A Brief History of the GARDEN STATE GRAZING COALITION

The Grazing Lands Conservation Initiative (GLCI) is a national effort begun in 1991 to help landowners improve the ecological and productive condition of the Nation’s private grazing lands, economic conditions of farmer and ranchers, and the social well being of rural communities. GLCI is a federal initiative outlined in the Farm Bill, which also requires state-level organizations to provide the needed assistance and support.

The state-level GLCI organizations are needed to develop support and resources to accomplish the following objectives:

• Provide voluntary, landowner supported efforts to protect and improve America’s privately owned grazing lands.
• Strengthen land stewardship partnerships between grazing land managers and other groups.
• Encourage enterprise diversification for multiple resource benefits and rural economic development.
• Encourage technical assistance, education, research, and public awareness.
• Advise agencies and organizations that provide technical assistance and information to owners of grazing lands about program needs and effectiveness.
• Help obtain resources to achieve these objectives.

New Jersey had a group of producers who accepted the challenge of assisting in these efforts. In 1998 the group formally became the Garden State Grazing Coalition. This group was intended nationally to be a producer driven group, with the administrative and technical assistance of Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS).

In 2001 the Garden State Grazing Coalition (GSGC) organized a Plan of Action, which stated the goals and, mission of the group, and intended steps to meet the needs of grazers in New Jersey. The mission included on the 2001 Plan of Action reads:

“Our coalition strengthens existing land stewardship partnerships and provides educational opportunities for producers, coalition members, and interested community members.”

In the past 6 months the group dynamics have evolved into more agency participation, which now outnumbers producer participation. As stated above, that is not the intent of the group. We need to be assured we are addressing the needs of grazers in New Jersey and without direct producer input, we do not know. We want to know what grass-based agriculture in NJ needs to grow and flourish. That is why you have been personally invited to this listening session. We want to know your challenges, successes, goals, and needs!

Together we can make a difference!

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Last Modified: January 04, 2006