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.

A Note From Jim Gerrish...

Way back in November of 2007 I wrote a couple of posts on Ultra High Density Grazing (post one and post two) and mentioned the work of Greg Judy and Jim Gerrish. I have to admit that I was and still am equally amazed and interested in the idea of Ultra High Density Grazing and all of the things that go along with it. But, the other thing that I am willing to admit is that I don't have a very good understanding of the methods, terminology, and everything else. Thankfully there is a thing such as Google and also wonderful people such as Mr. Gerrish who are willing to take some time to set me straight!

Yesterday I received an e-mail from Mr. Gerrish that helped me understand a few things. Here is a sample of what he wrote:

"The 2000 to 8000 lb per acre I was referring to is the standing forage yield. Basically 1 to 4 tons per acre of standing stockpiled forage."

"We generally graze winter stockpiled forage at a stock density of 120-140,000 lb-liveweight/acre with daily moves. On really heavy stockpile, we’ll occasionally break 200,000 lb liveweight/acre. Greg [Judy] usually moves three or four times per day. His reference to 500,000 lb liveweight/acre stock density is an instantaneous measure. If he moves 3x daily, the 24-hr stock density (the only way to accurately relate animal needs to forage supply) is 166,667 lb/acre. If he moves four times daily, the 24-hr stock density is 125,000 lb/acre. We are basically grazing at the same carrying capacity and 24-hr stock density. He does it with multiple moves each day. I do it with a single move (basic laziness on my part!)."

"We usually graze 300-500 cows in the winter and our daily chore time is about 25 minutes. That chore consists of taking down one 1000 ft section of polybraid and leapfrogging it ahead for the next day’s move."

That helped me understand what he is doing a lot, and it has given me a lot of encouragement in what we are hoping to do. Hopefully this is something we can work towords. In fact is something that I started doing with our 5 heifers this morning because I wanted to clip the grass really short in the area where we are going to be building a shed. The mower isn't going yet, so I might as well use cow power and not waste the grass!

Any good book recommendations on this subject that you have read? I would love to hear them...

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!

New Book From Greg Judy

I'm not sure what happened, but as I was picking up last night I noticed that I had the July issue of "The Stockman Grassfarmer" sitting on my desk and I hadn't even leafed through it. I guess with the busyness of the house going up and work on the farm it was shuffled to the bottom of the pile. Anyways ... once I find it I started leafing through it and reading bits and pieces of the cover article by Greg Judy. At the end of the article it mentioned that Mr. Judy had come out with a new book titled, "Comeback Farms". Luckily (I believe it is published by them) there is a review of the book in this issue and it looks fairly interesting.

Mr. Judy is also the author of, "No Risk Ranching, Custom Grazing on Leased Land", (long title) and this book appears to be an extension of that book and examination of what he has learned since writing that book. Probably the most interesting topic included in the book are the sections on High Density Grazing (HDG). Mr. Judy has been a huge promoter of this and stocks his cattle at very high rates with multiple moves per day. But, not a lot has been written in books about HDG so it should be interesting to see what he has to say.

The book also looks at multi-species grazing (always a good thing), land leasing, and specific details about the fencing/water equipment that he likes to use. It sounds like it is full of useful information, but I think I should point out that the book is written (by the articles own admission) for people that are already familiar with Management Intensive Grazing. I'm not sure if/when I would tackle this book, but it does sound like it would be a pretty good read.

**As an aside, I just thought I would mention that this is the 300th post on The Beginning Farmer Blog. Thanks to everyone who takes the time to read and comment, you all have been such a great encouragement and help!**

What to Do, What to Do...

Yesterday evening I drove the tractor out to the farm and pulled out the hay rake because I was getting tired of people commenting about the fact that I had a tractor in town! No, really I took the stuff out there so I would be able to get to work. But, while we were out there we decided to take a walk across our 26 acres of soon to be pasture ground and again the wheels in my mind started to turn. In the past I have considered mowing, baling, or burning, but none of that has happened for various reasons. First of all I don't have a bush hog, secondly it probably wouldn't work to well to mow with our haybine because of the anthills and brush, and finally they haven't made it to my name on the burn list yet (Have I mentioned it has been very wet).

