Anytime cattle producers can increase the productivity of their land, it assures more grazing days for livestock and a more profitable outcome for the producer. The University of Kentucky College of Agriculture will offer a two-day grazing school Oct. 14 and 15 at the Bourbon County Extension Office in Paris. Participants will gain valuable knowledge in classroom and field settings.“We’ll be taking those who attend to a local producer’s farm,” said Donna Amaral-Phillips, UK Extension dairy nutritionist and co-coordinator of the school. “They’ll get to see how she uses rotational grazing techniques to maximize productivity on her farm.”In the classroom, participants will hear the latest information about the benefits of improved grazing, traditional forages, how grasses and legumes respond to grazing and how to meet nutritional needs on pasture.One project during the conference includes a case study.“We’ll give the participants details about a farm and ask them to think of it as if it were their own,” Amaral-Phillips said. “They’ll make hypothetical decisions about fencing, grazing and water.”At the end of the two days, participants will discuss their decisions and rationale with the group.Other topics include temporary fencing, value of shade and water, portable and seasonal watering, establishing forages in pasture systems, managing grazing systems for maximum grazing season, managing surpluses in grazing systems with baleage, forages for problem times, as well as minerals for grazing cattle, parasite control and rotational grazing, animal disorders on pasture and using grazing systems to meet water quality guidelines.Amaral-Phillips stressed there will be time for questions and a host of specialists will be available to answer them.The Kentucky Grazing School is co-sponsored by the UK College of Agriculture, the Natural Resources Conservation Service and the Kentucky Forage and Grassland Council. The school is a Beef Integrated Resource Management Program and is partially funded by a grant from the USDA Initiative for Future Agriculture and Food Systems.Early registration is encouraged because of limited space. A fee of $100 includes all materials, grazing manual, breaks and selected meals. The fee must be paid to hold a place in the grazing school.Make checks payable to Kentucky Forage and Grassland Council and send to Rebecca Smith, 400 W.P. Garrigus Building, Lexington, KY 40546-0215. For more information contact Donna Amaral-Phillips, (859) 257-7542.