A Windy Night and a Strong Start: Grazing Club Kicks Off in Sangudo
Despite a blustery winter evening, around 40 producers gathered at the Jaded Chef in Sangudo for the kickoff session of Farming Forward’s new Next Step Grazing Club, supported by the Canadian Forage and Grassland Association (CFGA).
We owe a quick apology to those who arrived early, we did not realize the front door was locked. Once it opened, the room filled quickly with familiar faces greeting one another and new conversations starting up. That energy carried through the entire evening, with discussions happening before the presentation, during supper, and well after.
Creating a welcoming, peer driven space where producers can socialize, learn, and head home with new ideas is exactly what we hoped the Grazing Club would be.
Setting the Foundation
We were thrilled to welcome Bluesette Campbell as the first Grazing Club speaker. Bluesette is a Holistic Management Certified Educator and owner operator of B-C Ranch Inc., a third generation cattle ranch near Meadow Lake, Saskatchewan. Alongside her family, she has practiced holistic management and regenerative planned grazing for decades, more than doubling their stocking rate on the same land base through intentional grazing stewardship.
Bluesette grounded the evening in the fundamentals of grazing planning, drawing from real world experience on her own ranch.
One story that resonated deeply was from a year when a major flood threatened the viability of their operation. At the time, they did not believe the year would be profitable. However, the skills they had built through years of writing grazing plans became their lifeline, allowing them to adapt quickly and make informed decisions.
Grazing plans gave us the ability to respond, not react.
More Than Just a Grazing Plan
While grazing plans were the main focus of the evening, Bluesette emphasized that they are only one piece of a much larger system.
Drawing from her holistic management background, she shared how the pillars of people, financial, and environmental health work together to support an operation’s overall goals. What that system looks like will differ for every operation, depending on individual goals and values.
Grazing planning fits into this framework as a decision making tool, not a one size fits all solution.
Questions, Challenges, and Learning Together
After supper, the conversation continued with an engaging question and answer session. Many thoughtful questions came from the room, sometimes met with a moment of frustration as Bluesette responded by asking questions back.
That challenge was intentional.
There is no single right answer, it depends on your goals."
The discussion reinforced that grazing management is about learning how to think through decisions, rather than following a recipe.
Practical Tools to Take Home
Before wrapping up, participants received a grazing chart to take home and use if they wished to start or refine their own grazing plans. Bluesette also shared practical equations to help calculate rest periods, grazing periods, and the number of desired paddocks, giving everyone a tangible starting point.
One long time Farming Forward participant shared a simple takeaway from the evening.
“If someone walks away tonight and splits one pasture into two this grazing season, that is a 50 percent increase in rest period.”
Looking Ahead
Farming Forward also shared information about the CFGA OFCAF program, which opens for its 2026 intake on February 1. Grazing Club participants were encouraged to connect with CFGA or Farming Forward to learn more about the program.
Feedback from the evening was overwhelmingly positive, with participants rating the session as a great overall experience. Many shared that they plan to return for the next Grazing Club session in two weeks, and several great topic ideas were offered for future sessions later this winter or throughout the year.
We are grateful to everyone who braved the wind to join us and help set the foundation for what we hope will be a strong, producer led Grazing Club moving forward.
