SARE Holistic Wellbeing Dissemination

Staff at Michigan State University recently ran a 90-minute dissemination workshop, sharing results and practical tools from a recent NCR-SARE grant working with cow-calf producers from across Michigan. The research specifically investigated how the adoption of adaptive multi-paddock grazing on livestock farms in Michigan influenced the ecological wellbeing of the land, the economic wellbeing of the farm operation, and the social wellbeing of the farmer, compared to more traditional continuous grazing.

Adaptive multi-paddock grazing is a livestock management strategy which uses densely packed herds in small paddocks for short durations, with paddocks then given long periods of rest to regenerate. Livestock numbers and rotations are adjusted as needed to match available forage within the farm as conditions change. A sub-group of participants were trained in adaptive multi-paddock grazing to assess change in wellbeing over time with adoption. Our products include tools for assessing ecological, economic, and social wellbeing on the farm, as well as how to integrate these to gain a holistic understanding of wellbeing and trade-offs between these types of wellbeing. We hope the materials are useful!

FUNDING ACKNOWLEDGEMENT:

This material is based upon work that is supported by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture, under award number 2020-38640-31522 - H008917110 through the North Central Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education program under subaward number LNC20-437. USDA is an equal opportunity employer and service provider. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.