural Research Service; 2 from agri-business; and 2 from non-government organizations.

The group heard presentations on a number of topics, which included:(1) Outreach to grazing dairy farmers: progress and percieved needs - Steve Washburn, North Carolina State University,(2)Pasture research and education needs for New England - Tim Barrows, Vermont Grass Farmers‘ Association,(3)The new farm bill and how it can benefit grassland farmers - Robert Paquin, Senator Leahy‘s office and Bill Tucker, American Forage and Grassland Council,(4)Panel discussion: Opportunities for collaborative educational programs for graziers in the Northeast Region, Jana Malot representing USDA/NRCS, Sid Bosworth representing land-grant universities, Bryan Petrucci representing non-government organizations, and Larry Shearer representing producers,(5)Private sector feedback and ideas - Steve Derrenbacher,(6)Applied research and education funding opportunities - David Holm, Northeast Region SARE Program,(7) Developing markets for grass fed animal products - Ridgway Shinn III, New England Livestock Alliance,(8) Forage initiatives and plans in USDA/ARS - Ray Bryant, Neal Martin, Ev Byington, (9) Update on Northeast Grazing Guide Website, development and funding needs - Rick Kersbergen and Jim Cropper.

The following action items had been set for the past year:(1) Update and continue development of the NE Grazing Guide website, (2) Continue to facilitate and support grant proposals that address priority pasture research and education needs for the NE region, (3) Assist and support the planned dairy grazing educational efforts of Dr. Steve Washburn and Massachusetts producer Larry Shearer, (4) Serve as an advocate for legislation and appropriations that support the pasture priorities of livestock producers of the NE region, (5) Obtain financial support to continue the work of the NE Pasture Research and Extension Consortium.

Accomplishments under each of these action items were as follows:(1) The web site was maintained and updated throughout the year by Rick Kersbergen. Rick and Jim Cropper distributed a report on several updates and improvements to the website. Jim developed and lead a website committee (Jim Cropper, NRCS; Rick Kersbergen, Univ. of Maine; Larry Muller, Penn State; Steve Boyles, Ohio State; John Berry, Penn State Coop. Ext.; Larry Lohr, dairy producer; Ed Rayburn, West Virginia Univ.) in 2002, and the committee met by teleconference to outline needs to improve and expand the website. Jim asked for input on the disclaimer that was added to the website (see the Links page www.umaine.edu/grazingguide/) and asked for input on the wording by February 28, 2003. Plans for the website include adding a glossary of terms and expanding the grass and legume identification sections. (2)The private sector wrote a letter to Mark Bailey of the USDA-IFAFS program encouraging more support for grazing research and education efforts in the next IFAFS Research Funding Announcement. Unfortunately, the IFAFS program in its current form was closed. A grant proposal developed by Jon Winsten on Estimating the Environmental Benefits of Expanded Dairy Grazing was supported by the private sector members. The proposal was not funded, but Jon plans to revise the proposal and resubmit. (3) The Consortium provided financial support to Steve Washburn of North Carolina State Univesity to develop a dairy grazing outreach effort. Steve held or participated in several pasture walks and large grazing meetings during May to September of 2002. Steve made six trips to the northeast, averaging one week per trip, to conduct this educational effort. Several producers also contributed to this effort by providing accommodations for Steve.(4) Twenty-five producers from eleven states promised to send letters to their legislators in support of new funding for an experimental grazing farm and research facility to be located at Coshocton, Ohio research facility of the USDA/Agricultural Research Service. Efforts are still underway to move this project forward. (5) A Specific Cooperative Agreement was established between the USDA/ARS and Penn State University to continue funding of the Pasture Consortium. Financial support of $10,000 was provided by the North Atlantic Area Office of the USDA/ARS to continue base support of the Consortium for two more years.

Action items for the coming year were discussed. The following items were agreed upon as high priority issues: (1) Continued advocacy for the USDA/ARS National Dairy Forage Research Initiative, which includes resources for the Coshocton research location and University Park, among other locations in the U. S. A committee of five to six private sector members will work with Bill Tucker, legislative laison for the American Forage and Grassland Council, on this effort. (2) Explore opportunities to recruit an international grazing expert to serve as a resource person to northeast graziers. Nate Leonard of New York indicated that there may be an opportunity through the New Zealand Trade Development Group for this effort. (3) Secure long-term funding for the Consortium. (4) Secure long-term funding for the website. There currently are no funds to support its maintenance and improvement. (5)Continue support and advocacy for private and public grant proposals that align with the priorities of the Consortium.

The location of our next annual meeting was discussed. Several potential sites were mentioned including Grantville, Pennnsylvania (again in conjunction with the Pennsylvania grazing conference); Frederick, Maryland; State College, Pennsylvania (just before the annual Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture conference in early February); Shepherd College in West Virginia; or a site near Washington, D.C. The Executive Committee will consider the options and decide on the location and time.

Several grazing related meetings were announced: (1) A meeting on nutrition for grazing cattle will be held March 31 at Grantville,PA. Contact Larry Muller at Penn State for more information. (2) The Pennsylvania Forage and Grazing Conference will be held in Grantville, PA on March 5 and 6. Contact Marvin Hall at Penn State for more information. (3) The American Forage and Grassland Council annual meetings will be held April 24-26 at Lafayette, Louisiana. See www.afgc.org. (4) The National GLCI grazing lands conference will be held December 2003 in Nashville, Tennessee.

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