TBF 013 :: Building Marketing Relationships, Rotational Grazing, and a Hard Lesson Learned

Just because another farmer in your area sells many of the same products as your farm and farms in a way that is similar to yours does not mean that you need to look at them as competition. What would happen though if instead of seeing those farms as "competition" we saw them as partners in farming, marketing, and our community? On our farm and in our community we have experienced a lot of benefits from building relationships with other farms in our area ... even if we could be considered "direct competitors" with them.

On todays show I share five reasons why I believe it is important to build those relationships and how they can benefit all of the farmers in your community. I would love to hear about how you have built relationships with your farm neighbors and what the benefits have been. Join the discussion and leave a comment below!

Five Reasons to Build Marketing Relationships

1. There is Room in the Market :: It is my belief that the local food movement is a market that is still growing, so there is room for more great farms to become involved in their community.
2. Learning is Important :: The knowledge that farmers in the same area can share is so much better than things you can read in a book because you are farming with similar variables.
3. Cooperation Can Bring Growth :: When a group of farms in an area join forces they can have an impact that is larger than any one of them could have done on their own. (Check out our Farm Crawl)
4. Marketing Friendships Have Benefits :: Having other farmers at a market pointing potential customers your way is about the best advertising you can have.
5. Your Tummy Can Benefit :: Farmers that raise great tasting food sometimes share that food! And really is that type of community one of the values of most small-scale farms?

In fact I'm so thankful for our farm friends I want to give a shout out to them today!

• Ebersole Cattle Company
• Blue Gate Farm
• Reichert's Dairy Air
• Cleverley Farms
• Coyote Run Farm
• Dan-D Farms

In the farm update section of this episode I spend some time talking about the rotational grazing going on at Crooked Gap Farm right now. The cows are moving everyday ... the sheep are moving everyday ... the chickens are moving everyday ... the rabbits are moving everyday. It is great to see the livestock moving across the pasture grazing, fertilizing, and generally being happy cows, sheep, chickens, and bunnies. 

As always, I want to thank you so much for listening and supporting the show with your encouragement and reviews on iTunes! I am continually working to produce a better show, and I'm thankful for all of the listeners sticking with me as I learn. If you do enjoy the show, don't forget that you can subscribe on iTunes and leave a five start rating and review (by clicking the link or the image on the right). If you are an Android phone user you can also subscribe on the free Stitcher App. It is so very encouraging to know that people are listening and enjoying the show! 

I would love to hear your questions, show ideas, or comments about the show. Feel free to shoot me an e-mail! As always you can follow along with The Beginning Farmer and Crooked Gap Farm by checking out these links ... 

• Crooked Gap Farm
• Crooked Gap Farm on Facebook
• Crooked Gap Farm on Twitter

TBF Show 013 :: Play in a New Window | Right Click to Download

**Special Note :: Because iTunes and Blogger were not playing nicely I now have a different feed for the podcast episodes. You can find a The Beginning Farmer Show specific feed at this link if you use an rss reader. I hope this also helps with some download problems others had been having as well.**

(if you are interested in the music in this episode check out my brother's record label, Historic Records) 

Hello My Friends ...

This morning some one said to me, "May 7th!" With a look of confusion on my face I admitted that meant nothing to me, but then they were quick to point out that was the last time I made a blog post. (Oddly enough it was about me wanting a truck and wanting to sell my Expedition ... I still want a truck, but haven't sold the Expedition yet.) I wish that there were just tons and tons of things that I needed to catch people up on, but really things have been rather mundane ... and very busy all at the same time. I will try to take some time this week to share some of the changes that have been happening. The most exciting one though is probably the fact that I'm now making three moves per day with the cattle.

I'm not sure what to call it because it really isn't Mob Grazing because of the limiting factors of the pastures, but it is at least spreading out some nutrients and getting the cows on fresh grass often. The limiting factors that I'm talking about are the very thin and not super lush stand of grass that I have right now. After 14 years of no management and plenty of weeds and brush taking over the stand of warm season grasses is not very thick and it doesn't take off very quickly in the spring. Because of that I end up putting the cows in smallish areas, but they eat off the grass very quickly and then need to be moved. Also, as you can see in the picture above I started off feeding a little hay to keep them in a small area longer, but I just found it was too much hassle and didn't help the way I wanted it to. There isn't a large concentration of manure being put down ... but, it is a start!

