CLARION, Pa. (EYT) – The 20th Annual Northwest Pennsylvania Grazing Conference will be held Thursday, March 16, at the Trinity Point Church of God in Clarion.

The conference begins at 8:15 a.m. and concludes at 4:00 p.m.

The keynote speaker is Jim Gerrish of May, Idaho.

Gerrish is a noted author, and owner of American GrazingLands Services, LLC, which is dedicated to effectively managing grazing lands for economic and environmental sustainability.

Jim’s experience includes more than 20 years of beef-forage systems research and outreach while on the faculty of the University of Missouri, as well as 20 years of commercial cattle and sheep production on their family farm in northern Missouri.

Gerrish will share his experience on a 260-acre commercial cow/calf and contract grazing operation where he converted a worn out marginal crop farm to a highly-productive grass farm.

There are three other speakers.

– Dave White, who enjoyed a 33-year career with the National Resource Conservation Service, retiring as Chief of the Agency, will discuss some of the milestones that forward-thinking graziers and conservation-minded farmers have made in protecting our nation’s resources.

– Aaron and Melissa Miller, co-owners of Miller Livestock Co., Inc., will be talking about the economics of grass finishing beef on their farm. The Millers, of Kinsman, Ohio, have been farming for nearly thirty-five years, and have been raising grass- fed and pastured livestock for direct-to-market sales since 1999.

– Jay Fuhrer, a Conservationist with NRCS in Bismarck, North Dakota, has been working with cropping systems, grazing systems, and cover crops for the last 35 years. He shares his experience working with farmers in North Dakota to show how integrating livestock, multispecies covers, and using a holistic approach can improve soil health and the farm enterprise.

Baxter Black is a rancher and retired large animal veterinarian from Benson, Arizona famous for his appearances on RFD-TV reciting his humorous and entertaining “cowboy poetry.” (He will not be at the conference but has graciously agreed to provide a pre-recorded video welcome for the 2017 conference attendees.)

The registration fee is $40.00 and is due by March 10.

The online form can be found at jeffersonconservation.com.

For more information, call Headwaters RC & D at 814-503-8653 or email to info@headwaterspa.org.