Texas Grazing Network Mentor

Mentors with demonstrated experience and leadership in regenerative grazing will provide individualized guidance and support to mentees interested in adopting or improving regenerative grazing in their operations. They will participate in a mentor training program to receive initial training on mentorship and various topics related to running a successful grazing operation, including soil health, adaptive grazing, succession planning, marketing, and business resources. They will be financially compensated for their time and effort (details below).  

Qualifications

• Those interested in being mentors need to demonstrate experience with regenerative ranching methods.  

• Beef cattle should be a producer’s primary agricultural enterprise to be a mentor. 

• Mentors should be located in or near the designated regions for this program. 

• Mentors must be able to commit at least three years to the TGN. We expect this time commitment to be approximately: 

         – 200 hours in year one;
         – 240 hours in year two, and
         – 50 hours in year three.  

• The size of a mentor’s operation does not matter.  

Responsibilities 

• Attend in-person mentor training sessions (December 11-12, 2024, and April 9, 2025) and virtual training sessions (dates & times are TBD for virtual sessions). 

• Provide mentorship through technical assistance (TA) to other cattle producers on implementing regenerative grazing practices.  

• Provide mentorship to up to eight mentees throughout the project.   

• Conduct 50 hours of TA per mentee in the first year of mentorship, followed by 10 hours of TA per mentee in the second year of mentorship. An example of TA includes five visits to a mentee’s ranch (4 visits in year 1, 1 visit in year 2 of a mentorship), hosting mentees at your place of operation (or alternate site if more appropriate) for tour/demonstrations, monthly check-in calls with each mentee, planning and preparation activities, written feedback and recommendations. 

• TA topics and activities include completing mentee ranch assessments, establishing goals, regenerative grazing principles and practices, soil health, forage assessments, livestock health, applying conservation practices, technical & financial assistance programs and support organizations/resources, succession planning, financial planning, marketing, and creating a grazing management plan. 

• Record activities conducted with mentees. 

• Provide feedback and observations to AFT staff and complete surveys.

Compensation 

• Mentors will receive $30 per hour of engagement with mentees (60 total hours per mentee x $30 = $1,800 per completed mentorship).  

• Mentors will be compensated for travel to mentees’ places of operation at a rate of $0.655 per mile.  

• Mentors will be compensated for attending all in-person training sessions (approximately 20 hours) and virtual training sessions (approximately 10 hours) at a rate of $30 per hour, and they will be reimbursed for lodging, meals, and mileage to attend in-person training. 

Texas Grazing Network Mentor

Producers interested in applying regenerative practices for the first time or expanding their current operations and would like to receive guidance and training from a fellow producer may apply to the TGN program to receive mentorship from a rancher experienced with regenerative production in the same geographic area. Those accepted into the program will be designated as mentees with the overarching objective of learning how to implement regenerative practices appropriate for their operations’ needs. 

Benefits of Participation 

• Mentees receive personalized technical assistance from a mentor experienced in regenerative ranching methods in the same geographic area.  

• Mentees learn about financial assistance opportunities. 

• Mentees get access to potential financial incentives. 

• Mentees are connected to an expansive network of regenerative ranchers.  

• Mentees get access to subject matter experts and comprehensive resources.  

Mentee Learning Objectives 

• Understand regenerative grazing principles and identify and apply practices appropriate for the mentee’s operation.   

• Understand and identify characteristics common in healthy soils and how to utilize a soil sample analysis to assess soil health.  

• Assess forage health, estimate available forage, and plan stocking rates based on available or anticipated forage.   

• Ability to assess animal health and condition in a regenerative ranching operation.   

• Apply conservation practices that address soil erosion and protection of water resources.   

• Understand the common technical assistance and financial assistance programs, support organizations, and resource tools available to the mentee.   

• Understand how to manage family dynamics and create succession plans for family-run ranches.   

• Understand financial planning and marketing strategies for a regenerative ranching operation.   

• Create a grazing management plan that utilizes regenerative practices to help achieve the mentee’s ranching goals.  

Requirements to Participate as a Mentee 

• Mentees must operate in the North Central Texas area (other areas of Texas will be available in the future). 

• Mentees must be willing to learn from a mentor whose role is to guide the mentee to achieving his or her ranching goals. Mentors will provide observations, advice, recommendations, and instruction on various topics throughout the program. 

• Mentees should commit up to 24 months of participation in the program, with approximately 40 hours of work with a mentor in the first 12 months and 10 hours of work with a mentor in the last 12 months. 

• Mentees must be willing to have a mentor visit their ranch at least five times for up to four hours per visit.  

• Mentees will visit the mentor’s ranch once during the first year of mentorship.  

• Mentees must commit to a once-per-month virtual meeting (or phone) check-in with their mentor to review progress and plans and address questions and concerns. 

• Mentees will provide observations and feedback on their experiences to AFT staff. 

• To foster learning and promote community among the TGN, mentees must be willing to share their knowledge, experiences, successes, and lessons learned in a community of practice.