08/14/2026
The 2026 Noble Grazing: Flint Hills Series in Council Grove, Kansas, is a wrap — and the producers who came through it left with more than just notes.
The three-part series combines grazing management, business strategy and a hands-on grazing plan workshop, giving producers the tools to make adaptive grazing management a permanent part of their operation. What makes this series distinct is that it's built around the context of the Flint Hills — the region's distinctive environment, forage conditions and ranching culture woven into every session.
Wendell Burge, who ranches with his wife, Marty, in Osage County, Oklahoma, in the southern Flint Hills, says the series gave them practical grazing strategies and management tools to improve both the productivity of their operation and the health of their land. One eye-opener for Wendell was learning how to evaluate stocking rates for the long term, not just today.
"We probably are running too many cattle, and the effect is going to be we buy more hay, or we sell cows," Burge says. "The Flint Hills has its own unique ecosystem that this series is tailored for, so I'd encourage producers in the area to attend next year."
Nate Nelson of Cedar Point, Kansas, attended with his wife, Embry, and came away with a sharper ability to assess and measure forage in the field. "This series really helped me dial in the ability to quickly assess and measure available forage," Nelson says. "Kind of get that quick math — this is what I have, this is how many days I can be in this specific area."
A sincere thank-you to all attendees and our partners who made this series possible: Kansas State University, Hy-Plains Feedyard and the Kansas Grazing Lands Coalition, with funding provided by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service.
Stay tuned for news on the 2027 Noble Grazing: Flint Hills Series dates.
