Rotational Grazing at Sky View Farm: Meat CSA and Small-Scale Dairy

Are you looking to improve your pasture management and learn more about rotational grazing?  Join NOFA/Mass and Sky View Farm for this online event and discussion of how rotational grazing provides their livestock with healthy forage while minimizing inputs and improving soil health. Rotational grazing is a system that mimics the ecology of natural grasslands. By rotating densely stocked herds through fenced-off portions of your pastures, your cattle will eat a variety of forage, gain more weight faster, and sequester considerable amounts of carbon in the soil. During this event attendees learn about:

• Pasture reclamation
• Fencing systems
• Stocking density and grazing plans
• Creating a small-scale dairy in the basement of their house

Sky View Farm comprises 50 acres of hilly fields and forest in the town of Sheffield, Massachusetts. The land has been in the Conklin family for more than 100 years. Owners Will and Amelia Conklin have been working since 2012 to reclaim pastures that were part of the Conklin family dairy farm that closed in 1986. They raise poultry, cows, and pigs year-round in order to provide meat for their CSA program and local restaurants. Milking 1-3 cows, they opened a small dairy in the spring of 2019, bottling raw milk for direct sale to customers. Sky View Farm is also home to a small-scale sawmill operation that provides local building materials for carpentry projects, garden beds, fencing, and furniture.