2026 Kentucky Grazing Conferences Will Focus On Small Ruminant Grazing
JENNIFER ELWELL
LEXINGTON, KENTUCKY
The Kentucky Master Grazer Education Program, supported by Cooperative Extension Service forage experts at the University of Kentucky Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment, invites livestock producers and agribusiness professionals to attend one of two Kentucky Grazing Conference events on Wednesday, Oct. 28, in Elizabethtown and Thursday, Oct. 29, in Winchester.
“We are excited to provide another Kentucky Grazing Conference for producers across the state,” said Chris Teutsch, Extension forage specialist and associate professor at the UK Research and Education Center at Princeton. “This year we are fortunate to hold the conference in partnership with the Kentucky Sheep and Goat Development Office. We hope to see new and returning faces at our conference. Exciting things are in store for this year’s conference, and we cannot wait to share them with Kentucky’s forage and livestock producers.”
The 2026 conference theme is “Rooted in Resilience: Grazing Small Ruminants in Kentucky.” Sessions at both locations will focus on regenerative practices, nutrition, custom grazing opportunities, mixed-species grazing and other strategies to help sheep and goat producers strengthen pasture-based operations.
Grazing and small ruminant experts joining the conference speaker lineup include Troy Bishop, known as The Grass Whisperer; Abbigail Hines of Kentucky State University; John Scarborough of Goats on the Go; Cam Maierle and Tom Perkins of The Grazing Sheep Podcast; Justin Adams of Nurtured Land Farms; and Greg Brann of Big Spring Farm.
Both events are designed to give beginning shepherds, experienced herdsmen and grazing managers practical information they can use closer to home.
- The Oct. 28 Kentucky Grazing Conference will be held at the Hardin County Extension Office, 111 Opportunity Way, Elizabethtown.
- The Oct. 29 Kentucky Grazing Conference will be held at the Clark County Extension Office, 1400 Fortune Drive, Winchester.
Designed to allow producers in different regions to stay closer to home, the conference is presented by UK Forages, the Kentucky Master Grazer Educational Program, Kentucky Forage and Grassland Council and the Kentucky Agricultural Development Fund in partnership with the Kentucky Sheep and Goat Development Office.
At the Winchester location, the Kentucky Sheep and Wool Producers Association and the Kentucky Goat Producers Association will hold their annual business meetings.
General admission is $45. Students may attend for $15. Lunch and a sponsor trade show are included. Participants are asked to arrive between 7:30 and 8 a.m. ET at each location.
Register for the Kentucky Grazing Conference online at https://2026KYGrazingConference.eventbrite.com or contact Katy Trimble at katy.trimble@uky.edu or 270-625-5366. ∆
JENNIFER ELWELL
UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY