OUR FRAMEWORK

The Grazing School of the West offers seasonal educational workshops and vocational / business training opportunities in the field of Prescribed Grazing via online learning, in-person workshops and multi-day intensive bootcamps in northern and southern California.

Online Learning

Online courses that dive into the business of Prescribed Grazing. Perfect for those who need a roadmap for incorporating grazing into their current livestock operations.

In-Person Workshops

1-2 day in-person workshops on a wide range of topics adjacent to Prescribed Grazing, like wool processing and shearing, hide tanning, meat production, etc.

5-Day Intensives

5 days of boots-on-the-ground instruction in Prescribed Grazing. Bootcamps offer an intensive overview of contract grazing and are perfect for new agrarians AND existing operators.

GSW offers a wide range of courses in agricultural education through the lens of Prescribed Grazing (PG), a grazing framework that uses cattle and/or small ruminants to effect specific ecological goals on varied landscapes, adapting to the needs of our changing climate.

We have developed trainings that are perfect for folks who aim to innovate their current livestock operations, for new agrarians who are searching for inspiration to start grazing businesses, and for folks who are interested in developing skills in working with livestock in order to forge their own paths in agriculture.

OUR CORE LEARNING PILLARS

  • Grazing History & Theory (wildlife and fire ecology; soil & plant sciences; watershed systems)

  • Livestock & Operations (ethical and low-stress animal husbandry; building, managing and fixing livestock infrastructure)

  • Leadership, Entrepreneurship & Business (business planning that places individual history, context, desire and passion at the center of business model development)

WHY PRESCRIBED GRAZING?

WHY PRESCRIBED GRAZING?

Prescribed Grazing is the future…

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 it does not require a land base 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 operating a viable PG business with little start-up capital.

We believe that this modern approach to the ancient trade of shepherding is the future of livestock in California. Pastoralism plays a critical role in protecting environments, sequestering carbon, and enhancing biodiversity while providing highly nutritious food for people across the planet. In the US, pastoral practices and economies have been nearly eradicated due to colonization, industrialization, and the individualization of livestock production.

In order to rebuild resilient human and ecological communities that can mitigate the catastrophic impacts of our changing climate, we hope to reclaim these traditional practices in order to build a modern culture and economy of pastoralism in the US. This is where Prescribed Grazing comes in! We are passionate about this model of grazing and want to share what we have learned over the past decade in order to make this work more accessible to future generations of ecological doctors and land stewards.