TOP-RANKED PRIORITIES BY FOCUS AREA:

Profitable Grazing Management

• Cost-effective grazing systems and models or decision-making aids to compare alternative
• Facilitating grazing networks/services/circles

Grazing, Wildlife, and the Environment

• Valuation of social and ecosystem services provided by grass-based livestock systems and educational materials to circulate this information
• Networking graziers and conservation service providers

Grass-Based Branding and Supply Chains

• Branding and product differentiation
• Guidance for processing and packaging of grass-based livestock products

Grazing Policy and Education

• Building educational teams and stakeholder coalitions
• Promoting policy that rewards environmental benefits from grass-based livestock systems

Note: As detailed in the request for proposals, grant applications should expressly relate to at least one of the working group's four focus areas. Additionally, the GBLWG steering committee has expressed that the future of  the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) is going to be of particular importance to Iowa's grass-based livestock sector. Proposals that deal with this policy and it's implications on maintenance of conservation lands and the use of lands that leave CRP may be of added interest during the review process.

CURRENTLY FUNDED GBLWG R&D GRANTS:

"These research & demonstration grants will leverage the resources of the Grass-Based Livestock Working Group and provide its constituents with valuable insights into areas of substantial interest, such as the economic returns to intensive pasture management, economies of scale in specialty meat marketing, and how grazing animals and native prairie species can both thrive in the same pasture." — Andy Larson, GBLWG coordinator

Demonstrating the Economics of Managed Grazing Systems
Denise Schwab, Iowa State University Extension
Grant award: $7,441

Research has shown that producers can significantly reduce stored feed costs and surface water contamination while increasing farm profitability by implementing a managed grazing system. Much effort has gone toward educating cattlemen on the merits of forage improvements and grazing management, but little has focused on determining the costs and returns of improved pasture management. This project will enumerate the costs and returns of pasture management, including the economic inputs into the pasture system and the grazing days and weight gains from the pasture. Twelve eastern Iowa beef producers will track expenses related to the pasture, grazing days, and weights and body condition scores on and off pastures. They will represent continuous grazing, slow rotation grazing, and fast rotation grazing. Final comparisons will include costs by grazing system per grazing day, weight production by grazing system, and cost and labor by grazing system.

Improving Income Opportunities for Grass-Based Livestock Producers through Capacity Building
Sarah Carlson and Gary Huber, Practical Farmers of Iowa
Grant award: $4,876

To ensure continued development and maturity of the grass-fed meat market more supply is needed, and graziers must make informed decisions about bringing their animals to market. To improve producers' knowledge and ability to make decisions, this project will sponsor a day-long workshop featuring Mike Lorentz from Lorentz Meats in Cannon Falls, Minnesota, and a panel of producers currently direct-marketing meat. Mr. Lorentz will teach producers about accurately documenting costs of production, strategies for pricing products competitively, hints for relationship building with processors, and ideas for building a consumer base. A panel of producers who are currently marketing beef will then share their experiences and answer questions about their own marketing decisions and efficiency.

View the case studies on our Resources page.

Mapping the Landscape of Grass-Based Livestock Production in Iowa: Understanding How Social, Economic and Environmental Factors Influence the Development of Grassland Agriculture
John Tyndall, associate professor in Natural Resource Ecology and Management; J. Arbuckle, associate professor in Sociology; Mae Petrehn, MS student in Sustainable Agriculture
Grant award: $4,441

This project will support a comprehensive and multi-scaled literature review synthesizing reports and publications that are specific to grazing in Iowa and the broader US Cornbelt region in order to fully characterize what is known about the current conditions of grazing in row-crop dominated landscapes and economies. This will be applied to information relevant to the four focus areas of the GBLWG — production, marketing, ecology, and policy — and the final literature review will enable the GBLWG community to characterize connections between organizations and institutions, distinguish trends, and compare with other studies regarding grass-based livestock production both regionally and nationally.