The following article appeared in the on line publication “On Pasture” and was written by Brett Chedzoy, Cornell Cooperative Extension Educator and Regional Forester.

Throughout most humid regions of the US, the landscape is dotted with old farm fields and pastures that today grow trees and shrubs. In some cases, there are obvious reasons why land was left to revert back to its natural state – too wet, stony or steep. But many of these old field sites also grew back because the farmer no longer had the means or needs to keep the land open. Regardless of the underlying reasons, many of these what now appear to be woodlots (or brushlots, if that’s the image that comes to mind) present ripe opportunity for productive and profitable grazing system expansion – especially when adjacent to existing pasture land, or available in large enough blocks to support a viable grazing operation. Read entire article.