**-  North Atlantic  
-  University Park, Pennsylvania 
Printable VersionE-mail this pageThis site onlyAll ARS Advanced Search  UBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/loose.dtd">		You are here: 						Research / 																				**Research Project:**Northeast Pasture Consortium: Partnership to Identify, Develop, Coordinate, and Promote Pasture Research and Extension
**Location: University Park, Pennsylvania**
**2007 Annual Report**
**1a.Objectives (from AD-416)**													The objective of this cooperative research project is to link livestock graziers and federal, state, land grant, and private research and extension groups into partnerships that will identify, develop, coordinate, and promote pasture research and extension leading to economically, socially, and environmentally sound and sustainable grazing-based livestock production systems for the Northeastern U.S.						
**1b.Approach  (from AD-416)**													The Northeast Pasture Research and Extension Consortium will continue to link ARS and University researchers, Cooperative Extension and Natural Resources and Conservation Service educators, producers, and others involved in the grazing livestock industries of the northeastern U.S. The Consortium facilitates the exchange of information on pasture systems and grazing management through an annual meeting where Consortium members and cooperators discuss research needs and learn about recent research accomplishments. An email network and a web site are also used to communicate information to the Consortium throughout the year. This communication helps prioritize research and to transfer research results to producers, those advising and educating producers, and others involved in the forage-livestock industry. The consortium supports the development of grant proposals based on identified priorities, and encourages producer involvement through on-farm research and field demonstrations. This ongoing exchange of ideas and experiences builds trust between the user community and public-sector providers and assures relevance and accountability for programs supported by the investment of public and private funds in pasture research.						
**3.Progress Report**													As this project is being extended through fiscal year 2008, this report serves to document activities conducted under a Grant agreement between ARS and West Virginia University. Additional details of project activities can be found in the report for the in-house associated project CRIS 1902-13210-003-00D, "Management and Economics of Integrated Forage and Animal Production Systems." The objectives of activities conducted under this agreement directly address related in-house CRIS project Objective 3: Improve animal productivity in pasture-based dairy and beef production systems, and Objective 4: Establish recommended practices and technologies for profitable and environmentally sound dairy and beef production.
This project was established to develop and maintain the Northeast Pasture Consortium (NEPC), a public-private partnership that assists federal and state agencies and land-grant universities in focusing their limited resources on the most important problems of Northeast graziers. The Consortium held its eleventh annual meeting in February 2007 at State College, PA.  During the past year, the Consortium web site (www.umaine.edu/grazingguide/) was maintained and updated throughout the year by the University of Maine.  Private sector members of the Consortium, which included 33 producers from 11 states, worked to identify top research priorities in the Northeast and resource needs at University Park, PA, and other locations. The Consortium expressed their support for grazing by endorsing research proposals and expressing support for establishing an organic dairy at the University of New Hampshire and a grazing dairy at Alfred State University in New York. The Northeast Pasture Consortium is in its second year of a five-year authorization as Northeast Research, Extension and Education Activity 1000, with a mission to link livestock graziers and federal, state, land grant, and private research and extension groups into partnerships that will identify, develop, coordinate, and promote pasture research and extension leading to economically, socially, and environmentally sound and sustainable grazing-based livestock production systems for the Northeastern U.S. Emphasis is on dairy, beef, sheep, goat, and horse enterprises. Progress was monitored by participation in monthly conference calls among members of the Executive Committee and by personal interactions at the annual meeting in February.						
    Project TeamBryant, Ray  
Project Annual Reports FY 2009 FY 2008 FY 2007 
Related National Programs Rangeland, Pasture, and Forages(215) Integrated Farming Systems(207)  							Last Modified: 05/10/2010 		ARS Home |USDA.gov |Site Map |Policies and Links FOIA |Accessibility Statement |Privacy Policy |Nondiscrimination Statement |Information Quality |USA.gov |White House

**