DuBOIS, Pa. — Due to the high level of interest in this year’s grazing conference, the registration deadline for the 12th annual Northwest Pennsylvania Grazing Conference March 17 at the Tri County Church of God, in DuBois, Pa., has been extended to March 7.
Registration begins at 8 a.m.; the conference will start at 9:15 a.m.
Speakers
The conference’s featured speaker is Kit Pharo, a beef breeder and producer from Cheyenne Springs, Colo. Pharo will provide three hours of discussion on his three keys to profitability and why livestock producers should focus on profit rather than production.
Also on the program is John Vanderstappen, a dairy farmer from Mercer County, who will discuss how he combines his total mixed dairy ration with an intensive grazing system for 200 milking Jerseys.
Farmer panel
This year’s farmer panel will include three western Pa. graziers who will discuss the role grazing has played on their own operations: Michael Wright (Warren County) — sheep and goats, Alvin Vogel (Butler County) — beef cattle, and Junior Gilkinson (Warren County) — dairy.
One of the things that this year’s speakers have in common is that they all endorse the practice of using grassed-based agriculture as a means to a profitable agricultural operation.
This year’s registration fee is $25 and includes a hot buffet lunch.
More information
Brochures and conference information can be obtained by calling Headwaters RC&D at 814-375-1372, a local county office of the USDA, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Penn State Cooperative Extension, or county conservation district.
