Opportunity for Graziers to Fine Tune their Grazing Skills
Amy Barkley, Livestock Specialist
Southwest New York Dairy, Livestock and Field Crops Program

Project Objective: Graziers who participate will fine tune their grazing skills to help improve pasture output by learning how weather conditions (rainfall, temperature) interact with management decisions (residue height, rest) to affect regrowth in their pastures
Target Audience: graziers throughout NY state utilizing rotational grazing strategies
Program Plan:
Participants will identify 1-2 pastures to record weekly measurements of grass height, as well as rainfall amounts for their location.
- To enroll, farms should send Betsy Hicks (bjh246@cornell.edu) or Troy Bishopp (troy-bishopp@verizon.net) :
- Name, email, phone number
- Location of pasture (GPS coordinates)
- Elevation of pasture
- Nearest town
- What you're grazing (beef steers, beef cow/calf, dairy heifers, dairy cows, etc)
- Starting height of pasture for that week
- Weekly, farms should report:
- Rainfall for the week (inches)
- Height of pasture (inches)
- Date pasture was grazed or clipped
- If pasture was grazed or clipped, height of residual (inches)
- From these enrollment & weekly measurements, Betsy & Troy will calculate:
- Regrowth rate
- Cumulative GDD using Cornell Climate Smart Farming's GDD calculator (http://climatesmartfarming.org/tools/csf-growing-degree-day-calculator/)
- Graziers should do their measurements on the same day every week, but they can choose to do measurements on any day from Monday to Thursday.
- Measurements can be sent to Betsy/Troy via email, text or phone call by Thursday at NOON each week.
- Betsy & Troy will compile the weekly grazing report, to be sent out on Friday morning each week. Once a month during the grazing season, Betsy & Troy will hold an open grazing call for participants to compare notes.
- Participants can join the project and calls at any time during the grazing season. The more the merrier!
If you'd like to receive the results only, email Betsy Hicks at bjh246@cornell.edu to be added to the list of people who receive the weekly reports.
Upcoming Events
WNY Pastureland Conversion & Soil Health Field Day
July 16, 2025
Middleport, NY
Join American Farmland Trust for the Western New York Soil Health Field Day on July 16, 2025, at Zeliff Farm in Middleport, NY, from 9:00 AM-3:15 PM. Learn about pasture conversion, soil health benchmarking, biochar in grazing systems, and best grazing practices. Plus, enjoy hands-on demos with the NY Soil Health Trailer, drones, and cover crops! Check out the attached agenda for more information about the field day and REGISTER HERE. Zeliff Farms is a regenerative beef operation who has recently partnered with AFT on outreach and education to farmers including learning circles and evaluating biochar effects on soil health.
IPM Strategies to Protect Corn and Soybean Seed in NY

July 30, 2025
Hamburg , NY
SWNYDLFC and Cornell IPM are hosting a grower meeting to discuss integrated pest management strategies for protecting corn and soybean seed in New York.
FAMACHA Training for Sheep and Goat producers in Woodhull NY
August 13, 2025 : FAMACHA Training in Woodhull
Woodhull, NY
Join us for a discussion and hands-on training for internal parasite integrated pest management in sheep and goats. Certification is available to all students participating in the workshop.
Announcements
No announcements at this time.