Noble Pastures Day took place in Red Oak, IA on July 9. Noble Pastures owners David and Leslie Carbaugh welcomed 17 participants eager to learn about soil health, grass-fed meat production, and monitoring land health using transects. Participants also discussed pra
ctical grazing and animal handling strategies designed to improve both the land itself - and the cattle on it.
Participants ranged in age, but nearly half of the attendees were under the age of 35; a great sign for the future of farming and ranching.
Holistic Management Certified Educator Ralph Tate facilitated the event, reporting that participants were attentive and engaged during all the presentations throughout the day. Several participants really appreciated the concentric ring visual to explain Holistic Management during the Introductory presentation. Mark Bader, from Free Choice Enterprises, Ltd. did a superb job, with the audience peppering him with questions about animal nutrition, nitrates in water and how to remove them, and ways to help relieve stress on animals when the temperature is hot.
The pasture monitoring exercise went well, with great participation working through the worksheets to gather the data and then consider how we might think about future potentials for the pasture. Much dialog followed as we discussed soil fertility, building organic matter, supporting microbes, and gaining a better understanding of the soil food web. The day ended with a transect exercise, after which participants completed the event survey and departed.
After the event was over, several participants came up to express their appreciation for the day and to say that they not only enjoyed it, but were very pleased with the information they had learned.
A special thanks goes out to David & Leslie Carbaugh from Noble Pastures, Practical Farmers of Iowa, Certified Naturally Grown, Free Choice Enterprises, Ltd., and United Farmers Mercantile Cooperative for making this day a success.
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