I'm also beginning to get an idea of just how much grazing is possible on the farm and I'm liking what I'm seeing especially as the pastures begin to improve ... which has to happen at some point. Tomorrow I'll try to post a picture of what the ground looks like after the cows have been moved and then what it looks like a couple weeks later. Like I said, the warm season grasses don't take off, but there is some regrowth happening and I think over time the clovers will come back and more.

So far the down side has (besides the thin pastures) has been the watering. I have a large tank on a hay rack that I move around with them and a waterer that I drag to each paddock, but I don't like how it's working out so far. I do have some plans though and I'll share them as I think through them.

Hope this counts as a post :) And, I'll share a little more as the week goes on.

The One Bad Thing...

As I mentioned earlier I am using the five young heifer calves as a mower behind the house where we are going to construct the shed. I'm really having them gnaw it down to the nubs and attack the bushes and then I'll go through with the mower afterwards to get what is left (which will be shrub stems). It is going really well and it is fun to watch them attack the fresh grass each day. I also like the fact that I can look out our bedroom window in the morning and see them laying down or grazing away!

Except there is one downside ... since they are so close to the house they wake me up every time they moo! Normally the just get going in the morning or when they want some more grass, but last night they really started into it at two in the morning. This made me worried because I assumed it meant something was out there ... and by something I mainly mean Mr. Bull (who also got out yesterday morning).

So, I peered out into the dark night that was also heavily covered by fog and I saw a lumbering mass next to their fence. I wasn't sure what it was, but I just assumed it was the bull. So, I grabbed a flashlight and pulled on my boots ready to try and corral a bull at 2:00 AM. Luckily when I got out there I found it was just the haybine! My mind does play tricks on me in the middle of the night...

Just another one of the joys of our beginning farm.

How Does Your Grass Grow?

I am getting very close to the point of needing to decide what I'm going to do with our pastures this early spring (if we can get rid of some mud). Last fall we baled seven or eight acres on top of the hill and you can see some green starting to take off (that is very exciting to see), but the rest of the ground is still covered in last falls tall grass (switch grasses and more). The decision that I face is whether or not to let the grass grow up through last years growth or to go out with the bush hog and take it down mechanically and then bring the cows on as it grows.

If I were to intensely graze the pastures as they stand right now I am guessing there would be some benefit in turning out the cows on it. The cows may benefit by having some extra roughage that could help combat bloat from the early grass. But, it is also a possibility that the land would benefit also by having the cows there. Maybe the hoof action and the eating would help work last years tall grass into the ground as some good carbon material...

On the other hand I think there could possibly be some benefits from mowing down the tall grass. One possible plus would be the fact that they old grass would be chopped up and taken out of the way allowing more sunlight to reach the ground and the new growth. Then when the cows were allowed into an area they would potentially have more green grass available. Of course there would also be the side benefit of having some ant hills knocked down, which is something that needs to happen if we are going to bale different areas.

I am wondering what your thoughts on this issue are? Should I just head out and graze it ... maybe even now? Or, should I knock it all down and then let some good growth occur before putting the cows out onto the pasture? As always ... thanks for the help!

The Contrary Farmer :: Chapter 6 Book Review

The other evening I finished chapter six of Gene Logsdons book, "The Contrary Farmer". This chapter is titled, "A Paradise of Meadows". Like Mr. Logsdon's other chapters in this book it is part life philosophy and part practical knowledge. I enjoyed reading this chapter as the meadow places are areas that I find exceptionally beautiful and full of life ... kinda Mr. Logsdon's idea!

One quote that really hit home for me (not as much because it was new knowledge, but rather because it encourages me) comes from the beginning part of the chapter. Mr. Logsdon writes, "The reason controlled rotational grazing, or grassland farming, the older term which I prefer to use, fits the cottage farm so well is that this is becoming the most economical way to keep animals as the cost of annual crop farming rises." He goes on to talk about the benefits of the livestock doing the work, controlling the weeds, and harvesting our crops (grass, legumes, corn, etc.). One thing I feel like I need to remind myself each time I pick up this book is that Mr. Logsdon is specifically talking about what he calls "cottage farms". These are farmers that don't make their soul income from their livestock, crops, or other farm ventures. So, his type of grassland farming with slower rotations may not fit someone looking to raise their stock density in order to meet product demands, build up their soils, or create a product.

