RX Grazing Business 101: Entrepreneurship in the field of “Grazing for Change”
March 2024
An educational webinar delving into the business basics of prescribed grazing. What does it mean to be an agricultural entrepreneur and public safety service provider on the front lines of climate change? How can we build viable and successful prescribed grazing businesses that address the specific needs of our communities, our land bases and our animals amidst a rapidly changing climate?
Led by Cole Bush of Shepherdess Land & Livestock, this webinar is the introduction virtual training in an ongoing series about the business of prescribed grazing. This webinar provides the foundations for jumpstarting a career in the burgeoning industry, refining your current grazing operation, or integrating grazing services into an established enterprise. Cole will share entrepreneurial knowledge and experience from her decade-long career working within the industry and with commercial-scale herds to achieve ecological enhancement and fire hazard reduction goals on thousands of acres across California.
Prescribed Grazing is the intentional use of ruminant animals (sheep, goats and cows) to accomplish specific vegetation management goals on a given landscape. It is a critically effective method of mitigating wildfires while providing the co-benefits of carbon sequestration, native plant and habitat restoration, invasive species management and the production of local food and fiber. The framework of prescribed grazing offers an accessible pathway into working with livestock for new agrarians in that a owned land base is not always required to get started. Animals are moved from lease to lease, contract to contract. This webinar explains step-by-step how to find and secure grazing contracts of all kinds and dives into the logistics of developing and operating a viable PG business with lower start-up capital than is required for most livestock enterprises.
Content includes:
Opportunities in PG & the current state of the industry
The importance of strategic business & financial visioning
Business development foundations (marketing, outreach, funding opportunities)
Best practices in animal husbandry in the context of PG
Consideration of values and ethics when doing business in the PG industry
Finding & bidding on public and private contract opportunities (answering to Requests for Proposals, private landowner agreements)
Critical preparations before and during grazing jobs (assessing landscape & forage, water & road access)
Essential equipment & infrastructure
Interacting with clients and the public, conflict mitigation & resolution, shepherd and employee welfare, and more!
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