Friday, October 1, 2021, 10:00 am until 2:30 pm
Great Northern Farm, 1716 Fisk Road, Eaton (Madison County
The Cornell Small Farms Veterans Farm-Ops Program, and the Canandaigua VA, in collaboration with Cornell Cooperative Extension of Chenango County and assistance from the Chobani Foundation will be offering this program on how to set up a grazing and fencing program for livestock. Any Active-Duty Military and Veterans residing in NY State are eligible to attend: non-veterans will be allowed on a space available basis and registration will be capped at 20 attendees. Great Northern Farm is owned and operated by Army Veteran and longtime farmer and CCE Grazing, Forestry, and Animal Science Educator Rich Taber and his wife Wendy. The Tabers have been raising beef cattle, sheep, and dairy heifers on the farm for years. Rich has completely redesigned the grazing system during the 2021 grazing season. On the 165-acre farm there are 30 acres of improved rotational grazing, twelve acres of unimproved grazing, and a five-acre winter sacrifice/feeding lot. Rich will explain how he reclaims old fields using brush hogs, native seedbanks, a few fertility inputs, and animals, using the principles of regenerative agriculture, and as inexpensively as possible. This year he subdivided the 30 acres of grazing into seven paddocks, using electrified rope for the divisions. After lunch a walk around the farm will be used to show how the theories of grazing have been applied to this cold, high elevation property. Cost of attending will be free, with a limit of 20 attendees, preference being given to Veterans. Lunch and refreshments will be provided. All attendees will be provided (at no cost to the attendees) with a copy of Sarah Flack’s excellent book “The Art and Science of Grazing”, which retails for $30.00. Pre-registration is required and can be done by phone; leave a message at 607-334-5841 ext. 1121 or email rbt44@cornell.edu not later than Wednesday, September 28, 2021. Please leave your name, Veteran status, phone number, and a good email contact so we can contact you. Further questions can be directed to Rich Taber at email rbt44@cornell.edu or phone 607-334-5841, ext. 1121.
