April 8, 2025
Change the Range - Extension's Role in Improving Kansas Rangelands
Woody encroachment and the problem it poses for landowners and ag producers is a priority rangeland topic in Kansas. Publications such as the “Reducing Woody Encroachment in Grasslands” pocket guide have been widely distributed and awareness of the problem is high. But what is K-State Extension’s role in addressing the problem? What specific educational help do ag producers need? How can Extension education and outreach dovetail with NRCS programs, offering a continuous process from identifying the problem through treatment? Join us to see what messaging resonates best, available resources to share with producers, and to gain an understanding about available funding for control efforts.
Woody encroachment is one of the greatest threats facing grasslands in the Great Plains. In 2022 alone, Great Plains grasslands lost an estimated 11.9 million tons of production due to woody encroachment. That missing production could have fed 2.5 million head of cows for a year or if wrapped into 1200 pound bales and stacked in a row, that bale row would wrap three-quarters of the way around the globe. While that is a significant loss in potential production, the ecosystem service impacts don't stop there.
Join this session to better understand woody encroachment impacts to ecosystem services, gain a clearer understanding of the threat via a "vulnerability lens," and learn how a "Defend the Core, Grow the Core" strategy can help prioritize on-the-ground efforts to prevent grassland loss. Defended, intact grassland is the shared vision of the Great Plains Grassland Initiative (GPGI); a rancher driven, science informed, and agency supported effort to conserve the last remaining iconic grassland regions in the Great Plains biome.
April 22, 2025
10:00 AM CDT
https://ksu.zoom.us/j/97386251067
One tap mobile: +16694449171,,97386251067#
Dial in: 669.444.9171 Meeting ID: 973 8625 1067