Effective grazing management is a dynamic dance between maximizing animal performance and maintaining pasture performance and health. Well managed pastures prevent erosion and maintain water quality. Enrolling your land in the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) Best Management Practice Program can help guide you through steps to maintain and document the soil and water conservation practices that provide clean water for all Floridians.

Join us on Tuesday, July 15 for the next session of the Jefferson Grazing Series. We’ll learn what Best Management Practices (BMP’s) are and how to work with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) to implement them on your operation.

Joel Love of the FDACS Office of Agricultural Water Policy will discuss BMP programs for cow-calf and equine operations, the procedures for participation and the legal and environmental benefits of the program and its practices.

BMP’s are science based and designed to reduce water pollution and maintain soil health. Appropriate fertilization and sustainable grazing practices are a key part of the program, and Jefferson County Livestock Agent Jed Dillard will follow Love’s presentation with a discussion of grazing management and its effects on pasture health and soil and water quality.

The program will be held at the Jefferson County Extension office (2729 West Washington) at 7pm, Tuesday July 15. There is no charge for the event, but please register in advance by calling the Extension office at 850-342-0187 or Dillard at dillardjed@ufl.edu. We want to be sure you have a place to sit and enough cool water for everybody.

Please help us spread the word to others who can use this information. Feel free to contact me with any questions.

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