The Oklahoma Grazing Lands Coalition is gearing up for a significant event in Shawnee on March 29th, focusing on enhancing grazing management and livestock handling practices. Farm Director, KC Sheperd sat down to visit with Kim Barker, a farmer and rancher from Waynoka, and Rebekah Napier, representing the coalition, shared details about the upcoming workshop.
Coalition’s Mission and Upcoming Event:
Kim Barker explained the coalition’s origins and purpose. “Grazing Land Coalition began in the early nineties,” he stated. “We exist to promote better grazing management and improved grazing lands in Oklahoma.”
Rebekah Napier elaborated on the March 29th event. “We’ve invited Wayne Knight from the Holistic Management International Organization and Don Nada, who is a stockmanship expert,” she said. “Wayne will be addressing issues related to grazing land management, and holistic management topics, and Don will be addressing stockmanship issues.” Don Nada, she noted, was mentored by the legendary Bud Williams in proper stockmanship techniques, focusing on effective communication with livestock.
Statewide Workshops and Educational Opportunities:
The Shawnee workshop is part of a broader effort by the Oklahoma Grazing Lands Coalition to provide educational opportunities across the state. “We have another event on April 4th, a field day up at Allen Newport’s place up by Newkirk,” Barker revealed. “This fall, there’ll be lots more things going on. We try to provide opportunities for grazing management, soil health, livestock handling, and, of course, the business side for profit.”
Barker also highlighted the coalition’s commitment to bringing in experts on various topics. “We’ve done programs in the past on soil health. We’ve had Nicole Masters here from New Zealand and Alejandro Cillo from Mexico,” he said. “We bring in speakers that are relevant to what we think people need to know.”
Registration Details and Workshop Focus:
Napier emphasized the need for pre-registration. “We need folks to register and they can do that at readyset graze.eventbrite.com,” she explained. “That gives us a head count so we can know how much lunch to bring in. The cost is $50, or if you bring two people, it’s a little bit cheaper at $75 for both.”
Barker added that the workshop will include a discussion on problem-solving. “We wanna know what specifically we can do for the people that come, what their issues are so we can help them,” he said.
Event Details:
- Date: March 29th 1 1. Ready, Set, Graze! – Eventbrite www.eventbrite.com
- Time: 9:00 AM
- Location: Shawnee, Oklahoma
- Registration: ready set graze.eventbrite.com
The Oklahoma Grazing Lands Coalition’s workshop promises to be a valuable resource for producers looking to improve their grazing management and livestock handling skills.
For More Information or to get signed up, click below!
