2025 Midwest Grazing &Soil Health Summit Sessions & Presenters

2:45 p.m. Breakout Sessions

Breakout 1
Anneliese Walker: Foundations in Graze Planning    
Is it possible to be understocked and overgrazed at the same time? The answer is a resounding yes. If you want to learn the foundations of graze planning and how it impacts your Profit and Loss Statement, this is the session for you. We will discuss how to create and monitor inventories, common considerations when creating a graze plan, and how graze planning can positively impact your business finances.
Anneliese Walker is a speaker, educator and livestock producer located in Princeton, Minnesota. She has been practicing rotational grazing since 2016 and has been supporting ranchers across North America in adopting rotational grazing and online grazing platforms since 2019. She is passionate about supporting graziers in creating successful and profitable grazing operations.

Breakout 2
Jeff Duchene: NRCS State Grazing Lands Specialist:
NRCS Conservation Practices and Programs Overview
This session will provide an overview of the Natural Resources ConservationService (NRCS), assistance NRCS can provide, and an overview of the common conservation practices that may be applicable to grazing livestock operations. It will also provide an overview of the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) and Conservation StewardshipProgram (CSP), which are the main funding sources available through NRCS.
Jeff Duchene is the State Grazing Specialist for the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in Minnesota and is based out of Fergus Falls. He has been in this role for 2.5 years and his primary responsibilities include developing and updating technical information for NRCS conservation practices related to grazing lands, working with partners to promote grazing management, and training conservation staff in grazing lands planning and management. Prior to becoming the State Grazing Specialist, Jeff was a Grazing Specialist with NRCS for over 13 years. During that time, his work focused on providing technical assistance regarding grazing lands management to livestock producers and landowners in NW MN. Jeff was also a Grazing Specialist in the Root River Watershed located in SE MN for two years prior to working with NRCS.

Breakout 3
Margaret Chamas, Practical Farmers of Iowa:
Emerging Technologies in Grazing - the Potential of Virtual Fence
Virtual fence is an exciting new technology that opens the gates - literally - to grazing more acreage with less fence-building labor. It is not without its costs and limitations though. This session will cover the function and workings of virtual fence, its applications in different grazing scenarios, and will cover the latest information on cost-share opportunities through EQIP.
Margaret Chamas serves as the Livestock Viability Manager for Practical Farmers of Iowa, where she provides technical and financial assistance to livestock farmers of all types. Her favorites are goats though, and she raises dairy and brush goats near Kansas City with her husband, at Storm Dancer Farm. She has been in the targeted grazing industry since 2018, and currently works for Goats On The Go as affiliate support.

These session will be repeated on Thursday.