Bradley and Jessica Brehm will host a Pasture Walk at their dairy farm in Falconer for interested livestock owners on Saturday, June 26.

Cornell Cooperative Extension of Chautauqua County’s Agriculture program will host a pasture walk hosted by Brehm Farm Inc., owned and operated by Bradley and Jessica Brehm, in Falconer.

Anyone interested in learning more about improving pastures to graze their livestock are encouraged to attend.

The on-farm pasture walk will be held rain or shine on Saturday, June 26, from noon until 2:30 p.m. at Brehm Farm, 3456 Dry Brook Road, Falconer. A complimentary light lunch will be provided at noon co-sponsored by local agribusinesses including: Cargill Inc; Growmark FS; John Wiggers & Son Inc; NYP Ag Services Inc; The Forage Source; Lamb & Webster Inc; Upstate Niagara Cooperative Inc; and Cornell Cooperative Extension of Chautauqua County.

Those attending are asked to bring a lawn chair to use during lunch. Moderate walking will be required to view the pastures.

Reservations for the complimentary lunch are required by Tuesday, June 22, by leaving a message with Lisa Kempisty, Cornell Cooperative Extension of Chautauqua County dairy and livestock educator,, with a name and number of people attending at 664-9502, ext. 203 or by email at ljk4@cornell.edu.

Bradley and Jessica Brehm moved their dairy from Erie County to Chautauqua County five years ago and now rotationally graze their 150-cow dairy herd on 56 acres of pastures divided into 13 paddocks. Their lactating cattle are rotated every 24 hours to take advantage of high-quality pasture forage. They also feed a “partial” mixed ration in the barn to supplement what the cows are getting on pasture. Rotational grazing has helped the Brehm’s decrease the amount of grain and haylage fed in the barn and time doing barn chores.

Guest presenters at the pasture walk will include: Amy Barkley, Cornell Cooperative Extension Southwest NY Dairy, Livestock, Field Crops Team livestock and beginning farm specialist; Don Wild, Wild Acres Family Farm and King’s Agri Seeds – WNY, Forage Management Service; and Bryan Nothdurft, resource conservationist, Natural Resources Conservation Service.

Topics to be discussed will include: pasture re-growth and grazing strategies to optimize pasture production, measuring pasture forage in paddocks, managing weeds in pastures, clipping strategies, providing water in the paddocks, pond development, and NRCS programs available to assist agricultural producers and landowners. Peer-to-peer conversations are encouraged in addition to the presentation agenda to incorporate attendees’ collective experiences into the discussion.