Managing Livestock on Pasture Workshop to be hosted by the Piscataquis County Soil and Water Conservation District

Effective livestock management can be influenced by many factors, which differ depending upon the type of livestock. Whether you are managing beef or dairy cows, goats, sheep, horses or other animals, or interested in doing so, please join us on Saturday, April 5^th from 9:00AM to noon at the Sangerville Community Room for a Managing Livestock on Pasture Workshop, where you can learn about how to harvest more high quality forage through livestock grazing, how to identify and manage weeds and other related topics.

 How USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service programs can assist you with effective livestock management will also be discussed. This workshop is being hosted by the Piscataquis County Soil and Water Conservation District (PCSWCD), in partnership with the University of Maine Cooperative Extension Piscataquis County office, and sponsored by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS).

Donna Coffin, the University of Maine Cooperative Extension Educator in Piscataquis County for over 30 years will be a featured presenter at the Managing Livestock on Pasture Workshop. Her areas of expertise include sustainable agriculture and home horticulture for Piscataquis and Penobscot counties. She also plans statewide programs for the beef and horse industry. She received her Master of Science degree from the University of Maine in Animal Science in the area of animal nutrition.

USDA-NRCS Financial and Technical Assistance Programs that are available for livestock producers will be discussed by Lance Gorham, USDA-NRCS Resource Conservationist. Gorham received his Bachelors of Science in Forestry from the University of Missouri. He later received a Master of Studies in Environmental Law and a Juris Doctor from Vermont Law School. He worked throughout the Southeast with the United States Geological Survey-National Wetlands Research Center before moving to New England in 2000. In his work as a USDA-NRCS Resource Conservationist, Gorham applies his lifelong passion of natural resource management to help landowners in Maine. He also works with land trusts to ensure farm and forestlands are preserved for future generations.

Workshop participants will have the opportunity to ask questions about effective livestock management. Informational handouts will be provided to support the topics discussed during the workshop.

Although there is no cost for the Managing Livestock on Pasture Workshop, pre-registration is required by Monday, March 31^st. For more information and to pre-register, please stop by our office at the USDA Service Center, located at the Pine Crest Business Park at 42 Engdahl Drive in Dover-Foxcroft. You may also pre-register by emailing the PCSWCD at info@piscataquisswcd.org or by calling 564 – 2321, Extension 3. If you need special accommodations to attend this workshop, please notify the PCSWCD by March 28^th.