MT. PLEASANT, Mich. — Join the growing grass-fed beef movement by attending the 2015 Grassfed Exchange Conference, Sept. 16-18 at Comfort Inn and Suites in Mt. Pleasant.

More than 300 cattle producers, researchers and industry leaders are expected to attend the three-day international event, which will cover a variety of topics including farm succession planning, water use, grass-fed producers and processors growing together, grazing and soil health, sustainable beef production, grass finishing strategies and more.

The purpose of this conference is to help producers grow in knowledge of the grass-fed industry and in finishing cattle. Begun in Nebraska by cattlemen six years ago, it’s the first time the conference has been hosted east of the Mississippi River. Michigan was selected because of the cutting-edge research on grass-fed beef production being conducted by Michigan State University.

"Having attended this conference in the past, I am impressed that it is truly a grassroots event, started by farmers and still run by farmers," said MSU extension grazing and crop management educator Jerry Lindquist. "New attendees should come prepared to rub shoulders with ranchers, researchers and meat industry representatives from across the country that are engrossed and fully engaged in the grass-fed meat industry."

To kick off the conference, the first morning will be spent touring Graham’s Organic Meats and Processing in Rosebush. Graham’s is the culmination of four generations spanning more than 100 years of agricultural and livestock production. The family raises organic, grass-fed beef and poultry.

In addition, they operate an organic meat processing plant and feed mill. The farm consists of 1,200 certified acres.

That afternoon, conference attendees will head to the MSU AgBioResearch Center near Lake City. For the last five years, the Center has been conducting grass-fed beef research, evaluating the production, economics and environmental impacts of grass-fed beef production.

Three stops around the main offices will offer a rainfall simulator, working corrals and pens and demonstrations for fencing, with fencing and water equipment set-ups. Then, participants will board wagons and will head to surrounding fields to learn about cover crop finishing, cow herd management with soil improvement and view yearling cattle.

Upon returning to Mt. Pleasant, the evening will offer "Budgeting for Grass Fed Success," a workshop that will explore the new paradigm in grass-fed beef. It begins at 7:30 p.m.

A variety of speakers will present workshops the final two days of the conference, and attendees may visit the trade show and attend the banquet.

Attorney, writer and livestock rancher Nicollette Niman will present "The Case for Sustainable Beef" during the evening banquet Sept. 17. She has written several essays on food and farming and previously was an attorney for the environmental organization Waterkeeper Alliance, where she was in charge of the organization’s campaign to reform the concentrated livestock and poultry industry.

Before that, she served as an attorney with the National Wildlife Federation. She lives on a ranch in northern California with her two sons and husband, Bill Niman, founder of Niman Ranch, a natural meat company supplied by a network of more than 700 traditional farmers and ranchers.

On Sept. 18, Dr. Daphne Miller, M.D., will present "Farmacology." The author approaches medicine with the idea that opportunities for health and healing are found not only in the medical system, but in kitchens, school gardens, community centers, spiritual centers, farms and nature trails.

Mark Schatzker, a Toronto-based writer, will explore "The Dorito Effect – The Surprising Truth on Food and Flavor," during a session on Sept. 18. His specialty is the intersection of food, science and travel. He believes the world is paying a high price for its increasingly industrialized food shed. It is his mission to educate eaters to value, and preserve, nature’s greatest gift.

Other sessions include "Upper Midwest Grass Finishing Strategies," presented by Dr. Jason Rowntree, faculty coordinator for two MSU research facilities, and Doug Carmichael; "Stacked Model Enterprises," by Blaine Hitzfield; "Maximizing Solar Collection," by Luke Linnenbringer; "Grazing & Soil Health – It’s a Win-Win," by Ben and Denise Bartlett; "Cash Crop to a Grass-fed Production Model," by Jon Nelson; and "Grassfed Producers and Processors Growing Together," by Mike Lorentz.

"Our Changing Industry" will be a roundtable discussion with John Wood, Dr. Allen Williams, Todd Churchill and Mike Lorentz; "Ranch Succession, Sons and Daughters" is another roundtable discussion with Joshua Dukart with the Hitzfield family, Brown family and others.

"As an MSU extension educator and attendee of this conference for the past three years, I’m excited to have it in Michigan," said beef educator Kable Thurlow. "I hope producers take advantage of it being in their backyard.

"They will not regret the information they will gather and the networking they will have with grass-fed industry farmers, ranchers and researchers from around the world. Topics will be of interest to anyone who grazes cattle, whether they sell them as grass-fed beef or not."

Registration information may be found online at www.grassfedexchange.com

Attendees may also register by phone at 256-996-3142. The early registration discount ends Aug. 20. For more information about the conference, contact Thurlow at 989-426-7741 or thurlowk@anr.msu.edu