On RFD-TV: Dave Wedin

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06/03/2025 Added

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Today we’re joined by Dr. Dave Wedin from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, a longtime advocate for prairie conservation and sustainable rangeland management. He leads the Center for Grassland Studies, a unique hub of research, education, and outreach.

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[00:00:00.000]Well, the University of
[00:00:00.990]Nebraska working to advance the
[00:00:02.830]science and stewardship of
[00:00:04.350]grasslands,
[00:00:04.980]which cover more than 60
[00:00:06.660]percent of the state and serve
[00:00:08.410]as an essential resource for
[00:00:10.040]cattle
[00:00:10.300]production and water quality.
[00:00:12.180]Advocate for Prairie
[00:00:13.330]Conservation, Dr. Dave Wadin
[00:00:15.150]joins us
[00:00:15.760]now for a closer look.
[00:00:16.880]Appreciate you being here, sir.
[00:00:18.570]Thank you so much. Tell us
[00:00:19.850]about
[00:00:20.220]the Center for Grassland
[00:00:21.820]Studies and its mission. Well,
[00:00:24.250]the center was founded about 30
[00:00:26.340]years ago
[00:00:27.020]with an interdisciplinary
[00:00:28.690]mission of teaching, research,
[00:00:30.800]and education. Our mission is
[00:00:32.750]to
[00:00:32.980]advance both the science and
[00:00:34.720]the management conservation of
[00:00:36.550]grasslands, especially in the
[00:00:38.340]Great Plains. And we have a
[00:00:41.070]focus on supporting the people
[00:00:43.100]that use and depend on grasslands.
[00:00:45.420]This includes ranchers, and
[00:00:47.640]then conservation professionals,
[00:00:49.800]educators, and of course our
[00:00:51.860]students. Grasslands, as we
[00:00:53.640]mentioned, a big part of
[00:00:55.050]Nebraska's landscape.
[00:00:57.020]The importance of these grasslands,
[00:00:59.100]obviously ranchers come to the
[00:01:01.280]forefront. Why they are
[00:01:02.980]so important? Why this research
[00:01:04.570]is so important? Well, as you
[00:01:07.260]mentioned, grasslands cover
[00:01:08.820]more than
[00:01:09.240]60 percent of Nebraska. They're
[00:01:11.740]essential for cattle production,
[00:01:13.880]wildlife habitat,
[00:01:14.900]groundwater recharge, water
[00:01:17.080]quality, and carbon storage. We
[00:01:19.600]often say Nebraska is a grassland
[00:01:22.040]state that also has a cattle
[00:01:23.470]industry. Working grasslands,
[00:01:25.330]in other words, grasslands that
[00:01:27.020]are used for grazing and haying,
[00:01:29.410]are vital not just to our
[00:01:31.000]economy, but to the long terms
[00:01:32.900]of
[00:01:32.920]sustainability of our natural
[00:01:34.790]resources. When managed well,
[00:01:36.880]grasslands support both people
[00:01:39.020]and ecosystems. Can you speak
[00:01:41.570]to how the center really works
[00:01:42.820]with producers? I know you guys
[00:01:43.980]work very closely together
[00:01:45.590]there in the state. Yeah, we
[00:01:47.430]work hand-in-hand with ranchers
[00:01:49.380]and
[00:01:49.680]extension educators, as well as
[00:01:52.800]students and researchers. These,
[00:01:55.750]they work hand-in-hand
[00:01:57.020]with us. This includes
[00:01:58.320]everything from grazing
[00:01:59.650]strategies and prescribed fire
[00:02:01.440]to management
[00:02:02.880]systems for grassland health.
[00:02:04.920]We also focus on undergraduate
[00:02:06.800]education. We have a grassland
[00:02:08.920]systems major. We also have
[00:02:10.880]undergraduate minors in ranch
[00:02:13.140]management and rangeland
[00:02:14.680]management.
[00:02:15.160]A lot of opportunity there for
[00:02:17.030]students, for sure. Dr. Wadine,
[00:02:19.480]tell us about this big event. I
[00:02:21.280]understand you've got a big
[00:02:22.590]event coming up this summer. Ties
[00:02:24.290]all of this together. Give us
[00:02:25.920]the
[00:02:26.000]details on this. What's
[00:02:27.150]involved here? That's right. We're
[00:02:29.110]excited to be a co-host for the
[00:02:31.000]America's Grasslands Conference,
[00:02:33.290]which is happening June 24th
[00:02:35.290]through 26th in Kearney,
[00:02:37.260]Nebraska. It's
[00:02:38.680]the only national conference
[00:02:41.080]focused solely on the
[00:02:42.380]conservation and management of
[00:02:44.710]grasslands.
[00:02:45.880]This includes ranchers,
[00:02:47.440]researchers, tribal leaders,
[00:02:49.440]agency professionals, and
[00:02:51.220]conservationists
[00:02:52.440]from across the country.
[00:02:53.640]Nebraska is a perfect place to
[00:02:55.790]be. We're going to be having a
[00:02:55.980]lot of
[00:02:55.980]fun. This is a great place to
[00:02:57.870]hold this deep dive, this
[00:02:58.910]conversation about grasslands.
[00:03:00.460]Kearney is in
[00:03:01.600]the middle of the country and
[00:03:03.040]in the middle of grasslands.
[00:03:04.730]Happening this June, a lot of
[00:03:06.120]folks
[00:03:06.440]watching, they want to get more
[00:03:07.800]involved? Do they want to get
[00:03:09.110]more details? Where can they go
[00:03:10.680]for
[00:03:10.840]that? Well, to learn more, you
[00:03:12.910]can go to the Center for Grassland
[00:03:15.050]Studies website at grassland.unl.edu.
[00:03:18.520]We have a link there to the
[00:03:19.970]America's Grasslands Conference
[00:03:21.480]where you can register. It's
[00:03:23.530]open to
[00:03:24.440]everybody that's interested in
[00:03:26.030]grasslands. And you're welcome
[00:03:28.260]to join us, whether you're
[00:03:30.180]somebody
[00:03:30.500]on a ranch or working in
[00:03:31.570]conservation or just somebody
[00:03:33.060]that enjoys prairies.
[00:03:34.340]Dr. Wadim, thank you so much.
[00:03:35.950]Great information. Thank you
[00:03:37.490]for joining us. I know you're
[00:03:38.930]busy and
[00:03:39.440]we do appreciate all the work
[00:03:40.650]that you do. Dr. Dave Wadim,
[00:03:42.050]the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

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On RFD-TV: Dave Wedin

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