Modern grazing practices addressed at workshop

Taking economic values from your livestock operations, making money off of your farm or ranch, and knowing what foods should taste like, are all topics that keynote speaker Shane New brought to mind at the Observing and Thinking workshop from 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Wednesday, in the Student Center.

New, of Holton, Kansas, taught new range management ideas and practices along with other local rangeland entrepreneurs to roughly 60 Nebraska Panhandle locals.

“I’ve got a passion for agriculture, for one thing, but I’ve also got a passion for educating people that are in agriculture,” New said after the workshop.

Known internationally for his work, New talked about old and new practices that either profited or hurt farmers and ranchers in the past and compared them to the practices he’s implemented on his own

operation and profited from. New also gave a brief history lesson on grasses and how vaqueros (Mexican cattle punchers) came up with the idea of covering their stirrups with big pieces of leather, known as tapaderos to prevent their boots from getting wet in the tall prairie grasses along with brushing up against cactus.

Range Management Professor Ronald Bolze, host of the workshop, said the program was meant to attract farmers, ranchers and the consuming public.

“This program is geared to people that are actively involved in production agriculture,” Bolze said.

“I always learn something new,” he said. “I’ve learned that hopefully soon we’re going to be able to objectively measure nutrient content of foods at the point of purchase. Meaning a consumer can walk into a retail store and use a hand-held device that tell them how nutrient-dense that food is.”

The majority of those attending the workshop were local farm and ranch owners, with a handful of students present as well. 

Two of those ranch owners were Bruce and Vicki Troester who showed up to challenge their thought processes in considering the nutritional value of their livestock. Bruce said they’ve been ranching “since 1982,” and are always curious of new ways to manage their system.

The attendants were accommodated with a free lunch, snacks and beverages.