A Northwest Pennsylvania Project Grass grazing field day and tour will be held on two farms in Mercer County.

The day will start at Van De Jerseys, near Transfer. The farm is owned and operated by John and Amy Vanderstappen.

The Vanderstappens use 185 acres of intensively managed pasture to complement a TMR for 250 Jersey cows and 75 replacement heifers.

The dairy cows are grazed up to one-half mile from the barn and utilize stabilized walkways for access.

There will be a wagon tour of the farm.

The second stop will be at the nearby Ryan and Ken Miller farms.

The Miller’s graze 40 head of Angus brood cows on two different grazing systems nearby. They market feeders and are interested in using cover crops to extend the grazing season on nearby crop fields.

Several examples of well and spring-fed watering systems with pressurized and gravity fed troughs will be shown.

Joel Hunter, agronomist with Penn State, will discuss the benefits of using cover crops and incorporating them into a grazing system.

Soil quality and its impact on farm economics and sustainability will be demonstrated and discussed using a rainfall simulator.

Supporters include the Mercer County Conservation District, Penn State Cooperative Extension, PA Project Grass, Penn Soil RC&D and USDA-NRCS.

A brief Northwest Project Grass meeting will be open to all who attend during lunch.

For more information, call 724-662-2242 or 814-226-8160, Ext. 125.

Registration and the lunch fee of $8 should be sent by July 11 to Penn Soil RC&D Council, 210 N. Drive, Suite E, Warren, PA 16365.

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