So, as I was walking through the pasture-to-be yesterday I began to think about a fourth option (one of the comments mentioned this) which is just sticking the herd out there and trying to graze it down. There is quite a bit of green grass coming up between the matted down tall switch grass and if they were given enough area they would have plenty of food. Also, I was thinking/wondering if their hooves tramping around the pasture would break down the old switchgrass?

Of course this would be the most inexpensive way to begin conditioning the pasture and it is beginning to feel like it would also be the fastest. With the late planting season this year it has been difficult to borrow/hire/work with other farmers. They just are so focused on their planting right now it is impossible for them to get the old bush hog out of the shed or do baling in May.

So, what do you think? The downside is that I probably wouldn't be able to get as much hay off the ground this year as I had thought was possible. I may be able to scrounge up a pull behind mower in the next week or so and then maybe I would just mow it all, but maybe doing some mildly high intensity grazing along with spots of mowing would be the best bet. Also, Dexters do have a reputation for browsing ... that would help with some of the brush that has sprung up in a few areas.

I look forward to hearing what others think on this subject. Click on the picture above to see a bigger picture of what the pasture looks like.

The Importance of History

There are a few things that I am really passionate about. Of course my family and my ministry top the list. Farming is at the top of the list also, but the next thing I am passionate about is history. I have always love history, even as a very young child. In fact I am most interested in pre-1900 American history with an emphasis on 18th century stuff. It is interesting though that my passion for history also spills over into my other passions. I love to learn about family history and how families lived and interacted throughout history, I am always looking at my ministry from a historical perspective trying to learn from the past and preserve the past ... but, I really see my passion for history crossing over when it comes to farming.

Recently I picked up the book, "Harris on the Pig :: Practical Hints for the Pig Farmer" by Joseph Harris. This book was originally published in 1883 so it is over 100 years old. The thing that strikes me most is how practical the information is. But, I can also see that when it comes to pig farming our modern farmers have strayed away from this great knowledge of what just plain works.

What often happens in the rush to produce more and produce more quickly is that the tried and true ... the history ... is lost. I sort of mentioned this type of thing the other day when I talked about Gearld Fry's article on keeping the heritage breeds. What has happened (and not just in farming) is that the younger generation leaves the farm in order to go to college. Many of this generation have gone and earned agricultural degrees or at least immersed themselves in the latest and greatest, so when they get back to the farm they feel the need to change everything. I think they feel they need to change because they think there is more money out there that they are missing ... or maybe because they believe there is an easier way to do things ... or even just because that is the way that everyone else is starting to do it!

But, for whatever reason they change the way the farm has been run. They begin to specialize. They begin to upgrade their breeds through crossing in order to have the highest production possible in the shortest amount of time (disregarding other factors such as cost and efficiency). They begin to move the farm away from a diverse entity into a mono-crop or mono-animal production plant. And what happens is that history, what has worked in the past for year after year, is forgotten.

Now, I will admit that I tend to the nostalgic from time to time ... but, I do realize that there is a place for innovation. But, I want to see innovation rooted in history. Take Ultra High Density Grazing for example. I think it is safe to say that is an innovation that is starting to take off right now. And on the surface it seems like something new ... until you pop in that old VHS of "Dances With Wolves". They American Bison herds were doing Ultra High Density Grazing for years, they were just doing the paddock shifts themselves! Wow, now that would be innovation ... cattle that did paddock shifts for themselves. There are many more examples of how farmers and people in other professions have taken a page from history to produce innovation, not just changed for the sake of change.

So, I would call myself a beginning farmer. I would say that I am striving to become a sustainable farmer. But, I think I would like to add that I am going to be a historically minded farmer!

A Little More on "King Corn"

Ever since I found out about the documentary "King Corn" and posted THIS POST with some of thoughts I have been following the reviews and screenings of the movie as closely as I can. Recently they made a swing through Iowa and had a bunch of screenings in small and larger towns across Iowa. Unfortunately I wasn't able to attend any of the screenings because they didn't venture far enough South in my part of the state on the right days, but I'm glad they had a chance to screen the movie in the "corn belt" itself.

