Managing pasture and livestock watering for flooding, drought and extreme heat events

Location: Chase Hill Farm, 74 Chase Hill Rd, Warwick, MA 01378

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This workshop will focus on livestock and pasture management in heat, drought, and flood, including practices for managing and capturing water, managing forage crops for water extremes, and efficient methods of providing access to drinking water for livestock. The presenters work with American Farmland Trust’s Thriving Farms and Ranches Livestock Team and can provide risk assessment and planning tools for farms and help them access services from NRCS and will explain the process for accessing this support. Presenters and CISA staff will facilitate discussion of farm-specific challenges and potential solutions. 

Presenters:  

Max Breiteneicher is an Apprentice Farm Conservation Planner at American Farmland Trust, serving on the Thriving Farms and Ranches Livestock Team. In this role, he helps farmers prepare conservation plans for implementation on their farms and for eligibility to participate in USDA-NRCS programs. Max also owns and operates a grass-based cheesemaking farm in Cummington, Massachusetts.   

Caleb Smith is a Livestock and Agronomy Specialist at American Farmland Trust (AFT) and a commercial farmer. He was a professional dairyman for 13 years before joining AFT and continues to be a professional livestock producer on 350 acres. Caleb has had a career-long relationship with Vermont NRCS, with vast experience using their conservation programs to improve the profitability and sustainability of his own farm. At AFT, he works to help farmers maximize the profit and environmental potential of their NRCS contracts.

This work is supported by the Northeast Extension Risk Management project award no. 2025-70027-45395, from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture.