Bringing It Together 05-06.qxd - Agren Inc

Agren Services Available Through Federal GSA (cont.)It is because of these benefits that themore than 5,000 federal government buyingagencies prefer to buy from companies thathave GSA contracts.To view a wealth of information onGSA Schedules and contracting withAgren, visit http://www.GSA.gov or contactDeana Hoeg at deana@agren-inc.com.The website includes tutorials and comprehensiveinformation.Prescribed Fire Message Reaches Dozens of Participants at Series of Winter MeetingsFire was the hot topic at a series of educational meetings heldthrough the winter in the Loess Hills region of western Iowa. Themeetings were part of an educational outreach project to increasethe understanding and application of prescribed fire in the hills.The ultimate goal of the project is to restore native plant communitiesand revive economic opportunities associated with livestockgrazing.Nearly 190 Loess Hills landowners took part in eight educationalprograms presented at various locations along Iowa's westernborder from December through February. At the meetings, participantsreceived detailed information on the benefits of prescribedfire, the services of the Loess Hills Burn Crew, and financial incentivesto scheduling a prescribed fire."We want to help landowners to understand that the nativeprairie is worth keeping and protecting," said Bob Moritz, pastchairman of the Loess Hills Alliance. The Alliance received fundingfor this project from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources(IDNR) REAP program, and the Alliance contracted with Agren tocoordinate much of the work.Several prescribed fire experts joined with Agren staff as presentersat the series of meetings. Matt Graeve, burn boss for theLoess Hills Mobile Prescribed Fire Crew based in Council Bluffs,talked about his crew at each session. The Burn Crew is available tohelp landowners plan and execute a controlled burn on their property.Graeve said he believes the series of meetings was effective asan educational tool."I think overall they were helpful in getting new people tothe table," he said. "I've had a few landowners call and ask forfollow-up."Graeve and his crew already have 13 prescribed fires scheduledfor this spring, but he said he intends to follow-up with interestedlandowners as time permits.Also attending each session was Agren President Tom Buman.He said that although the company has worked with insuranceissues and conducted feasibility studies related to prescribed fire inthe past, this was their first educational project with fire."We wanted to increase the number of prescribed fires andThanks to the input of several ranchersfrom throughout the western and southernUnited States, great strides are being madetoward making "The Grazing Manager"(TGM) software a valuable, user-friendlytool.A little more than a year ago, Agrenstaff recognized a need to develop a tool tohelp rangeland producers make tough decisionsabout their herds during prolongeddrought. After analyzing 17 different tools,Agren selected The Grazing Manager,which was originally designed at TexasA&M University to help ranchers adjusttheir herd stocking rate more proactively.The goal of Agren's project is to take thisproven tool and make it more user-friendlyfor ranchers who are struggling to manageunder drought conditions.Rob Ravenscroft, a retired Nebraskarancher now living at Lincoln, NE, washired by Agren to work with TGM. He hasmet one-on-one with ranchers fromMontana, Wyoming, South Dakota, Kansas,Okalahoma and New Mexico to help themmaster TGM and find the "bugs" that needMatt Graeve, burn boss for the Loess Hills MobilePrescribed Fire Crew, explains the benefits of prescribedfire to a group of landowners from the Percival area.motivate people to use prescribed fire," Buman said.All participants were surveyed at the conclusion of each session.Results show that 71 percent of those in attendance have landthat would be eligible for a burn. Landowners' interest in conductinga burn and exploring financial assistance both went up following themeetings, according to the surveys.In addition to the series of meetings, the prescribed fire projectresulted in release of several press releases and radio interviews, aswell as creation of promotional mailings and information packets.As the project winds down, Agren personnel are preparing theirfinal report to REAP.Buman said that the success of the prescribed fire educationalproject has prompted Agren to contemplate a follow-up project. Onepossibility is outreach to absentee landowners – those who own landin the Loess Hills but don't live there or manage the land directly."They're part of the ecosystem and they need to be informed,"Buman said.Ranchers Assist Agren to Make TGM Grazing Software More User Friendlyto be worked out. Comments and questionsraised by the "test group" are then sharedwith a computer programmer to improvethe software.This group of ranchers represents severaldifferent grazing styles ranging fromseason-long to intensive. They includemembers of the Zuni Tribe in New Mexicoand the Sioux and Assiniboine tribes onMontana's Fort Peck Reservation. Theranchers have different levels of computer(continued on next page)