Sugar Creek Farm / New Links / Updates

I try to spend a little bit of time each day researching farming, reading about farming, practicing farming (doesn't happen as often as I would like), or planning in my mind and on paper. I that I have come across quite a few neat blogs and websites that are very helpful. One blog that I have been checking out a lot lately is the Sugar Creek Farm Blog. Sugar Creek Farm is located about three hours north of where I live here in Iowa and I have enjoyed reading about their work. They are doing a lot of things that interest me so I have found a lot of good information reading back through their blog. You can check them out by clicking on the link above or by looking at the links section on the right. (The image pictured on the right is their logo)

Another link I have been looking at lately is the Farm Crawl website. The Farm Crawl is an event that I heard about through the PFI. On October, 7th from 11:00 am until 5:00 pm five area farms will be open to the public for tours, questions/answers, and sales. These farms are all within about 15 minutes of our town so I'm looking forward to checking out something very local. You can click on the link above or on the right to get all the details, but I'm really interested in checking out the goat dairy, and the 110 acre farm that is being rebuilt to profitability through great farming practices!

Another blog I check out often is, Northern Farmer. They are located in Minnesota and have a love for farming, faith, and family. I have enjoyed reading many of their posts and I encourage you to check out the link if you find this blog interesting.

**UPDATES**

Just a couple quick updates. First of all I mentioned a few days ago that we were going to pick up some new Dexters to add to our herd. Some of you may be wondering why I have posted pictures of them at their new farm ... well, that is because they haven't made it yet. In order to move livestock from state to state you are supposed to have a certificate of health for the animals and the vet wasn't going to be able to check them out until this coming Friday. Because of this we won't be going down until Saturday, which will be fine because we are going to make it a fun family trip. Look for new pictures of our herd next week. Secondly, I have added a few links and rearranged a bit over on the right side, so check that out.

And, finally ... the main reason that I'm running this blog is for my own benefit. I'm a sort of a visual and thinking learner, so it helps me digest information if I can write it down and check back through it from time to time. Since I was going to be writing it down anyways I decided to put it out there for everyone to check out. As you have noticed it is mostly random thoughts and links to other information that I have found useful. If you enjoy reading this blog feel free to pass it on to others who you think would enjoy reading also!

Quality Pasture :: Chapter 9 Book Report

This chapter is titled, "Stored Forages", but it easily could have been called, "A Little Information About Nasty Hay, and an Intense Look at Silage." But, I guess that title would have been too long! Really, it was an interesting chapter, but I was surprised how quickly Allan Nation, the author, dismissed baled hay. He believes that hay is a good option in more arid climates (West?), while it may be a poor choice in moist or humid climates that receive decent amounts of rain.

I don't know if it is a little bit of, "conventional Iowa farmer", in me or what, but I don't know if I would write off hay so quickly. That being said, I do understand the benefits of silage, and if you are set up for that it can be slightly easier to harvest and store (although I absolutely love making hay, not that that is a good reason to keep doing it). Approximately two pages are dedicated to hay in this chapter, and the rest is dedicated to silage.

The conclusion that kept coming to my mind is that if I was doing a grassfed dairy on any scale or if I was keeping large herds with lots of land and capital, I might investigate silage more. But, in my part of Iowa we can get a decent small square baler, mower, and rack for a reasonable amount of money. Granted you will need a building to store the hay in, but in reality those buildings don't have to be anything overly special.

One interesting point that he mentions a few times in this chapter is that it would probably be more cost effective to have a contractor do all of your silage making rather than owning your own equipment. This will be an interesting thing to pencil out in the coming months and years, but I do see some benefit for this type of thinking.

So, does anyone have any thoughts or experience with silage? This really is something new to me, so I would like to learn and understand as much as I can.

More Thoughts on Pigs

This morning before I started work, I decided to do a little more research on hogs. I already knew that the tamworth is a good option for a pasture based operation, but I wondered what else was out there. I read about a couple of interesting breeds. The first one is the Ossabaw Island Pig (pictured). I came across this one because I decided to check out what pigs they raise at the Living History Farms, which is a living museum here in Iowa dedicated to farming and Iowa's history. The Ossabaws are related to some of the earliest pigs brought to America by the Spanish and probably came about as pigs escaped farms and became feral. The really interesting thing is that these pigs remained mostly isolated so they have many of the early traits that lend them to pasture living. You can read more about them by clicking on the link above.

The other breed I read about this morning is the Large Black. Like the name implies, these pigs are black. But while they are large, they really aren't big pigs like some of the modern breeds. They are known for their hardiness and good foraging abilities along with their tasty hams. (That is a good trait!) I came across this breed while searching for information on pastured pigs.

If you would like to watch a four minute video about Caw Caw Creek Farm, a well known pastured pig farm, just click on this LINK which will take you to an article and video from America's Heartland. It is an interesting video because this is a guy that does pretty well raising pastured pork and selling to individuals and restaurants. I'm not sure if I would use his feed mix though unless I thought it would make me the big bucks!

