The Allegheny County Conservation District will be hosting, on behalf of the Southwest Project Grass organization, a grazing bus tour Sept. 10.

The bus tour will feature four farms; each offering a unique twist on rotational grazing systems.

The event begins at 7:30 a.m. at the Butler Farm Show grounds, which gives participants a chance to visit vendors, have a small breakfast and register before departing to the farms.

The tour will include a visit to Dawson Dibbern, who moved to Butler County from Massachusetts where he grazed cow/calf pairs and sheep. He currently runs a cow/calf operation. This operation is all grass based and will demonstrate how you can successfully winter animals outside on grass.

Just down the road is the BGN farm operation. This newly installed grazing system will feature a host of grazing practices as well as a concrete heavy-use area for winter animal housing and a short term manure storage. This site features cow/calf pairs and Jeff will discuss the changes and benefits he’s seen in the short term by switching to a rotational system.

There will be two stops in Beaver County: Bill and Sally Patton located in Darlington township features a beef operation that currently backgrounds feeders. Bill runs about 60 head on 50 acres April through October, at which point they move to another farm to be finished. This is a great operation to learn how utilizing a rotational system can quickly add gain in a short amount of time.

Broadrun Farms, a seasonal dairy operation, converted its conventional confinement Holstein operation in 2002 to a 100 percent grass-based system with Jersey and Jersey-Holstein crosses they run today. Owner Ron Caldwell will discuss benefits he’s seen over the past 12 years; the improved animal health, soil fertility and reduced labor input costs.

A hot lunch will be provided at the Farm Show grounds and the event will conclude around 5 p.m. The cost is $20 and registration is required by Aug. 27. Registrations can be completed at www.swprojectgrass.com or by contacting Jeff Leindecker at 412-291-8017.

Andy Gaver is a conservationist with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service in Butler County.