One of the most interesting things is that they have been posting VIDEO BLOGS from their screenings with comments from audience members. I have had a chance to watch the videos posted and was pretty intrigued by some of the comments. I don't know if this is just because they selected certain comments, but it seems as they worked their way East from Sioux City and Algona to some of the prime farm land in the state (Black Hawk, Hardin, and near Grundy Counties) they encountered a little more resistance from the farmers. Of course they also made a stop in Cedar Rapids, IA which is home to some big (and really smelly) corn processing plants!

For some reason the comments from the people in Eldora really stuck with me. Eldora is somewhat my old stomping grounds and I still go up there quite a few times a year to visit our camp, the lake, and for meetings. But for whatever reason the folks there were a bit skeptical ... especially of the idea of grassfed beef. Here is a paraphrase of one quote from the video: "(Addressed to some guy off camera) could we feed enough cattle on pasture to feed the country without corn?" ... (guy off of camera answers) "No, not in this day and age."

That little exchange really got me thinking. Now I realize that I have no practical knowledge and that quite a few people will discount what I say because it comes from articles and books ... but, is that a true statement? I guess I don't really know ... maybe the "in this day and age" part of the answer is the qualifier because maybe it would be possible if there weren't people so entrenched in feeding and eating grain fed beef? You may recall my FIRST POST on Ultra High Density Grazing and then my FOLLOW-UP POST on the same subject. In the world of Ultra High Density Grazing there are people regularly grazing 8,000 pounds per acre and I have read reports of people doing up to 150,000 pounds per acre!!! Now this is some extreme rotational and managed grazing, but it is all being done on pasture and without grains.

So, is it currently possible to provide enough cattle for our nation solely using pasture? Maybe it is...

One more thought... One person mentions using grain towards the end to get the flavor and marbling. I will not comment on the flavor part, because grainfed and grassfed do have different tastes and I know that people will debate which is better, but about the marbling thing. I believe there is research out there now which is telling us that the tenderness (and that is one big reason people want marbling) doesn't have as much to do with grain feeding or fat content as it does with genetics and such. So, maybe that isn't a valid argument...

There is lots to think about when it comes to corn and all of its uses, benefits, problems, and so much more. I would love to hear what you think on this subject. Maybe we can draw Aaron in (who worked on the film) to give us some more insight from these Iowa screenings.

If you haven't heard about "King Corn" yet make sure you go to the website and check out the entire movie if you get the chance!

**Okay, I did have one more thing ... maybe this will balance out my take. I'm not sure if the lady at the end of the Eldora clip has everything straight either. I do think the government has too many regulations that tie the hands of great farmers who would like to market, but the selling the chicken to a neighbor thing and getting in trouble might be a stretch. I'm pretty sure with chicken you can actually butcher on farm a certain number of birds and sell them...**

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!

Four Cutting-Edge Tools for Profitable Beef

There is an article in this months Stockman Grass Farmer that gives the four cutting-edge tools for the grazier who is interested in making a profit. So, since I figured that was most graziers I thought I would list them along with a few thoughts today.

#1. Year-Round Grazing
This seems to really be a hot topic right now in grazing circles. Since I'm new to the scene I don't know exactly how long it has been out in front of the public, but I know that it is being written about a lot in various periodicals, taught at the seminars, and discussed on the message boards. One year ago, as I began my research, I thought year-round grazing was for some people, but it was not needed to run a great grass-fed operation. While I still won't go as far as saying it is needed, I am beginning to come around to see all the benefits to the farm running a management intensive grazing operation. One interesting fact from the article stated that Canadian graizers have found that beef cattle will dig through 16 inches of snow to find forage. I don't know when the last time was that we had 16 inches around here, but it wouldn't happen that often. Plus, there are alternative crops and methods out there. I believe this is another tool that the farmer can use to reduce his production expenses and grow his income.

