BF 231: Grazing Management

Improve Your Triple Bottom Line Through Better Grazing

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Improve Your Triple Bottom Line Through Better Grazing

Grazing is more than simply turning livestock out onto a green pasture and hoping for the best. Sound grazing management is an economical farming practice that helps you reduce your workload, keep your animals happier and healthier, and improve the overall productivity and profitability of your farm. Well-managed grazing systems also provide greater environmental benefits and enhance habitat for many wildlife species.

In this course, you’ll learn the key concepts of successful grazing operations that can be adapted and successfully implemented on your own farm. The course focus will be on grazing ruminant livestock, but most of the information will be relevant to non-ruminant animals as well.

Target Audience

All levels: You will get the most out of this course if you already have livestock, or have at least a basic knowledge of the grazing behavior of livestock. But anyone is welcome to participate, even if you don't already have animals.

Course Objectives

At the end of this course you will:

  • Know common grazing terminology, systems and methodology
  • Be able to articulate the fundamental principles of every successful grazing system
  • Have confidence in implementing or enhancing a grazing system for your farm
  • Know how to monitor, evaluate and refine the grazing system

Webinars

The bulk of the course happens on your own time, with discussions, readings, and assignments in Teachable, our virtual classroom. To add to the experience, webinars will be woven into the online interface of the course to allow you to meet on a weekly basis to learn from presenters and ask questions in real time. If you miss one, they are always recorded and posted for later viewing.

Webinar Schedule

In 2026, this course will be offered live for 6 weeks on Tuesdays from 6:30 – 8:00 PM (Eastern) from February 24 – March 31. While we encourage live attendance, so you have the opportunity to engage with presenters and ask questions, all webinars are recorded and posted in the online classroom to watch anytime. Once enrolled in this course, you will retain access to all materials indefinitely, and can return to participate in the live webinars in future offerings of the course if you wish.


Your Instructor


Betsy Hicks + Rich Taber
Betsy Hicks + Rich Taber

Betsy Hicks is a Dairy Management Specialist with the South Central NY Dairy & Field Crops Team with Cornell Cooperative Extension. Her background is in nutrition, and she helps both dairy and beef farmers with grazing, herd health, cow behavior, cow comfort and calf care. Betsy operates a registered Black Angus beef cow-calf operation, focusing on cattle that mother well and excel on grass.

Rich Taber is an Agriculture, Grazing, and Forestry Educator with Cornell Cooperative Extension of Chenango County. He owns a 165-acre farm with his wife Wendy in nearby southern Madison County. They manage about 40 acres of rotationally grazed pasture for their beef cow calf herd of Angus-Hereford crosses. He has also been a long-time contributor to the Cornell Small Farms Quarterly.


Student Testimonials

“I really appreciate the knowledge both Betsy and Rich bring to class. I learned many new things each time we met. I also really appreciate that we can come and do the class at our leisure. It makes things easier when you have chores / a job to do.”

"I will be making some key changes to my livestock management this year and feel confident that I can improve my profitability as a result."

"Great perspectives on things I hadn't considered. I am mainly gathering information at this stage and don't have animals yet."

"I learned better ways to do things but also what not to do. I have been making expensive mistakes and can now correct these to save money and make things more efficient.”

“I have appreciated the nutrition aspect a lot. I have also liked hearing and learning from other farmers.”

Course Curriculum


  General Course Resources
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  Week 1: Why Graze? Growing Your Farm With Grazing!
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  Week 2: Grazing Animal Nutrition and Health
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  Week 3: Improving Pasture Quality and Productivity, and Business Profitability
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  Week 4: Grazing Infrastructure
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  Week 5: Silvopasture & Grazing Beyond the Growing Season
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  Week 6: Beyond Basic Grazing & Enhanced Grazing Systems
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Frequently Asked Questions


When does the course start and finish?
The course officially starts and ends on the dates given above, when the instructors get involved and begin hosting live weekly webinars. If you are registering after the webinars have concluded for the year, you will have immediate access to all the course materials, and will be able to participate in the next year's webinars if you choose to.
How long do I have access to the course?
How does lifetime access sound? After enrolling, you have unlimited access to this course for as long as you like - across any and all devices you own.
What if I am unhappy with the course?
We would never want you to be unhappy! If you are unsatisfied with your purchase, contact us in the first 7 days and we will give you a full refund.

Online Course Tiered Pricing

The Cornell Small Farms Program offers a tiered pricing model to provide greater access to our online courses. To determine your course enrollment cost, please consult the chart below, and honestly identify your current financial situation.


We realize that not everyone is able to afford the price of our courses, so we also offer a small number of scholarships each year to New York State residents. To apply, please read scholarship requirements and complete the application here.

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