Registration Open for 2024 Lost Rivers Grazing Academy: Regenerative Management of Irrigated Pastures September 10th-13th,2024

 

2024 Lost River Grazing Academy September 10-13, 2023
in Owyhee County Idaho 

Regenerative Management of Irrigated Pastures

The Lost Rivers Grazing Academy is a 4-day hands-on workshop for livestock operators and their advisers and consults that want to harvest and sell more of the sun’s energy through grazing, improve soil health, reduce erosion, and reduce costs, primarily on irrigated pastures.  The program includes morning classroom discussions of theory and practice with hands-on field activities in grazing management and pasture evaluation.

The Academy was first held in 1994 in the Lost River Valley and has been held at least once annually since then, except when disrupted by pandemic.  The program has won state and national awards for Extension programs and has been recognized internationally.  It has been attended by agency personnel and livestock operators from all over the western US, as well as from eastern US, Canada, Mexico, and South America.

The program will be provided by current, retired and emeritus members of the University of Idaho Extension, as well as our featured speaker, Jim Gerrish.  Jim, formerly with the Forage Systems Research Center of the University of Missouri, is known the world over for his expertise in the management of temperate climate and irrigated pastures.  He has extensive experience as a pasture researcher, grazier, and international grazing consultant.  He has authored the books Management-Intensive Grazing and Kick the Hay Habit. You won’t find anyone with more practical experience in forage management and livestock grazing than Jim.

The 2024 program will also feature presentations by Brad and Ben McIntyre. The McIntyre family started farming in 1910. The farm started with row crops and raising animals, including a small dairy and supplying local watermelons. They currently operate, McIntyre Pasture, a diversified crop and livestock operation raising grass-finished beef, pastured pigs, pastured poultry for both egg and meat production, a variety of crops, and have an on-farm retail store. They realized that life below ground was just as essential as life above. All the members of the McIntyre family, father and sons, are alumni of the Lost Rivers Grazing Academy.

Loren (father) and Ben and Brad (brothers) are the 3rd and 4th generations to operate the farm. Loren loves a good, new idea! Brad has a great passion for soil health and loves helping people build it. Ben enjoys working with the beef and hogs and loves to organize and operate harvesting. The McIntyres grind all their feed on farm for their omnivore animals (birds and pigs) and grow many of the inputs that go into the rations. 

The 2024 program will be held in Homedale and Marsing Idaho, located about 35 miles southwest of Boise. There are several vacation rentals (Airbnb or VRBO) as well as RV campgrounds in the area. Motels are available in Caldwell or Nampa. Continental breakfast, snacks, lunch and supper will be provided by the Academy.

The LRGA classroom activities will be held at the Owyhee County Community Building in Homedale (432 W. Nevada Ave). Field exercises will be held at McIntyre Pastures, just across the Snake River from Marsing. McIntyre Pastures is the direct marketing branch of McIntyre Farms, Inc. a family owned, diversified crop and livestock operation. 

All days begin at 8:00 a.m. at the Community Building with a continental breakfast, and the noon meal may be a working lunch.  The workshop is limited to 20 participants who will attend classes, manage a small herd of cattle and solve a variety of grazing problems in teams of 4-5.  Continental breakfast and snacks are available daily, as well as a catered lunch and supper, with entertaining after-supper activities to reinforce principles taught during the day.

REGISTRATION:

Full-time:
(Includes continental breakfasts, lunches, suppers, breaks, one set of materials per ranch or farm, plus evening presentations):

-Per Person $850

-Per Ranch or Farm team $850, plus $725 for each additional team member. (1 set of materials.)

Alumni: $725 (no materials)

Additional Materials: $150 per set

University of Idaho graduate level or professional development credit is available for an additional fee.  Please check with Scott. 

