The 2023 Nebraska Grazing Conference will be held August 8 and 9 at the Younes Conference Center in Kearney, NE.  This year’s conference features speakers highlighting Grazing Lands Conservation, Emerging Issues in Grazing Lands, and Precision Livestock Management. The featured banquet speaker for the Conference is Curt Pate.

The conference will begin with a field tour from 9:30 am to 11:30 am. Discussion topics will focus on Stress-free Livestock Management. The scheduled speakers are Curt Pate and Ruth Woiwode. There is no fee to attend the field tour.

Another highlight is the recognition of the 2022 Leopold Conservation Award recipient. This year’s recipient is the Logan Pribbeno Family from the Wine Glass Ranch located in Imperial, NE. This will begin a panel discussion from the current and several former Leopold Conservation Award winners who will provide an assessment of their past, present, and future grazing land conservation efforts. Tentative panelists are Nancy Peterson, Homer Buell, and Tim Kalkowski.

Other scheduled speakers include Shelly Kelly (The Sandhills Task Force), Rebecca Kern-Lunbery (Ward Laboratories), Leah Peterson (The Nebraska Grazing Lands Coalition), Jeff Nichols (USDA-NRCS), and Jerry Volesky and Gwendwr Meridith (University of Nebraska-Lincoln).

The second day of the Conference is devoted to Precision Livestock Management with a focus on available technology. Scheduled speakers include Yijie Xiong and Mitch Stephenson from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln followed by a panel discussion of technology users.

To learn more about the conference, or to register, go to https://grassland.unl.edu/nebraska-grazing-conference-registration. Questions about the conference may be directed to Daren Redfearn, chair, Nebraska Grazing Conference at dredfearn2@unl.edu.

Sponsor and exhibitor booths will showcase new programs, equipment, and products to conference participants. Additional information about becoming a sponsor or exhibitor is outlined on the Nebraska Grazing Conference webpage. Questions related to booth space may be directed to Brent Plugge at (308) 236-1235 or brent.plugge@unl.edu.

Please note that the conference will be held over two days with the Field Tour being held on Tuesday morning of the first day. Conference sessions will begin on Tuesday afternoon following the field tour and conclude with Curt Pate speaking at the Tuesday evening banquet. The second day will open with a breakfast buffet and the conference will conclude following the Wednesday morning sessions around noon.