Tamworth Hogs

Even though Dexter Cattle are on the front of my mind I have also been thinking about hogs quite a bit lately because they have a much quicker turnaround than cattle. Oh ... and I really like pork! While we won't be adding hogs to the farm until we actually make it to a farm I would like to do some research so I had an idea of what I would like. Because of my love of history I like the idea of using heritage breeds, but the reality of it is that heritage breeds are actually usually more hardy than our modern breeds. And, hardiness is a great trait when you want your animals to forage and live on the pasture. I will do that with my cattle and I would do that with my hogs.

So, today I was doing a little research on Tamworths. Tamworths are medium sized hogs that originated in Ireland (same as Dexters oddly enough). They provide lean meat which is a plus for health conscience people like me (gotta love high cholesterol) and are know for their good nature and excellent mothering abilities. Another thing that I found in my research is that the don't root up the ground as much as other breeds which makes them great pasture animals. I also came across some great information about their ease of farrowing on the pasture.

My family has raised their fair share of hogs, but it was always in a conventional set up and it was never very fun. I am really interested to learn about raising hogs on pasture ... who knows it might actually make it enjoyable!

Here are few links on Tamworths that in checked out today.

#1: Kingbird Farm is located in New York state and the have a bunch of different organic operations going on. The neat picture of the Tamworths going out to pasture is from their farm.

#2: Foot Steps Farm is located in Connecticut and they raise and sell grass fed pork, chickens, and turkey. They have some great information on some "Heritage Breeds".

#3: This Site is an overview of the Tamworth breed from Oklahoma State University. Just some good basic information.

So ... Yeah ... Well ... Umm ...

Do you know how some people say that too much of a good thing is bad? Well, I guess that I decided to test that theory out... On Monday we are going to load up and go get some new Dexters (two cows, one heifer, and one little bull calf). If the saying is true I'll let you know next year, but for now we are increasing our Dexter herd from one heifer and one steer to two cows, two heifers, and two bull/steer calves!

The great thing about these that we are going to pick up is that they are dun in color. Dun is somewhat more desirable in the Dexter breed just because it slightly more rare than the black Dexters. Plus, I really like the look of the duns, especially when they have horns like the heifer does. The two cows have been dehorned, but they should throw horned calves.

Speaking of calves. The little bull calf is quite the looker, but he is the brother to the heifer and son of the younger cow so we haven't really decided what to do with him yet. We will see how he starts to fill out and then decide what to do. Possibly we could keep him as a herd bull for part of the girls or trade/sell and pick up a different bull. I would like to get a bull with some color (red or dun) to improve some of the selling value of breeding stock.

I would like beef to be the centerpiece of our Dexter herd, but I also realize there is still a market for seedstock in the Dexter world so having some color helps that aspect of the possible business. Right now there are roughly 160 Dexters in Iowa so we are slowly becoming one of the bigger herd owners.

So, we are adding to the Dexter herd even though our Dexters will be over an hour away. Hopefully it will help rejuvenate some of the pastures at my Dad's place and will give us a good start on a pure breed Dexter herd. The first picture you will see is of the 4 year old cow (the mother of the bull calf and the heifer). The next picture is of the 13 month old heifer. The third picture is of the 10 year old cow that is breed back to a red polled bull (also somewhat desirable). And, the final picture is of the 2+ old bull calf from the 4 year old cow.

I think they will be a nice addition and we can use them to help get things get going!

Quality Pasture :: Chapter 8 Book Report

Yesterday I finished reading chapter eight of "Quality Pasture" by Allan Nation. This chapter was entitled Climate and it's Effect. It was a pretty interesting chapter dealing with temperature, precipitation, and more. As with other chapters it spent a decent amount of time discussing applications with grass based dairy operations, but I also noticed a slight focus on the southern part of the United States which makes sense because I believe he is based in Mississippi.

One thing that I found especially interesting in this chapter was his discussion of shade. Mr. Nation's contention was that shade is not always needed. He spoke about the ability of cattle to adjust to climates when they are given time and the fact that it is still the same temperature under the shade as in the sun. He believes that you either need to have plenty of spreed out shade for your entire herd or none at all. Another thing he points out is that if you are going to use trees as shade devices they should have all branches trimmed twenty feet up. This will make the shade move quite a bit during the day and will force the cattle to spread out during their day. Another interesting idea he gave was to give cattle multiple small breaks of grass during hot days. His contention is that cattle will forget about the heat if they have enough tasty food.

He also gave a lot of great tips for drought management. The thing about a drought is the question isn't if, but rather when it will happen. He writes about needing to have a drought plan in place early on in your Management Intensive Grazing progression. It is important that you begin building up a stockpile of stored forages right away because feeding hay in a drought instead of letting them to continue to eat down your suffering pastures will help those pastures bounce back so much more quickly when you finally do get rain.