For More Information:

Scott Jensen at 208-896-4104 or-scottj@uidaho.edu in Marsing

Chad Cheyney at 208-940-0222 or ccheyney@uidaho.edu in Arco

Follow us on Facebook:

Brochure 

Idaho Ag Outlook Seminar Coming Near You in December

The Idaho Ag Outlook Seminar is a widely attended workshop where agricultural experts in farm management and marketing peer into what the next year might b ring to Idaho Agriculture

Click on Image to Enlarge

Rain Damaged Grain May Offer Feeding Opportunity for Beef Producers

John B. Hall, Ph.D., PAS

Extension Beef Specialist, University of Idaho

August rains may have helped out range and pastures, but they left
behind damaged hay and grain fields. Barley that sprouted in the head and rain damaged wheat may be an opportunity for feeding beef cattle. This may partially offset losses that grain growers have incurred. Even grain that has low levels of mold and mycotoxin may be fed to beef cattle without any negative effects. However, beef producers and nutritionist need to know the mycotoxin content of feeds before purchase.
Performance of cattle fed damaged cereal grains
Several university studies have demonstrated that cattle perform well on rain damaged grains. In general, performance is not compromised when sprouted grains are incorporated into the diet on a dry weight basis (Tables 1, 2 & 4).

2014 Central Idaho Winter Beef School Schedule

January 16-18:
 Idaho Beef Summit, Pocatello
Tours, Speakers, & Hands-on Workshops Focusing on Beef End-Product Quality! Topics include understanding & improving beef carcass quality through genetics, herd health management, and animal handling & welfare; how retailers market beef in the meat case; how aging affects palatability; cattle outlook seminar; telling beef’s story; facts behind growth promotants; National Beef Quality Audit; industry & check-off updates, and much, much more! For more information, visit www.extension.uidaho.edu/custer.

Monday, January 27:
 Mackay: 2:00 - 4:00 pm: Reducing Winter Feeding & Extending the Grazing Season with Warm Season Annuals & Unconventional Forages.

 Challis: 6:30 - 8:30 pm: Reducing Winter Feeding & Extending the Grazing Season with Warm Season Annuals & Unconventional Forages.

Getting the Most Feed Nutrient for Your Dollar

Drs. Glenn Shewmaker and John Hall with Extension educator Sarah Baker have recently publisher CIS 1201,  Getting the Most Feed for Your Nutrient Dollar".  The publication is on line at:

http://www.cals.uidaho.edu/edcomm/pdf/CIS/CIS1201.pdf

This is a great publication that leads the reader through evaluating the value of a feed to one's own situation.

Cow Camp Chatter: Nutrient Shopping

Ron Torell, Long-Standing Educator and Advocate of Agriculture
 

Hay prices are skyrocketing.  In some instances the price has doubled from what it was just a few short years ago.  These escalating prices are primarily due to a nationwide drought which has reduced supply and increased demand for hay, grain and standing forage.   The price relationship of protein and energy sources parallel corn and other grain commodities.  Whether you are selling, purchasing or feeding hay it is important to know what you are dealing with.  The best and most appropriate way to accomplish this is to compare price per pound of nutrient, not price per ton of feed. This is when an accurate forage/hay sample and analysis will save/earn you valuable dollars. 

Cow Camp Chatter Strategic Weaning:Managing Cow Body Condition During Drought

Ron Torell, Long-Standing Educator and Advocate of Agriculture  

Many regions of the country are experiencing one of the driest precipitation cycles in recent history.  These extreme drought conditions require management intervention on behalf of the bovine. Some ranchers are turning their cows out on irrigated pasture with no plans of haying their meadows. Others are reducing the size of their herds through stringent culling and marketing. Cattlemen are faced with making critical management decisions. They need to either increase nutrient supply, which is costly, or decrease nutrient demand.  During periods of drought strategic weaning is one management option ranchers can use to reduce nutrient demand in an effort to manage cow body condition relative to the available nutrient supply.      

Food Stamps for Cows? Or Reducing Winter Feed Costs in the Near Term.

By Charles Cheyney, Extension Educator

The agricultural economy is kind of crazy. Wheat and corn are sky-high and growers are plowing out forage and pasture crops to plant these cereals, driving up the price of hay and pasture. Some cow-calf operators who grow alfalfa hay have been seduced by the high alfalfa prices and are now trying to figure out how and what to feed their cows. And while, cow calf operators are receiving some of the highest prices for their calves that they can remember, they are still having some trouble making ends meet. Why? Because of winter feeding costs, which can make up as much as 50% of the cost of production of a calf. It is all about ENERGY. Energy for fuel. Energy for human food, and energy for livestock feed. So what is a cowboy to do?