The PA Grazing Lands Conservation Initiative is now accepting applications for its ongoing educational mini-grants program.

The grants are offered to non-profit organizations and producer associations that provide grazing-focused education and trainings throughout the Commonwealth.

Grants through PA GLCI are available for field days and pasture walks, trainings, conferences, and other activities that include grazing or forage management as a main topic to reach producers interested in improving their pastures and grazing operations.

Several of the successful events that PA GLCI has helped to fund in the past include the Northwest and Appalachian Grazing Conferences, countless on-farm trainings and field days about pastured livestock, portable fencing, mob grazing as well as the annual Pennsylvania Grassland Evaluation Contest, which provides education and scholarships to competing FFA chapters across Pennsylvania.

Special interest topics for this year’s program include: Pasture Soil Health, Equine Pasture Management, Wildlife and Grazing, Renewable Energy, Extending the Grazing Season, Conversion of Cropland to Pasture, Grass Fed Meats/Products, as well as Nutrient Management.

There are several levels for the mini-grant program, ranging from $200 to $1,000 in financial assistance.

For more details about the Mini-Grant program criteria with downloadable application instructions, please visit the PA Grazing Lands Initiative website or feel free to contact Susan Parry, USDA-NRCS State Grassland Conservationist at 717-237-2253; send email to: susan.parry@pa.usda.gov. 

4/15/2013