I'm looking forward to the last few chapters of this book. I have continued debating in my mind the differences between Mr. Nation's high input methods and the lower input method of Joel Salatin. The more I read the more I appreciate the ideas of Mr. Salatin and I can't wait to put them to work and see some of the results with my own eyes ... that being said, I think my dad will be putting some lime down this fall or winter in order to jump start some pastures for the animals and for our hay. We will see how that goes for our farm.

Sissy Farmer ... aka ... Joel Salatin

Here is an interesting video featuring Joel Salatin of "Pastured Poultry Profits" and "Salad Bar Beef" fame. There is some pretty good stuff in this little clip (8:28 long) about building forgiveness into your farming system (or flex). I hope you enjoy it and can grab some kernels of interesting information from it!

Are You an Artist?

Do you know how to paint a beautiful picture? Can you mold a lump of clay into a wonderful sculpture? Are you able to take an amazing landscape portrait? Do you make art with your music and your voice? Well, I don't really know much about any of those, but I do know one thing...

Baling Hay Is An Art!!

Now, before you think I am absolutely crazy let me explain... First of all you need to know when is the perfect time to cut the hay. This isn't something that goes by calendar or clockwork, it is an art to know the perfect moment to cut to get the perfect hay. Secondly, you need to know when to rake and how to rake your hay. This isn't something that you do a certain number of hours after the cutting ... it is an art ... it is a feeling. Next you need to bale your hay, which means you have to set the tension just right, make the bales just the right size, and make sure you get all the hay into the baler. Finally, comes the most artful part of the art of haymaking. You need to stack the bales onto your hayrack and then into the barn. Getting them in an orderly manner is no pell-mell operation. You must know just where to place each bale so all your corners are tied in and the rack is ready to go down the road ... oh, and it helps if you can go six or seven levels up! Then into the barn it goes.

We stack our bales on the sides so all of the stems are sticking up and down instead of stacking them in the normal way. We do this because that is the way grandpa did it ... no, really that is the way grandpa did it, but it also helps the moisture wick out.

Yesterday we baled around 600 fifty pound small square bales of grass hay down at the farm. It was a warm day and lots of hard work. Even though I'm sore now I enjoyed it very much. I enjoyed the warm breeze ... I enjoyed working as a family ... I enjoyed the sound and feel of the tractor and baler ... I enjoyed the scratchy hay ... I enjoyed the art (I guess I should say I enjoyed learning the art)

The Long Road...

Today I'm not talking about the long road to becoming a farmer (although it seems endless), rather I'm talking about the long road to the farm! As I mentioned before, our cows are located over an hour away at my dad's farm in Southern Iowa. It is a great place for them to be because there is plenty of pasture, and he needs something to eat down his grass in places. But it sure is a long ways away when we have to go down and do something (put up fence, build shelters, take down wormer or minerals, and to bale hay). Having a full-time job that already takes a lot of time away from the family and then adding in work days down on the farm on the few days off that I take makes it pretty tough.

I have joked quite a few times about wanting to put our cows in the backyard (we have a big yard), but everyone reminds me that it is against the law. I wasn't ever serious, but I think people wonder if I really am since we already have the chickens in town! Ideally I would love to find a place where we could do more farming near where we work and live now, but that just isn't happening yet so we have to make do with the opportunities that we have.

You will always have time for whatever you want to have time for, and right now we want to make small amounts of time for working on the farm away from home ... I just hope it doesn't last forever!

Baling Hay Soon...

Well, one of the bummers of not living on the farm (or near the farm for that matter) is that you don't get in on all of the fun. In this case I missed the cutting of the hay. We have not made any hay yet this year because we haven't been able to get schedules and equipment to meet up at the same time, but now we are ready to go. This past Thursday and Friday my dad got all of the hay cut (well, all that we will need) and this coming Monday we will rake and bale it. We only have two Dexters right now, but we may end up with as many as 800 or 900 small square bales. I think that should be enough! In fact we probably will be able to get a cutting of alfalfa this year yet because of the warm fall they are predicting and another cutting of grass hay that has recently come out of CRP. We will practically be living in hay!

With the the over-abundance of hay, it is making me wish that we had some more cattle to feed. If only I could find somebody wanting to unload their Dexters. But, we are probably better off with just our two considering we don't live near them.

I do wish that I was able to be more involved in the day-to-day operations, but I guess all things will come in time. At least I pray that is true. Look for a report Monday night or Tuesday from the baling.

Edit :: Well, there is one sure fire way to predict rain it seems. Cut your hay! There was no rain in the forecast this weekend, but there was some next week so I urged my dad to get the hay cut before the rain ... today rain ... out of no where ... well at least to the weather man it was out of no where! My dad's Amish neighbor told my dad that it would rain today and of course he didn't look at a forecast. He just knew it would rain because we had a frost last night. I guess you learn something new all the time. Oh well, we still have some stuff still standing.

Iowa Family Farm Featured in Stockman Grass Farmer

I'm going to be signing up for a subscription to The Stockman Grass Farmer magazine soon, so I was searching some the articles featured on their website and I came across this article titled, "Iowa farm family converting from crops to pasture based enterprises" by editor Allan Nation. It is a pretty good read about a family farm that converted from conventional Iowa farming to pastured sows, grass finished beef, and lambs.

The interesting thing is that it was a plan of conversion that they were slowly working on until their area suffered from a drought and another grass finisher was looking to unload some steers because of his suffering pastures. It didn't take them long to realize they could put those steers out on the green corn that the family had (which was certified organic). Long story short ... they are now doing something different than their neighbors and they are succeeding!

Click on the link above to read this great article and leave a comment if you would like.

Quality Pasture :: Chapter 7 Book Report

Yesterday I finished chapter seven, 'The Competitive Edge -- MIG', in Allan Nation's book "Quality Pasture". I found this chapter very interesting and informative and will probably have to reread it multiple times so I can digest all the great stuff! I'll just run down some of the highlights of this chapter.

Mr. Nation begins the chapter talking about some of the benefits of Management Intensive Grazing. Of course one of the biggest benefits is the higher stocking rate and pasture gain that you can get from having a MIG system in place. But, he also quoted Keith Milligan, of New Zealand, on his list of benefits. Mr. Milligan adds that MIG produces, "a better return on total investment, a lower labor input, a general conservation of the environment, and a much increased sense of peace of mind for the grazier." I think everyone will find these benefits appealing! Just so you know the experts believe MIG could raise your per acre production by 20% to 40% or higher if you can be flexible with your stocking rates according to the season.


He mentions some of the critical things for MIG: subdividing you pastures by geography, having access to clean water, using portable electric fencing, stockpiling forages for late fall/winter/early spring grazing, and spring pasture management to reduce damage to the pastures. He admits that this is a very rough and quick overview of MIG, but it is a great starting point to some of the more technical aspects. I think one of the things I learned in this chapter is that MIG is more than just moving your cows from chunk of grass to chunk of grass.

I'll leave you with this little chart from page 128 of Mr. Nation's book Quality Pasture. This list gives some different enterprises and average returns per acre. Very interesting stuff and made me think about my possible center piece operation.

Goats :: $50-200
Beef cow/calf :: $50-200
Pigs :: $150
Beef stocker :: $150+
Beef finishing :: $200+
Ewe lamb :: $400+
Dairy sheep :: $500+
Lamb finishing :: $1000+
Dairy beef :: $1000+
Pastured poultry--
eggs :: $30-50
meat :: $1000+
Seasonal grass dairy :: $900-2000

So, there is some food for thought! I do like the last three sentences of the chapter, "As Burt Smith said, 'The best way to learn to swim is to get in the water and start splashing around. Nobody ever learned to swim by just reading a book about it.' Are you reading to make some waves?"

Hmm... am I ready to make some waves? I think I am, but what will my next step be?

"There Is No Money In Farming"

Those were the words I heard from someone the other day. As far as I know this person has never farmed a day in his life and his family really hasn't been in farming either, other than living in agricultural areas. The interesting this is that they went on to say, "unless you have a lot of land and money to begin with." If someone said this to me about other areas of work I would probably believe them and just move on. But, I think there is money in farming. Not from a get rich standpoint, but from an enough to be comfortable with standpoint, and I think there is enough enjoyment for a person with my personality to make farming worthwhile.

So, is it true that, "there is no money in farming?" Well, yes and no. There may be no money in conventional Iowa farming, but what if you are unconventional ... what if you think differently ... what if ...

Edit: Bill reminded me, in the comments, of THIS POST from Homesteading Today about different money making opportunities on the farm. It is a great post full of ideas, facts/figures, and so much more. If this topic interests you then you need to read the posts. Thanks Bill!

Practical Farmers of Iowa

I've had a link to the Practical Farmers of Iowa website over on the links menu on the right for a while now, but I just wanted to point out this great organization. The tag line for their vision statement say, "Healthy Food, Diverse Farms, Vibrant Communities." (check out their entire vision statement by clicking on the quote) The 'Wild Country Ranching' field day I attended earlier this year was supported by the PFI as well as the Farm Crawl that I will be attending on October, 7th. They host field days with a wide range of topics all over the state of Iowa and are a source of so much good on-farm research and information.

The Practical Farmers of Iowa was birthed from the farm crisis that crippled the Midwest in the 1980's. According to their website in the eighties, "Evidence of the negative ecological consequences of current farming practices was mounting; the collapse of commodity prices called into question the economic sustainability of agriculture; and the demise of thousands of farms was draining the vitality of rural communities." The PFI is helping farmers in Iowa connect with each other to share ideas, success, and marketing ideas. I encourage everyone to check them out.

