Integrating Wildlife Biology with Forage-Based Grazing: Cattle and Sheep Silvopasture

Will Bowling is both a farmer and a professional wildlife biologist – not two things you often see together – and the combination has yielded intriguing results at his family’s farm in southeastern KY. Will’s passion for managing plant communities has informed his forage-based livestock operation (and vice versa), as he integrates woodland management principles with silvopastoral livestock operations.

Will and Maggie Bowling purchased the farm in 2013, and since that time, they have provided locally-grown farm products to their community in southeastern Kentucky. Old Homeplace Farm consists of around 55 acres, including 2 acres of intensive vegetable production and 26 acres of pasture. Currently, they produce vegetables, cut flowers, and pasture-based livestock (cattle, sheep, and goats). They market through both direct-to-consumer sales and wholesale accounts, as well as some livestock breeding stock. They conduct educational workshops, farm dinners, and other agritourism events.

Come see how over ten years of hard work and ecologically informed land management have resulted in a thriving farm venture.

This tour is supported in partnership with the Southeastern Kentucky Sheep Producers Association.

This event is Free, but registration is required. (This tour has a limited capacity, so please be considerate; only register if you definitely intend to attend.)

Contact the host of Cattle and Sheep Silvopasture at Old Homeplace Farm, in Clay County, KY