2023 Impact Report

The New England Grazing Network (NEGN) project was founded on the concept that the six New England states could be powerful change makers if aligned around common measurements and a shared vision.

We believe that shared regional leadership and cross-state collaboration is the key to advancing a strong, diverse grazing livestock food system in New England.

We foster cooperation among state-level grazing organizations, educational institutions, and grazing service providers to identify shared region-wide priorities and initiatives that bolster each organization's work and focus. This model empowers us to address critical issues on a regional scale while steadfastly supporting our local communities through localized efforts.

Who are we? Granite State Graziers (GSG) serve as a source of education, promotion, and support for New Hampshire farmers, producers, and homesteaders. Our commitment to New Hampshire's regenerative grazing community is an important foundation in the ability for NH to be sustainable in both its food production, land and soil management and animal health.

What do we do? GSG improves the lives of Granite Staters by providing educational and networking opportunities, resources, and advocacy with programs like:

• Pasture Walks
• Farmer Networking & Training
• Beginner Graziers Toolkit
• Educating the public on how their food dollars support and enrich NH's agricultural base
• GSG also partners with regional organizations to promote sustainable and regenerative food production in a larger way with yearly projects and goals.

What's coming in 2024? We have increased the number of pasture walks for 2023 and have been able to assist directly with homeowners in discovering ways to start effectively grazing livestock. Our pasture walks have been led by numerous local farms to show the diversity of NH agriculture. In the fall, we are showcasing our Beginner Graziers Toolkit, a project collaborated with National Grazing Lands Coalition and our board members, all of which are involved in the agriculture sector. This free toolkit provides an easy-to-read guide on not only how to begin grazing, but the importance of grazing in relation to the environment. Our goal for the coming years is to increase our audience and expose them to the vast resources the New Hampshire has to offer. This fall, we are hosting our free Grazing School, an opportunity for people to meet with NRCS and UNH Extension representatives to get started on a livestock plan, and general understanding of grazing livestock. With these events, we want the public to know that this form of agriculture is not only attainable, but has great benefit to the environment, and for future generations.

Who are we? The mission of the Livestock Institute of Southern New England, Inc. (or TLI) is to revitalize and strengthen livestock farming in Southern New England, Since it’s inception in 2014 TLI has been working to provide education, resources and processing infrastructure that allows our farming community to thrive. While TLI does many things, including the creation and delivery of industry leading regional education that supports the local food system, our cornerstone effort has been  Meatworks , a USDA inspected state-of-the-art meat processing facility that serves southern New England livestock producers. If you buy local meat, it’s likely Meatworks provided that small farm with the critical services needed to bring their product to market, through its traceable, humane and high quality standards.

What do we do? Since Meatwork’s opening in 2018 both the number of farms assisted and the amount of meat processed has increased yearly suggesting strong growth and sales opportunity in our regional food economy. In 2022 alone we supported close to 400 small regional producers.  In 2023 Meatworks is projected to sell $130,000 worth of locally raised meat to schools in MA and RI. Our Wholesale program has grown to contribute over $75,000 in live animal purchases direct to small farms, providing a significant revenue stream for our farm partners and a locally sourced, affordable and high quality product to our regional schools.

Who are we? We are dedicated to furthering the use of managed livestock grazing to create healthier soils, cleaner water and financially and personally sustainable farms.

Organizational goals include:

• Enhancing soil health, improving water quality and assuring biodiversity
• Building farmer‐to‐farmer connections 
• Upholding the viability and resilience of Vermont’s pasture-based livestock farms

What we do? The VGFA is a network of pasture-based livestock farmers. The organization hosts educational workshops and on-farm learning opportunities for farmers and interested individuals, as well as co-hosting an annual Grazing and Livestock Conference. VGFA also undertakes distinct grant projects that improve the viability of pasture-based livestock production in the northeast.

What did we get up to in 2023?

• VGFA hosted, in partnership with Wolfe’s Neck Center and the New England Grazing Network, the 1st Annual Northeast Grazing and Livestock Conference. Dr. Allen Williams was the keynote speaker. We welcomed 286 participants over 2 days. We uploaded all conference workshops/presentations on to the VGFA’s youtube site and have had over 5,500 viewings of the conference videos.
• Planned, coordinated and facilitated numerous regional events with national grazing experts including: Dr. Allen Williams traveling to Vermont to speak at UVM and Dartmouth, as well as hosting two pasture walks and the VGFA Annual Meeting. And the 2023 National Grazing Lands Tour in Vermont on Sept. 5-7th. VGFA hosted the  farm logistics for the three-day bus tour. Five Vermont pasture-based farms were selected to host 125 participants from across the country.
• Kicked off a new facilitated cohort of grazing specialists to further connectivity, comradery, education and general support among a professional peer group. VGFA is working with UVM Extension to facilitate a pasture and hayland agronomic principles educational program for New England service providers. We have had 22 service providers sign-up for four, two-day short courses on pasture and hayland issues.
• Represented Vermont grass-based farmers’ interests at statewide agricultural events, like VT Farm to Plate.