Practical Farmers of Iowa Website

Quality Pasture :: Chapter 6 Book Report

Just a quick little report on the last chapter of "Quality Pasture" that I read. This chapter was entitled Pasture Irrigation. While I do not doubt the effectiveness of irrigating your pastures ... I do not believe it will ever be a thing that I do. Of course it is needed much more in dry locations, but it is also probably more effective for grass based dairies. The chapter also contained a short section on managing ryegrass which was interesting. Ryegrass is something that I would like to research a little more in the future if I ever think about seeding or over-seeding some pastures.

All in all, I think this chapter gives a much more input intensive approach to grazing. I would like to keep my inputs low (much like Joel Salatin discusses) so that my profits will stay higher than conventionally raised beef.

Next up: Management Intensive Grazing

"The Meatrix"

I don't remember when I came across THIS or how I found out about it, but it is pretty funny. It is a spoof of "The Matrix" dealing with confinement dairy, beef, and poultry. I don't know where I stand on all of the content. While I strongly disagree with the confinement production model from a health and financial stand-point I'm not openly opposed to it. That is probably just because I'm an Iowan and I'm indoctrinated into the confinement system. I do believe that there are people doing limited confinement operations and doing them well, you just don't find very many.

So, check out The Meatrix and tell me what you think!

Quality Pasture :: Chapter 5 Book Report

The title of this chapter is, "Quality Pasture For Warm-Temperate And Subtropical Climates". The title kind of sums up the lack of real practical application information I found in this chapter. I don' think you could call Southern Iowa "Warm-Temperate" or "Subtropical" unless you were comparing it to Northern Iowa!

But, there was still plenty of information for me in this chapter. One of the more interesting things that had me thinking was the section of this chapter that discussed the profitability of a seasonal dairy. This was interesting not because I'm interested in starting a seasonal dairy, but because the article that I linked to a few days ago about the farmer quitting mentioned that in order to survive you will need to have a year round dairy. Now, Allan Nation was speaking of seasonal dairies in the south and the author of the previous article was in the north, but it is still an interesting counterpoint. Most pastured dairy information I have read focused on the benefits and profitability of a seasonal dairy. I think the biggest problem with the farmer that was having to shut down is that he took himself so far into debt to get his operation up and running quickly. Maybe if he had taken more steps his end would not have come.

Much of the rest of the chapter deals with different pasture forages that can be used in the south for year round grazing, but it does emphasize that you will still need to have mechanically harvested forages even in the south. Even though the weather is warmer down there you still will have a fall slump before the winter cool season forages get going.

I am thoroughly enjoying this book mostly because it is increasing my knowledge (little by little) and it is giving me a sense of what is possible on a farm ... specifically on a smaller farm. I think there are great opportunities in Iowa for someone who is willing to study their pastures and and really become grass farmers instead of the old standard row crop farmers!

The next chapter is on pasture irrigation. It will be interesting to see what that is all about, but what I'm really looking forward to is chapter 7 about Management Intensive Grazing. Stay tuned!

Dexter Beef

If you have followed this blog for a while you probably know that I am especially interested in Dexters for their good foraging abilities in order to raise grass-fed beef. I came across the "Dexter Cattle Australia" website that has some interesting information on the quality of the beef. Here is a quote that really backs up some of the reasons that I selected the Dexter,

"Dexter beef is second to none. Individual cuts of meat are about two thirds the size of other breeds which is perceived as a more acceptable option in a health conscious society. Whole sides of beef are just the right size for the home freezer..."

You can check out the entire article here. Just click on the "News/Media link for the information

A Farmer Hits the End ... For Now

Nope, not me! I can't hit the end yet because I haven't even started yet, but I didn't come across an intersting article over at the New Farm website. New Farm is a farmer-to-farmer website from the Rodale Institute and features some interesting articles and a sparsely used forum. I check it every once-in-a-while just to see if they have any new articles on the front page.

A few weeks I came across an article entitled: "The end of farming for me, for now". (Click on the article title to read the entire thing) Basicall this guy started out with goal and a vision to farm full-time and he headed out to do it. In the article he lists four major problems he had and does a little explaining of his downfall. It really is a great read and has given me a wonderful perspective of the things I could be facing if I reach for this vision. So, just check out the article and leave any thoughts if you have any.

In Case You Didn't Notice...

...I have been wanting to add a picture to the header on my blog for a little while now, and I finally figured out how to do it! It's not like everyone else didn't know how to do it, but I'm still pleased with it. I need to do a bit of tweaking still so everything is readable and sized correctly, but it will work for now.

Every time I have gone down to my dad's place, I have tried to take pictures of the cattle so I can feel a bit like I'm down there when I'm working on my comptuer (they are my background image). Here is the picture that I made the header from. If you scroll down more you will find some more pictures of our bred Dexter heifer and our Dexter steer.

"Quality Pasture" :: Chapter 3 & 4 Book Report

This continues to be an interesting read, and as I read more and more I continue to believe that I know less and less! I have noticed Mr. Nation bringing up dairy cattle a lot in his analogies and stories, but this was to be expected because I read that on a few reviews. Dairy cows require a higher level of forage to continue to produce high levels of milk so this information is important to dairy grass farmers, but the higher quailty forage surely doesn't hurt the beef producers.

This chapter is specifically about year-round grazing in temperate climates, and he discusses different plans and grasses/legumes that would be practical to use in this climate for year-round grazing. Grazing your animals through the entire year is an interesting concept and is one that I am somewhat familar with through "All Flesh is Grass" by Gene Logsdon. To me it seems like it would take a lot of inputs (seed and soil amendments). I don't know how the numbers would work out, but I question if it is just as economical, or more economical, to make hay during the spring/early summer flush when your grazing can't keep up with the pasture growth and feed that hay durining the winter months. Also, by using a hay shed type of feeding system like Joel Salatin does I think you may also be able to save more nutrients rather than them hitting a potentially frozen pasture.

There was some interesting information about promoting clover growth among your pasture grasses. The grass can easily outgrow the clover so it is important to keep the grass clipped so the clover can thrive. Another thing that has come up in this book, and in "All Flesh is Grass", is the idea of feeding standing corn (green ... and by the way corn is a grass) along with brassicas (rape, kale, turnips, swedes, and cabbages). These are all interesting ideas, but I don't know if I am ready to tackle any of them just yet. I think they would be great if I wanted to stock the pastures at a higher level than would be expected even with excellent pastures, but really there is no reason to go to all the work if I don't have the animals to harvest all of this exceptional food (Mr. Salatin says that a lot).

The great thing about reading a book like this is that it gives me a glimpse into all the possibilities and gives me hope for the small farmer ... even in Iowa ... the king of corn, soybeans, and really BIG green and red tractors!

"Quality Pasture" :: Chapters 1 & 2 Book Report

I received my copy of Quality Pasture by Allan Nation (editor of The Stockman Grass Farmer) last week and have finally had a chance to read the first two chapters. It has been a pretty interesting read, but I have really come away with two points.

Point #1: Recently I have read a few books by Joel Salatin, Carol Ekarius, and Gene Logsdon all relating to pasture raising beef and other livestock. It seems that they all quote each other and other important figures in grass farming like Andre Voisin, but they all have different approaches to obtaining high forage pastures. I would say that Mr. Salatin probably believes less in inputs and more in letting the animals along with the natural work of nature do a lot of the work in creating quality pasture. Next, I think Mrs. Ekarius kind of tries to hit the balance there between the "natural" work and human manipulation through adding things to the pasture (fertilizers, etc.). Possibly I would put Mr. Logsdon third as he seems to be very interested in trying different foraging types on different paddocks in order to obtain the longest pasture season and a high quality. And, finally I would say (according to the first two chapters) that Mr. Nation has a high regard for adding things to the soil and the pasture to make them the most productive. It is interesting to read such a wide range of thoughts, but realize that they are all preaching the same sort of thing ... ruminents can be raised solely on pasture and at a lower cost of money.

Point #2: After reading the first two chapters I realized that I'm not very smart! I don't know very much about microbes, nitrogen, potassium, blah, blah, blah...! It seems like I will have to read this book a few times and then do some outside research to really understand it, but that also seems like a good thing. Like so many things in farming (putting up hay, plowing a straight line, etc.) creating a quality pasture is an art. And, since it is an art it is going to take knowledge, thinking, and creativity. These first two chapters have really piqued my interest and also made me think more about taking some Agriculture classes from ISU if I continue my Bachelor of Liberal Studies program.

All-in-all I'm glad that I picked up this book and I look forward to reading more. It has really given me a glimpse into the depth of creating pasture. Also, even in these first two chapters I am thinking about things we can do on my dad's farm to increase the quality and productivity (I'm going to be looking into winter rye...).

I'll try and post an update to my reading every chapter or two, so check back if you are interested.

A Few Tractor Thoughts

Right now my dad's 160 acre farm is the home to a Minneapolis Moline M5 (53 HP), a 3 bottom JD plow, a disc, a harrow, a rake, and a pull behind sickle mower. We also use from time-to-time a New Holland baler, a JD drill, and a few other implements. The M5 is a nice tractor and can handle all those implements with no problem ... except it has no three point hitch and no loader.

