[caption id="attachment_59436" align="aligncenter" width="536"]<img class="wp-image-59436 size-full" src="https://theenterprise.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2021/12/Winter.jpg" alt="" width="536" height="358" /> Kick off the new year by exploring 'The Green Side of Beef' at one of four Winter Forage Conferences presented by the Virginia Forage and Grassland Council, Virginia Cooperative Extension and NRCS (photo by John Markon, Virginia NRCS).[/caption] <span style="font-weight: 400"> </span><span style="font-weight: 400">When it comes to grazing systems, the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) has been climate-smart from the start with a full range of practices and programs to help convert agriculture from greenhouse gas (GHG) source to carbon sink.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400">Now, we’re partnering with the Virginia Forage and Grassland Council and Virginia Cooperative Extension to offer four Winter Forage Conferences in 2022 that will explore The Green Side of Beef: Defending Grassland Agriculture. The same core program will be offered from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in four locations across the state to enable producers and stakeholders to engage in a conversation on opportunities for the livestock industry to be part of the solution to our global environmental problems.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400">Jan. 18 - Wytheville Meeting Center, Wytheville</span> <span style="font-weight: 400">Jan. 19 – Olde Dominion Ag Complex, Chatham</span> <span style="font-weight: 400">Jan. 20 – The Carver Center, Rapidan</span> <span style="font-weight: 400">Jan. 21 – Blue Ridge Community College, Plecker Center, Weyers Cave</span> <span style="font-weight: 400">Keynote speaker Nicolette Hahn Niman was once an environmental attorney who fought against the livestock industry. Now, the former vegetarian turned rancher writes and travels widely, making the case that beef can be sustainably produced and that our grazing lands can play an important role in preserving water quality, enhancing biodiversity and supporting wildlife.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400">Dr. Alan Franzluebbers, a USDA Professor of Soil Ecology with North Carolina State University, will share some surprising new research with implications for managing nutrients on pasture as well as discuss the role of healthy grasslands in sequestering carbon. Local livestock producers will also weigh in with their own real-world experiences raising livestock on grass in a practical and sustainable way.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400">Visit the VFGC website at vaforages.org to view the conference agenda, register online or get a mail-in registration form. The early bird registration rate of $35 is available if received by Jan. 4, 2022. After that date, the fee will increase to $50. For more information, contact Margaret Kenny at </span><a href="mailto:vfgcforages@gmail.com"><span style="font-weight: 400">vfgcforages@gmail.com</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400">.</span>
