2026 Basic Grazing School
Rapidan River Ranch, Madison VA. 3374 Graves Mill Rd. Madison, VA 22727
Designed with beginning and experienced producers in mind, this 2-day, intensive course will teach you everything you need to know to better manage grazing on your farm.
· Basic pasture and forage management
· Soil fertility & nutrient management
· Fundamentals of grazing management
· Designing a rotational grazing system
· Installing and using electric fencing
· Strategies to extend the grazing season
· Matching forage quality & animal needs
· Economics of grazing
· Herd/flock health
· Animal handling
You will have hands-on opportunities in the field to work with temporary fencing, identify forage and weed species, evaluate pasture, and learn the critical points of designing an animal handling facility.
Finally, put it all together for your farm: the last day of the school features a workshop where you can sit down with our instructors to begin developing a custom grazing plan.
What will I need to bring to the school?
Clothing/gear/footwear for all types of weather. Much of the school will be outside, rain or shine! Any available aerial and soils maps, soil analyses, and herd or flock information for your farm.
Do I need to make plans for meals and lodging?
We start at 8 am each morning. Morning refreshments and lunches will be provided for both days, but breakfast is on your own. Dinner will be provided on day 1, and we finish around 3 pm on day 2 so you can grab dinner on your way home. There is complementary lodging on the farm, please inquire when you register if this is of interest. Otherwise, there are Airbnb options near the farm. The Wolftown Farmette Guest House and the Old Rose Tavern B&B are in nearby Wolftown (5 min away). Madison Vines Cottages is in Madison (10 min away).
What approach or method of grazing does this school teach?
We partner with experts from Virginia Cooperative Extension/Virginia Tech, NRCS, partner organizations, and experienced producers to provide instruction. Our focus is to teach the fundamentals of plant growth and grazing management, soil health, and flexible grazing system design to enable you to adapt to your farm and grazing style. Additionally, we teach the integration of soil, water, and wildlife conservation as important parts of the system.