Livestock and wildlife producers, land managers and others interested in learning more about managing and optimizing their grazing lands will have an opportunity at one of five workshops being held throughout Texas from September 3 to October 1, 2008. “My Piece of Texas” grazing schools will teach attendees how to estimate forage production, determine grazeable acres and set proper stocking rates as well as learn valuable grazing management principles.

The $25 registration fee will include lunch and a copy of the soon-to-be published handbook, “Managing My Piece of Texas.” The how-to guide was peer reviewed by ranchers throughout Texas after being developed by grazing specialists from the Grazing Lands Conservation Initiative (GLCI), Texas AgriLife Extension Service, and the USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS).

“A few years ago, a producer asked us if there was a book that contained all the grazing information that all the agencies had,” said Mark Moseley, NRCS Rangeland Management Specialist/GLCI Liaison. “We knew there was no need to develop new information, so we took the information and made it into a ‘how-to get started and where do I go from here’ handbook that a new landowner as well as a seasoned livestock producer can use.”

The workshop morning session will feature grazing experts from GLCI, Texas AgriLife Extension Service, Texas AgriLife Research and NRCS discussing grazing basics, strategies and follow through. After lunch, the outdoor session will include hands-on learning demonstration and field examples of grazing evaluation of forages, determining stocking rates, cattle habitats, grazeable acres and adjustment evaluations.

To register for one of the workshops, please contact the office listed below.

“If there is enough interest, this will be first of a series of workshops on managing your piece of Texas based on the handbook,” said Moseley.