Annual Range Workshop Held

After a two-year shut down due to COVID the Annual Rosebud Area Youth and Adult Workshop was once again held at the Tribal Ranch near Rosebud, SD on Thursday, July 21st.   The event which is the 5th year of hosting the workshop included a walk through the pasture for plant identification with cultural and medicinal uses, discussion on similarity index with demonstrations on clipping total forage production and using the Grazing Stick for calculating available forage, stocking rate and AUMs on native pastures. In addition, Grazing Kit bags were provided for the adult workshop and backpacks filled with conservation information, activities, and items were given to the youth in attendance compliments of the Tribal Ranch. The Belle Fourche River Watershed Partnership was on hand to demonstrate with the rainfall simulator mobile unit the importance of practicing good range management and farming methods to ensure proper water infiltration and soil quality by avoiding water runoff.

The afternoon snack included frybread with a choice of homemade chokecherry or wild grape jams. This was a very education opportunity for all to learn more about our native grasslands as the land has much to teach us and serves as an excellent outdoor classroom and hands on learning center. The organizers of the workshop last hosted the event in 2019 and hope to continue this annual educational opportunity for years to come because of its popularity.  The workshop was coordinated by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), South Dakota State University (SDSU) Extension, Belle Fourche River Watershed Partnership and the RST Tribal Ranch.  

There were approximately 22 adults including area producers, staff from Sinte-Gleska University and the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and members of Global Inc. who represented volunteers visiting from across the United States wanting to learn more about farming and ranching practices on the Rosebud Reservation and 30 youth from area Boys and Girls Clubs and Rosebud-Todd County 4-H program in attendance.