#2. Grass Finishing
Okay, I thought this one was not as much "cutting-edge" anymore. I realize that it still hasn't met wide acceptance, but frankly I don't know when or if that will ever happen. If it did happen it would mean there was a large social (what people will accept for their meat) and political (the big farm lobby) shift in America. But, even thought it is not widespread I still don't know if it is as cutting-edge as the other "tools" mentioned in the article. That being said, I do believe it is the only way to go if you are going to run an unconventional farm ... and if you desire to run a farm that will support you family. One thing I really agree with from the article is this quote, "No, it is not easy to finish cattle on grass; and yes, you have to be an aggressive marketer to sell your product." It's not a slam dunk thing, maybe that is why it is still considered cutting-edge.

#3. Irrigate Pastures

This one may be a more regional "tool", but I do hear of an increasing number of people that are doing it in all parts of the country in order to combat dry spells and keep high forage quality in front of their animals at all times. I think possible it is more of a factor with people that are going to finish their animals year-round, and I'm not convinced yet that that is the way I would like to go. What it does do is all the farmers to concentrate their stock in smaller areas because the forage is always at an even quality of growth and nutrition. My biggest problem with irrigation is the monetary investment that it will take. I believe that you really must be grazing and grass finishing on a LARGE scale in order to make it pay, and that is not the way that I desire to go.

#4. Ultra-High Stock Density Grazing

I hear more and more about this each week as I read and research, and I'm just beginning to learn all of the details and ideas. When I first started learning I thought that normal management intensive grazing stock densities were "ultra-high", at least when compared with conventional wisdom, but now they are taking it a step further. Many compare this to what the American Bison would do on the plains before their near extinction. Basically you jam a lot of animals into a small area and let the mow it all down. In theory they will eat every plant around because it is what is available, and then you move them out before damage is done and don't allow them to return until the plants have had time to recover. The people that are using this method, sometimes called mob grazing, are finding that they have, "healthier soils and plants, increased soil organic matter, and most of all, a phenomenal increase of carrying capacity of the pasture," according to the article. Maybe this is something that needs to be combined with irrigation? I don't really know, but I would call it "cutting-edge" there is no doubt about that.

So, there you go ... four cutting-edge tools for the grazier. What do you think? Would these tools take your farm or the farms around you to the next level? Well, the author Bob Scriven seems to think so and he does throw out some good ideas!

Ultra High Stock Density Grazing

Check out this POST from a couple days ago on the Homesteading Today site. It relates to the Small Farm conference in Columbia, Mo. I had really wanted to attend this event, but because of a youth conference, I was in a hotel with a ton of teenagers-not farmers! The original said that it was a wonderful conference, but the follow-up posts brought up a pretty cool topic that I haven't heard very much about ... Ultra High Stock Density Grazing!

There were two main speakers there talking about grazing. One was Jim Gerrish (of Management Intensive Grazing fame) and the other was Greg Judy (someone that I don't know much about now, but I'm sure I'll learn more). From reading the posts, it sounds like Mr. Gerrish talked a lot about year-round grazing and using stock-piled tall fescue as a winter forage (gotta find out more, because we have a lot stock-piled now) because of it's cold season nutritional value ... plus they say it can support between 2,000 and 8,000 pounds per acre when managed with rotational grazing. That means we are talking about grazing somewhere between 3 and 10 or so Dexters! Hmm... I think that would make me consider swapping out the corn for grazing.

But, 2,000 to 8,000 pounds per acre of winter grazing is nothing compared to what Mr. Judy does. He practices Ultra High Stock Density Grazing and grazes around 500,000 pounds of beef per acre! Okay, I don't know if I can even imagine that, but he is not the only one doing it so it must be working! If this is possible (and I'm sure it takes a ton of inputs) I don't see why more people aren't doing it ... well, I guess I know why they aren't ... but it is pretty cool. Of course, if you have density this high you are going to be moving them more than once a day.

This is pretty cool stuff and speaks to the possibilities of what we could do without that 70% of our corn crop that is used to feed cattle. It should be noted that according to the poster, Mr. Gerrish is running between 50,000 and 100,000 pounds of beef per acre on his farm. One of the posters said they asked Mr. Gerrish if he was opposed to Ultra High Stock Density Grazing. He said that he wasn't opposed to it, he was just lazy. Mr. Gerrish only moves his cattle once a day at the most so there is a bit less work involved, but he still gets very high yields from his pastures.

I would be interested in reading more about this if anyone has comments, link suggestions, or knows of books relating to the topic!