Update from the Grassfed Committee Chair

You all can be proud of what you are doing to harvest the sun’s energy and convert it into a edible product. Your desire to become the most efficient harvesters of sunlight tells me a lot about who the people are that are involved in the Grassfed Exchange. We have been given that inner desire to learn just how God has created the whole universe to be in harmony. Over the last century or so we, in all our wisdom, have done more harm than good to this planet we call home.

I ask the question – are we as caretakers of this planet really concerned about what kind of a home we will be leaving our children and grand children to inherit? I believe YOU, who come to the Grassfed Exchange conferences, are concerned and that is why you are striving against the odds to find the solutions to how we might learn to do things more holistically

We hope that at our conferences you will be able to network with fellow producers, absorb more fully from actual hands on experience at one of our tours, to gain ideas that you can take home and implement on your own farms and ranches, and to learn from each other the different things that have been working or not working for them. Your willingness to share what you have learned with others is one of your most outstanding traits. The visions we share, of pastures that are lush with healthy Forbes and grasses where healthy and satisfied cattle are peacefully grazing, is not found as strong in any other group of producers.

We, as the directors of the Grassfed Exchange have just recently returned from a strategic planning session that we held in Kansas City. The vision that was shared by your directors of what they have as a goal for the future of the industry is beyond what I could have imagined. We all are truly blessed to have such a talented group of individuals willing to share of their time and talents, at their own expense, to help us all to learn together how we can accomplish this goal and change the environment in which we live.

God gave me a vision, while lying in a hospital bed, of a group of producers who want to restore their land to the creative potential that He had created us enjoy. He has now blessed me with this incredibly talented group of directors to help me bring the very brightest and most talented people to our conferences to share the information and knowledge that they have learned with you. It is our goal to make these conference the very best that they can be.

We have something very special in store for you at the conference in Lake City, Michigan.

A tour of some local grass based dairies and grassfed beef finishers. We will then tour the Michigan State University research farm near Lake City. It is the only one of its kind. There, in Michigan, they are doing research trials on different grasses, legumes, annuals along with actually doing grass based research with the live animals. You will have the opportunity to see first hand what they have been doing to give us the information we as producers need.

Your speakers this year will be Dr. Daphne Miller, Dr Ben and Denise Bartlett, Caroline MacGill, Nicollette Niman, Mark Shatzker, Blaine Hitzfield, Luke Linnenbringer, Jon Nelson, Doug Carmichael, and Jason Rowntree. I believe this is a high octane lineup that will be able to bring you information you have not heard before and will be able to challenge each one of us.

You will not want to miss Dr. Millers information that she has to share on the link of human medicine to the products we produce. Take the time to look up who Caroline MacGill is if you do not already know. Luke Linnenbringer and Blaine Hitzfield is a grassfed meat producer and entrepreneur in the meat processing industry. Nicollette Niman comes to us from the famous Niman Ranch. Dr Ben and his wife Denise Bartlett are grass fed sheep producers and a WHOLE lot more. Great individuals with a great story to tell. Mark Shatzker is a Canadian author and great promoter of the Grassfed Industry. I do not want to leave out Jon Nelson a grass fed dairy producer from right close by in Michigan and of course two of the most outstanding grassfed researchers from MSU.

Like I said before take time to look up these individuals that will be presenting at the 2015 conference on September 16, 17, and 18 in Lake City Michigan. Michigan is a great place to vacation this time of year. Bring the whole family and enjoy the beauty that Michigan has to offer. Have the opportunity to meet personally other entrepreneurs like yourself and go home refreshed and exhilarated by what you have heard and learned. We can make a difference in the quality of life, the management of our land, the care of our animals, and the quality of product that we produce for the consumers we serve.

Wayne Rasmussen

Chairmen Grassfed Exchange