So, when we were done at the auction and working on the fence we stopped to see a neighbor who will be selling Jinma Tractors soon. Jinma's are Chinese (yuk) 4-wheel drive tractors that are priced much less than the name brand counterparts. You can get a 35 horse tractor brand new for around $10,000 to $12,000. The other nice thing about these compact tractors is that you can get all sorts of implements for them. Some that would be nice to have around the farm would be the box blade, brush cutter, chipper/shredder, log splitter ... and above all ... the LOADER! I don't know how many times we could have used the loader around the farm and as we make a transition to making the farm into a working farm it will become that much more important.

Right now I'm doing as much research as I can and basically checking out the options. Once the neighbor has his up and running (the come in crates and take a little assembly) we are going to do some test drives also. For right now you may find this link about Chinese Compact Tractors interesting. Just click HERE.

Fence Me In ...

For the past few weeks I have been receiving phone calls from my dad every day or two telling me about my cow that was out! It seems that the old (really old!) woven wire fence on the North side of the pasture wasn't going to cut it anymore because even our little cow could JUMP over the fence and get out. Yesterday we went down to the farm to put up our electric fence in hopes of curtailing "Cowdini" and to open up some more pasture for them. Along with the electric fence (we used the new solar fencer you can read about below), I also added a few more cattle panels around a couple trees in the old fence line to give some more shade for the cattle (when I say cattle I really me the heifer and the bull calf). It was almost a perfect day to be out and working ... well perfect for August in Iowa I guess!

Earlier in the day we attended a local estate auction. They had a little over two hay racks of house hold junk ... errr ... treasures and then some old equipment. Since it was such a nice day we didn't mind standing around and watching everyone bid on the junk ... err ... treasures while we were waiting for the equipment to sell. There wasn't much for equipment, but a couple of things caught our eye. We ended up getting a like new 100 gallon water tank, a five bottom MM plow (really that's for the uncle), a flare box wagon (will be good for going to get carbon material), a head gate, and a homemade wagon gear with a pile of junk and tin on top. Everything was going pretty well until they got to the tin. I was interested in the tin for building more chicken pens and for building a moveable shade pen. They started the bidding on the tin and didn't get a bidder (we wait until it hits 50¢ before bidding), when all of the sudden they decided to throw the wagon gear in also. Well, it wasn't all bad, because we got the whole shootin' match for $8.00. Now, I can mess around with that wagon gear and see if I can make a water cart, feed cart, or maybe just a utility wagon for hauling things around the farm.

It was a great day to be out at the farm and it was nice to get a few things done. I'll be posting pictures in the next few days of how the cattle are coming along. I think they are starting to look better.

The Order is Placed...

So, awhile ago I discussed the possibility of getting a solar fencer for our rotational grazing system. My dad suggested those because some of the pastures we may start out on are quite a ways from electricity, and also because they possibly would work better for us than a battery system (especially when he is gone and the Amish are doing chores for us). I did some research and found quite a few people that couldn't stand them and just as many that absolutely loved them. I decided to give them a try. I ended up going with the Parmak "Deluxe Field Solar Pak". It is supposed to have a 25 mile range and is rated at 1.5 joules. You can read about it here.

I found the fencer for a decent price on-line at Jeffers Livestock. Since I was already ordering from them and they had free shipping, I went ahead and ordered another book, Quality Pasture by Allan Nation. Mr. Nation is the editor for the Stockman Grassfarmer magazine. It looks like a good book and also reminded me that I need to begin my subscription to the magazine. Maybe I can hold off until Christmas and ask for it as a gift.

Our State Fair is the Best State Fair...

...At least that is what the song tells me! Today our family had a chance to take in the great Iowa State Fair. It has been a couple years since we have been able to go so it was very nice to get back out there and see all the displays and the animals. One of the newer activities they have at the fair is a children's farm experience. The children get to go through the sequence of farming and learn along the way.They start out by picking up a seed corn hat (required apparel by Iowa farmers), a basket, and an apron (I guess that is to keep them from getting dirty). Next they go pick up a "seed" with the picture of the plant that it is for on it and a shovel so they can go plant their crop. After that, they go "harvest" a plastic toy of the crop they planted and place it in their basket. As they walk along the path, they come upon some "apple trees" where they can "pick" an apple and put it in their basket. Next they walk through a little grain bin to pick up a baggie of soy beans and corn and then continue on to the chicken coop where they gather an egg. After that, we walked over to the tractor shed where you turn in your soybeans in order to make Soy Biodiesel. Then you pick up a little gas can to fill up your pedal tractor and make a lap around the "field". After the tractor ride, you get off and walk through the sheep barn where you can pet a fake sheep and pick up your baggie of wool. Then you walk straight to the milk barn where you give your corn to the cow for feed and make your way to the milking parlor where you milk the cow! You pick up a milk carton there and place it in your basket. Finally, you are off to the market where you turn in the things you have harvested and produced on your farming trip. After "selling" your things at the market you get a dollar that you can go spend in the general store stocked with all sorts of treats!

