By Julia Riesman, Vt Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets Intern
Have you worked with technical assistance providers on your farm? In Vermont, technical assistance is available for free to farmers who are seeking to improve water quality, soil health, or conservation practices on their farms. Technical assistance providers partner with farmers to design solutions on their farm and can assist with navigating funding for conservation practices. This support is funded in part through the Agency of Agriculture’s Agriculture Clean Water Initiative Grant Program (Ag-CWIP) and is available through a network of partner organizations, including UVM Extension.
One of many people available to help on UVM Extension’s team is grazing specialist Amber Reed, who over the past year made 95 farm visits on 66 different farms, in over 49 Vermont towns. When working with farmers, her goal is to help with the practical application of what works on their land, within their parameters, and with a design that allows for pragmatic use of the farmer’s time and energy. To best offer practical advice, she often implements new practices on her own farm and adapts based on what she observes to be working. For example, she is currently experimenting with new livestock watering systems, agroforestry, and parasite monitoring with grazing related adjustments with her own sheep.
Highlighting the impact of technical assistance, Amber described a success story for one farm that came her way looking to redesign their grazing plan and map. Wetland grazing had been contributing to poor pasture health and creating foot problems, so the farm was seeking to address these challenges. Amber and other TA providers helped the farm to apply to the Agency’s Pasture and Surface Water Fencing (PSWF) program, through which they fenced the cattle out of wetlands and installed livestock pipeline across their farm. The farm re-adjusted their grazing map, increasing rest periods and adding new paddocks. The adjustments reduced back grazing, which is when livestock are not excluded from already grazed fields. Amber and her colleagues introduced the farm to CREP, the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program, which pays annually in compensation for the environmentally sensitive wetland taken out of agricultural production. Additionally, a nutritionist was brought in to advise on adjustments that supported herd health and milk quality. Technical Assistance can range from this kind of transformative collaboration to simply answering a question through a phone call, an email, or an on-site visit.
When asked about her #1 piece of advice she wished more grazers would consider, Amber cautioned against overstocking animals above what the acreage can sustain. She recommended several ways to keep livestock from damaging fields, and ways to break a cycle of overgrazing. She advises farmers to have a backup plan for additional acres, emergency stockpile of hay, or stock reduction in case of flood or drought conditions.
For more information about UVM Extension’s technical assistance contact Jascha Jascha.Pick@uvm.edu or visit their website at https://www.uvm.edu/extension/grazing-technical-assistance-resources. You can reach out to Amber Reed for grazing-related assistance at (802) 535-2262. For grazing assistance through the Agency of Agriculture, you can contact Connor Steckel at connor.steckel@vermont.gov.
There are many technical assistance providers that serve farmers statewide and can be a valuable resource to your farm. For a more complete list of the Ag-CWIP partners, who can provide technical assistance in various areas, visit https://agriculture.vermont.gov/agricultural-clean-water-initiative-program.