Another thing that comes out loud and clear in this chapter is Mr. Logsdon's love affair with bluegrass and white clover ... and I must admit that I think I'm starting to believe him! I first read his words on bluegrass and white clover in "All Flesh is Grass" a book that I have also read. His feeling is that bluegrass and white clover are such great pasture grasses/legumes because they almost always show up when you graze/mow a pasture for a period of time. And, I must admit that I have seen that on our own families farm. There is land that was a weedy mess of nothingness that all of the sudden is full of a variety of plants and lots of bluegrass and clover! We didn't seed anything, it just came on by itself. He does throw out a few other meadow (pasture) plants that he likes or has heard of others liking. Some that he includes are: birdsfoot trefoil, red clover, alfalfa, timothy, orchard grass, rye grass (although he wasn't as high on this as I have heard others speak), and more. This book chapter really did get me think about grasses, legumes, and weeds again ... this spring I would really like to have an extension agent or the like come out to the family farm to give us a run down of what our pastures hold.

So, here is your two second run down of the chapter: Meadows are beautiful places that hold wonderful wildlife, great memories, and a place to relax. They provide a great opportunity to raise your livestock as they were created to graze and at lower prices than conventional farming as long as you practice some sort of rotational grazing to spread the nutrients and force them to eat a variety of plants. And, meadows should be diverse and have plentiful species of plants ... maybe even different meadows in different environments on the farm with different plants!

When I read other peoples review of this book many of them said that is a book they like to keep on their shelf so they can read it once a year to make sure their heads are on straight. Now that I'm over half way through I can really appreciate that comment. It may not be full of details and systems of grazing, but it does help you keep your mind focused on the ideals of grass farming.

**For my other chapter reviews check out these links : Chapter 1&2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5**

More Ultra High Density Grazing...

After I my post on Ultra High Density Grazing a couple weeks ago I noticed by way of e-mails and such that quite a few people were stumbling on to this blog while searching for information about the topic. This may be the "next big thing" in grazing ... or maybe it is the "big thing" right now. I am not an insider in the grazing circles yet so I don't know where it stands as far as wide spread acceptance. But, I do know there are quite a few people out there looking for information and I know that I have had a tough time find a lot of information about it. So, I though I would blog again about Ultra High Density Grazing and see if the community of people that read or stumble onto this blog could give some more insight into the subject.

Krystle commented on my first post and mentioned that Greg Judy (author of "No Risk Ranching") is switching to Ultra High Density from Management Intensive Grazing and because of that switch the are becoming more profitable. Also, someone else commented or e-mailed clarifying my understanding of the subject. It is interaction like this that makes learning about grazing so much easier!

Basically, if I understand correctly, Ultra High Density Grazing is placing a high number of cattle on a small space so that they eat down the grass fairly quickly (maybe leaving around 30% forage?) then moving them to the next paddock. I believe we are talking about two or three paddock moves a day because of the high stocking density. Sometimes is this also called "mob grazing". It seems like the basis for this practice comes from imitating the large herds of American Bison on the plains of the Midwest and West. Those large herds would move through an area eat it down quickly and then just keep moving. If only paddock switches were that easy!

I think it is a very interesting idea. Those that are doing it are falling in love with it, from what I understand, and they are really increasing the carrying capacity of their land. After reading a little about Ultra High Density Grazing a few thoughts and questions do pop into my mind. First of all, I think if you are really going to take advantage of this method you will need to have a good source to sell your beef to. If you are selling directly to the consumer I could see easily over producing for your market and then having to dump some animals (unless maybe you are doing something along the stocker lines?). Also, I think I would have to experience and learn from doing MiG grazing before I tackled something like this. Another question that pops into my mind is what about dry seasons. If you have a much higher amount of cattle than your normal MiG or continuous grazing stocking numbers what happens when you have a dry summer? Do you have to dump cattle, should you be irrigating anyways, are you going to have to feed stored forage? That also brings up another question ... what about winter? Is this a better system for stocker cattle on large ranches or can it work on smallish farms also?

Ultra High Stock Density Grazing is a very interesting topic and I would look forward to learning more about it. If you have anything to add, correct, or discuss please make sure you leave a comment ... also, if you have some good links or books make sure you let everyone know about those!