The 2013 Kentucky Grazing School will be Aug. 21-22 in Woodford County. Informational sessions will be held at the Woodford County Extension office, with hands-on activities taking place at the University of Kentucky’s C. Oran Little Research Center.

Hosted by extension specialists from the UK College of Agriculture, Food and Environment, the school begins at 7:30 a.m. and ends at 5:30 p.m. EDT both days. Presenters will offer valuable educational information for new and experienced grazing systems managers.

The school will cover grazing information specific to Kentucky and will focus on summer and fall grazing options. A unique feature of the program gives participants the opportunity to design a grazing system based on their property. Organizers ask that participants bring a printed aerial map of their farm to the school. Maps are available through the local Farm Service Agency or online through Google Maps.

During the first day, participants will work in groups to install a rotational grazing system including assessing pasture yield and setting up small paddocks. Cattle will then graze the paddocks. On the second day, the participants will observe the grazed paddocks and hear reports from each group.

In addition, UKAg specialists in forages, beef cattle, dairy cattle and veterinary science will present a variety of topics ranging from meeting nutritional needs on pasture to implementing a grazing system. A representative from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service will discuss available cost-share programs, and a representative from a fencing company will share fence-building tips. Members of a producer panel will also share their grazing experiences with school participants.

Preregistration is necessary, and Aug. 14 is the deadline to register. Enrollment is limited to the first 45 registrants. Applications are available online at the UK Grazing website at http://www2.ca.uky.edu/grazer or through the county offices of the UK Cooperative Extension Service. Registration is $50 and includes all materials, grazing manual, breaks and lunch for both days. Checks should be made payable to the Kentucky Forage and Grassland Council. Checks and registration applications should be mailed to Kelly Kramer, 804 W.P. Garrigus Building, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40546-0215.

For more information, contact UK master grazer coordinator Kelly Kramer at 859-257-7512 or by email at kelly.kramer@uky.edu.