External Grant Opportunities
The ISU/PFI On-Farm Research and Demonstration Grant Program
Iowa State University seeks ideas and proposals for a unique program pairing farmers with Iowa State University researchers to work on topics related to conservation and sustainability. Proposals are due on December 16. All ISU faculty, staff and students are eligible to apply. The program is a partnership of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and Practical Farmers of Iowa. A total of $25,000 will be awarded in 2010. Annual, one time grants up to $5,000 maximum will be awarded. Awards to three or more producers proposing to work together may be up to $7,000 each. Work may be completed over 24 months maximum. For more information, click here.
The request for proposals is available here.
Case Studies
A 2009 GBLWG R&D grant helped to fund these case studies on Improving Iowa's Grasslands with Managed Grazing. These documents are in PDF format. Design by Lynn Betts.
Bison Broaden Biodiversity at Broken Kettle Grasslands
Schoenfelder is one of four cattlemen renting grassland from The Nature Conservancy at the Broken Kettle Grasslands Preserve. He says his 130 cow-calf pairs help control trees and brush on 1700 acres of the native prairie.
Graze Goats to Clean Up Unwanted Plants
Steve Smith’s goats would rather eat thistles than grass. “I move them around to any place I have plants I don’t want,” the Marshall County farmer says of his small herd of Nubian goats, “and they’re good at cleaning up tall weeds and brush.”
Profitable Pasture Rotations Offer Bird and Wildlife Habitat
Dan Specht is concerned about stocking rates, forage nutrition value, rate of gain, and other details for profitable grass-fed beef. But he also hesitates to drive his pickup in a pasture at the time bobolinks are nesting in spring and early summer.
Grazing CRP Land Improves Feed and Habitat
When Kurtis Hall first grazed some of his CRP land more than six years ago, it was because he had more cows than he had pasture. He’s been grazing CRP as he needs it since that time, and still thinks that reasoning applies.
Grassbanks Offer Offsite Grazing during Pasture Renovation
If you want a place to put cattle while you renovate a pasture, look into the idea of grassbanks - programs that match cattlemen who need pasture with landowners who have stands of grass that would benefit from light grazing.
Also available:
- Shortened summaries of all five case studies in one document [PDF]
- Presentation slides about all five case studies [large file in PDF or PPT] (e-mail Andy Larson for a copy)
Other Informational Materials