Who are we? University of Maine Cooperative Extension’s livestock and forage programs help producers increase the profitability of their operations through improved nutrition, reproduction, genetics, health, management, and marketing.

What do we do? We assist producers in adopting new technologies, such as computers, decision support tools, predictive models, testing strategies, and integrated whole farm systems. We also help livestock producers identify problem areas that limit long-term productivity. Educational programs are helping people improve farm communications, form management teams, manage labor effectively, develop strategic plans, and incorporate new management skills into their operations.

UMaine Extension’s livestock and forage programs enable producers to manage better renewable resources like soil, water, nutrients, crops, buildings, equipment, and people.

Who are we? Wolfe’s Neck Center (WNC) is a nonprofit, farm-based education, research, and visitor center situated on over 600 acres of coastal farmland in Freeport, ME. Wolfe’s Neck Center is on a mission to transform our relationship with farming and food by facilitating knowledge and best practice sharing, educating a wide variety of learners, and convening a community of people who care about the future of food. 

What do we do? 

Organic Dairy Training:

Wolfe’s Neck Center’s Organic Dairy Research and Training program was the first of its kind in the nation. This innovative program serves as a testing ground for new management technologies and techniques, while also training the next generation of farmers in rotational grazing and regenerative agricultural systems. Using the platform of dairy farming, the goal of our apprenticeship program is to prepare food systems leaders to take the mindset, skills, and experience they have gained here at Wolfe’s Neck Center to be successful. The unique team atmosphere allows for peer-to-peer mentoring, as well as opportunities for professional development.

Demonstration Farm & Agricultural Innovation:

Over many decades, Wolfe’s Neck Center has been a space for innovation and change making in agriculture. As one of the first organic beef operations in the country, we have built on this legacy of innovation to provide a space for researchers, scientists, and thought leaders to convene, learn, and accelerate the rate of change in agriculture and climate science. Using our unique set of resources, Wolfe’s Neck Center is an outdoor living laboratory focused on agricultural production and ecosystem health in the face of a changing climate. Wolfe’s Neck Center collaborates with research partners to perform on-farm research projects, and is committed to sharing this knowledge to further inform environmental and agricultural advances for farmers and researchers.

Regional and National Network Convening:

Farmer networks serve as vital connectors between food systems leaders who drive innovation in agriculture. Through these networks, Wolfe’s Neck Center is facilitating relationship building, information sharing and regenerative practice adoption amongst organizations, farmers, and agricultural service institutions.

Who are we?

The Northeast Grass-Fed Beef Initiative (NGBI) is a non-profit pilot project to recruit, train, and facilitate market access for farmers seeking to transition their operations to regeneratively raised 100% grass-fed beef. Northeast livestock farmers currently send the majority of the 500,000 calves born each year to western feedlots, where they are raised in the CAFO system. Our goals are to (1) shift cow/calf production in the Northeast to a regenerative approach, and (2) keep those calves local by developing a network of finishing farms for 100% grass-fed beef in a 12-state region from Maine to West Virginia.

Big Picture Beef aims to establish a model for producing 100% grass-fed beef  that will revive the Northeast rural economy. Our goal is not only to produce local, delicious, healthy beef, but also to rejuvenate farmland and return a fair price to farmers.  We plan to expand the market opportunity for our Northeast partner farms and significantly increase the number of 100% grass-fed beef produced and sold in the region.

What have we been up to in 2023?

BPB has developed a CRM database to be able to communicate with producers, service providers and the general public. One outgrowth of the project is the creation of a not-for-profit, Northeast Grass-fed Beef Initiative (NGBI), which works in collaboration with BPB to identify producers ready to start grazing, find producers ready to shift their paradigm to AMP grazing and then help those producers create a profitable grazing system. Then BPB and NGBI connect producers to markets for their finished animals. 

The Choosing to Farm podcast is about sharing the origin stories of first- and returning-generation livestock farmers. For many folks striking out on their own or trying to create a new role for themselves, the experience may feel exciting, overwhelming, and sometimes isolating. 

By sharing personal stories of the journey into (and sometimes out of) livestock farming and ranching, we hope this podcast helps new generations of graziers and land stewards enter this profession with their eyes wide open, knowing they are connected to others across the country experiencing the same thing.

Just a few topics highlighted in this season’s episodes have included: Falling in love with sheep after farmsitting; developing unusual/underserved enterprises; leaving a cubicle-based job to farm; recognizing that current generations do not have the same playing field as earlier generations; creating space to take vacations; the importance of helping the public understand what farmers do; the time scale of clearing land; and how to address the Instagram Effect on social media.