Pasture partnerships
Representatives from several conservation organizations met with farmers, ranchers and landowners Feb. 2 at Underwood City Hall to share information about grazing programs, habitat initiatives and cost-share opportunities available across the region.
The informal exhibition gave attendees a chance to move table-to-table and ask questions about some the state’s most influential conservation programs.
For many participants, it was the first time they had spoken facetoface with staff from groups like the Audubon Society, Ducks Unlimited, the Meadowlark Initiative, the North Dakota Grazing Lands Coalition and the South McLean Soil Conservation District. Each organization brought a different piece of the grassland puzzle, from bird habitat to grazing infrastructure to cost-share programs that help ranchers put new practices on the ground.
At the Ducks Unlimited booth, conservation programs biologist Dane Buysse fielded questions about fencing, water development and rotational grazing. He said many producers are curious about how to transition expiring Conservation Reserve Program acres into working pasture.