FRANKLINVILLE — Cornell Cooperative Extension will offer a workshop, “Silvopasture on a Shoestring,” from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 7, at Wild Geese Farm in Franklinville.

Join Joshua Greene, director of education at Trees For Graziers; Jonathan Bates, statewide agroforestry educator; and Lynn Bliven, owner of Wild Geese Farm, for a full-day training event that will include classroom and hands-on sessions.

Joshua Greene runs Greene Kitchen Farm with his wife, Nichole, and their children. They custom-graze certified organic dairy heifers and raise grass-fed beef & pastured poultry for direct market and “good eating.” Joshua and his family have worked to build a flexible, low-input grazing system on average Pennsylvania hillside soils. In place of the dying ash trees, they have planted over 2000 trees on the farm to provide shade for livestock.

Jonathan Bates’ focus is on supporting farmers statewide who are interested in exploring agroforestry systems on their land. Jonathan joined CCE Tompkins County with valuable experience as a land steward and tree nursery owner in Caroline. His role is sharing and developing learning opportunities and helpful resources, communicating with land stewards, and collaborating with other county CCEs and the growing statewide agroforestry network.

Wild Geese Farm is a 52-acre farm, raising registered Hereford cattle and Katahdin sheep. They have been rotationally grazing livestock for 30-plus years. Farm products include breeding stock along with grass-fed beef and lamb. This is their second season grazing within silvopasture planting while further developing an integrated system for the farm.

The focus will be on do-it-yourself silvopasture projects on small grazing farms. Presenters will address the practical considerations of tree establishment, protection and maintenance while learning how silvopasture can help address your farm’s resource concerns and enhance livestock grazing.

The workshop, sponsored by Allegany County Soil & Water Conservation District, Cornell Cooperative Extension Allegany County & the Finger Lakes-Lake Ontario Watershed Protection Alliance, includes morning refreshments and lunch.

Topics to be covered include:

• Layout and design considerations
• Tree species for silvopasture
• Tree planting basics
• Tree protection methods
• The importance of aftercare
• Grazing considerations
• Old orchard silvopasture
• Tick concerns with silvopasture establishment

There is a fee for this workshop, and preregistration is requested by Sept. 30. For more details or to register online, visit reg.cce.cornell.edu.

The Silvopasture on a Shoestring workshop is one of many programs offered by Cornell Cooperative Extension of Allegany County (CCE-Allegany). The association is part of the national cooperative extension system, an educational partnership between county, state, and federal governments. As New York’s land grant university, Cornell administers the system in this state.

For more information, call (585) 268-7644 or visit our website at www.cce.cornell.edu/allegany.