How to Transition to Regenerative Grazing

With so many people excited about being a part of the solution in healing the planet, regenerative grazing is getting a lot of attention as a critical tool to improve land resilience and soil health through increasing soil carbon and improved water infiltration.

But understanding the often conflicting advice about stock density, stocking rate, herd strategies, and monitoring plant recovery and animal performance can be daunting for beginning graziers or experienced graziers transitioning to new practices.

That's why HMI is offering a Holistic Grazing Planning Online Course this winter to help you prepare for your spring grazing and get off on the right foot. Learning outcomes include:

• How to address key management considerations


• Identification & mapping of grazing areas for effective management of forage


• Regenerative grazing principles


• How to determine animal carrying capacity and  herd makeup


• Plant recovery periods and grazing periods


• Approaches to written grazing planning to maximize productivity and profitability


• Implementing and monitoring a grazing plan for success


• Feed needs for grazing and non-grazing periods


• Developing grazing plans that work with nature


• Basics of using animal behavior to improve grazing management

Learning Outcomes

In this course:

• You’ll develop a grazing plan which will consist of a grazing map and grazing chart that identifies key management issues, estimated forage production, actual forage utilization, and livestock moves to maximize forage production and animal performance


• Explore issues around grazing and recovery periods


• Discuss options for grazing implementation and how they influence infrastructure development and animal performance

Linda Pechin-Long

The instructor for this course is Linda Pechin-Long who lives in Southeast Kansas where she and her husband, Keith Long, raise cattle and sheep on native tallgrass prairie using Holistic Planned Grazing. With the planned grazing they can consistently improve the tallgrass prairie, soil health, animal productivity and wildlife habitat. Linda has been involved in Holistic Management since 2008. She is the Director of the Kansas Grazing Lands Network.

Kelly Sidoryk

Part of this course also features long-time Holistic Management practitioner and Certified Educator, Kelly Sidoryk from Saskatchewan, Canada. Kelly's father Dennis Wobeser and other members of the family worked to transition the family business, Hi-Gain Ranching, from a feedlot to a regenerative grazing operation in the early '90s. They never looked back and have continued to learn over the years how this approach has helped improve land resilience in challenging times like the drought of 2021. Increased resilience means less dependence on expensive inputs which can impact profit margins as well.

If you are ready to take your grazing to the next level, sign up for HMI's Online Grazing Planning Course today!