Partners County Land Conservation Departments Green Lands Blue Waters

1. Brokering Relationships Between Non-Farming Landowners And Livestock Producers to Increase Grasslands in the Upper Midwest The Grazing Broker: Creating Economic and Working Land Opportunities for Grasslands and Livestock Producers The Southwest Wisconsin Grassland and Stream Conservation Area is a 500,000 acre island of grassland-dominated habitat in a sea of annual row crops. Cold water trout streams and relatively high populations of grassland birds dominate the region. Conservation partners have nurtured this grassland using tools such as land and easement purchases, set-aside programs, landowner education, and cost-sharing of conservation practices. Most recently, as commodity prices push landowners toward growing more annual crops, we are exploring market drivers as a tool to preserve grasslands. Pasture raised meat and dairy products are in high demand among consumers, but grassland for grazing livestock is often unavailable to farmers wishing to access this market. This project targets non-farming landowners who control a high proportion of agricultural land in this region. These landowners are diverse, and given a range of possibilities, may choose land management options that balance economic and environmental goals. The goal of the Grazing Broker project is to make those options accessible and at the same time, provide value-added livestock producers access to pasture. The Grazing Broker is modeled after the private consulting forester, brokering relationships between the landowner and the ‘resource harvester,’ in this case, livestock producers harvesting forage. The broker works to create a mutually beneficial partnership to manage the grassland for its conservation value as well as to produce an income for both parties. The broker shepherds the relationship, developing a grazing plan, connecting both landowner and producer with resources needed to develop fencing and other infrastructure, and providing assistance with lease agreements. As part of this project we have developed a landowner profile tool for identifying landowner goals, assessing the pasture resource, and calculating a value as a starting point for negotiation with potential renters. Partners County Land Conservation Departments Green Lands Blue Waters Natural Resources Conservation Service Pheasants Forever Southwest Badger Resource Conservation & Development Southwest Wisconsin Grassland and Stream Conservation Area The Nature Conservancy Trout Unlimited U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service University of Wisconsin Extension Wallace Center at Winrock International Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade & Consumer Protection Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Printed by Green Lands Blue Waters