PLJV welcomes Lindsay Shorter, the new Grassland Conservation Marketing Manager, to our team. Lindsay has a unique understanding of the needs and experiences of farmers and ranchers in the PLJV region — in part because she is one. Lindsay grew up on a cow/calf operation in Northeast Kansas, where they raised Angus and Shorthorn cattle. Today, Lindsay, along with her husband, are a part of a ranch management team that manages a large-scale ranch in western Oklahoma. On the ranch they are focusing on conserving and regenerating grasslands, primarily through managing an extensive rotational grazing system.
“We’re excited to have Lindsay join our marketing communications team at PLJV,” said Marketing Communications Director Miruh Hamend. “Her perspective, from working in ranch management and her previous work with agricultural producers in Kansas, will be invaluable as we develop communication messages and products to support the JV partnership with grassland conservation — from brush management and prescribed fire to long-term protection.”
“As producers, we have to learn that grassland management and conservation directly benefit our bottom line and our longevity in our operation.”
Previously, Lindsay worked as the Agriculture and Natural Resources Agent and County Extension Director in Greenwood County, Kansas. Within her role in Extension, she assisted in educating and advising farmers and ranchers in advancing their operations. Lindsay’s extension education programs focused on grassland and pasture management, as she was working within the Flint Hills of Kansas, which is made up of predominantly tallgrass prairie.
As one of her main priorities, Lindsay will work alongside PLJV social scientists as part of an NRCS Conservation Innovation Grant project to develop an effective outreach model by integrating social science insights into targeted strategic communications that increase brush management and prescribed fire on rangelands in six conservation districts in Oklahoma and Kansas. While the social science work is aimed at understanding decision-making related to invasive woody plant encroachment, Lindsay will work to integrate that understanding into targeted communication messages and products. These messages will directly address barriers and aim to increase participation in management actions.
“Through my experience, I’ve seen firsthand how critical grassland management and conservation is to agriculture operations,” Lindsay said. “As producers, we have to learn that grassland management and conservation directly benefit our bottom line and our longevity in our operation. I’m excited to help share that message and make that connection.”
