Iowa State University

Alumna, Graduate Program in Sustainable Agriculture

Research Assistant/ Overeducated Cowgirl

Thesis Title: Mapping the Social Landscape of Grazing in Iowa: Visions for Ecosystem Services Provisioned by Grazing Systems in the Raccoon River Savanna Bird Conservation Area

About

The purpose of my work and past research is to inform strategies for stakeholders working in natural resource conservation to better collaborate with ranchers and farmers interested in grazing management for multiple ecological and economic goals.
_____________________________________________

Summary of my MS Thesis work:

For grazing systems to become more economically and environmentally viable, they must also become socially viable. As one of the most complex ways to raise stock, grazing management that produces synergistic environmental and production benefits requires a high level of technical and ecological knowledge specific to the landscape context, or local environmental conditions. In addition, the spatial fragmentation of grazing lands and graziers in Iowa intellectually fragments resources available and accessible to livestock producers. Education and outreach to producers who graze tends to be piecemeal and sometimes incongruent in message, depending on the institution or organization providing it.

To better achieve the goals articulated by agricultural and natural resource management organizations in Iowa in the context of modern animal agriculture, a greater consensus must be reached as to the content of knowledge and communication regarding the benefits of grazing systems to Iowa’s environment and economy. Stakeholders in grass based livestock production at different spatial scales and diverse backgrounds attach different values to ecosystem services associated with grazing.

This study will characterize how producers, landowners and natural resource professionals negotiate the ‘best’ practices for grazing management in a Bird Conservation Area composed primarily of private agricultural lands.

_____________________________________________________________

I am also certified to teach goal setting, financial planning, grazing planning and biological monitoring as an eductor through Holistic Management International, a non-profit organization based in Albuquerque, NM. See also the Savory Institute's work.

After I graduated in May of 2011, I moved to a ranch in the Sandhills of Nebraska with the Peterson Family to get more hands on experience in ecologically and economically viable grazing management. We raise dorper sheep, scottish highland cattle and commercial angus on ~3000 acres. Chad Peterson, my friend and mentor, has been utilizing what is now popularly termed 'mob grazing' for about 7 years.

Contact Information