Our kids had a blast doing it, and it was a good educational opportunity. In other news, Caleb (three years old) and I had a long talk about "his" farm last night. It seems he will have a blue house, red barn, Minneapolis Moline and John Deere tractors (gotta keep both sides of the family happy), some cows (Dexters), chickens, pigs, and more! I think he is ready to farm ... maybe now he can help me get a start.

Rule #1: No Seedstock Anything...

I've been re-reading some of the farming/grass farming books that I have lately. I'm trying to put together some plans and goals for our farm. Yesterday I landed on the chapter entitled, "The Ten Worst Agricultural 'Opportunities'", in the book You Can Farm: The Entrepreneur's Guide to Start & Succeed in a Farming Enterprise by Joel Salatin. According to him, the number one "worst agricultural opportunity" is "Seedstock Anything". He goes on to say, "Leave the purebred business to the independently wealthy folks with deep pockets."

That quote kind of hit me like a ton of bricks. I remember reading it, but I also became pretty set on Dexters early on in my research because the foraging ability, size, and a few other things. Another quote from that section of the chapter states, "Unless a seedstock operation can be profitable on commercial prices, it is not really viable." I am not completely sure where Dexters land as far as commercial prices go, but I know that I chose the Dexter breed not because of seedstock opportunities. I chose them because I thought they could help me fill the freezer beef niche by offering high quality grass-fed beef that is healthy and will fit in your basement freezer. I did not, and do not intend to base my business only on seedstock, but I will admit that I saw that as a possibility because Dexters have a lot of appealing attributes for the "homesteading" type of families.

I am going to spend some time researching a business plan for my Dexters that can take advantage of all of their marketable traits ... whether it be beef, milking, oxen, or even pets. But, I do agree that only being in the seedstock business is something that will take a bit of money and time to build up the reputation of a high quality breeder.

New Blog Link...

I just stumbled across this blog link for Clodhopper Farm
Clodhoper Farm. I don't know who these folks are, but it seems like they have a nice farm thing going on. I'm going to put this over in my links section so people can check it from time to time if they would like. It seems like they are doing some of the things that I would like to be doing. I guess you could say they are a few steps ahead of me!

Finished Fencing...

Well, not exactly totally done ... but we did finish the basic fencing for the pasture. Our 1 to 2 acre pasture now is totally fenced in with cattle panels (because they were free). Even though I haven't decided what to do as far as a solar fencer, I decided to let them out on pasture so they could get to some fresh grass and ditch the hay belly. They loved the opportunity to roam, and I must admit that they look a little bit nicer when they have a nice green pasture as background. I meant to bring the camera for when I finished up my work, but I'll have to take some pictures next time because I walked out the door without it. Hopefully, our steer will start to bulk up a bit and get rid of his bloated hay belly now that he has some access to good grass.

Solar Fencers...

One of the key componants of managed intensive grazing is the electric fence used to seperate the temporary paddocks. A single strand of wire with easy step in posts will do the trick, but you need to have power in order to have a "hot" wire. My dad's farm (where our Dexters live) is not set up much for running electric fence. Right now the horses are out on pasture inside of an electric fence energized by a battery powered fencer. I had planned on going that route, but now I am looking into the possibilty of a solar powered fencer.

I've read good and bad about solar fencers. In fact you can read a little bit from my post on Homesteading Today by clicking here. A couple of the limiting factors to me are the initial cost and the reliability. A solar charger is going to cost anywhere between $130 and $500 (for the big boys). I don't know if I am in a place to lay out that kind of money right now, especially if realiabilty is going to be an issue. I have read of some people that swear by them and say they are just as reliable as any other battery operated fencer, and I have read that they are nothing but trouble.

I am going to continue my research, but I need to come up with something pretty soon so we can get these cattle moving around their pasture. I expect the grass will really take off with the 3+ inches of rain they received down there and the coming heatwave!

Cattle on the Book Farm

Who knows how long it has been since cattle have clipped the grass of the pastures at my dad's farm (probably over 20 years ago), but they are there now! Yesterday my dad and I went up to Grandma's Dexter Farm to pick up our cow and a bull calf (soon to be steer). We went with the idea of picking up Karen (pictured in posts below), but when we arrived he had a few younger and better looking choices for us. We ended up bringing home a 2-year-old heifer who is bred to calve in the spring. She is quite a bit younger than the other option, but she will also be a first timer this spring so that factored into the choice I had to make. After talking with my dad and deciding that we could make it work, we ended up bringing home RAD's Victoria (don't you just love registry names!). Oh, and a bull calf ... soon to be a steer ... and later to be supper.

These two have mostly been fed hay their entire lives (the bull calf probably his whole life) so I think they will start to fill out a little more and get a little shine back to their coat once they get on some good pasture. We are going to ease them onto the pasture so they don't gorge themselves on the fresh grass and become bloated. Right now they are in a rather small paddock, but it won't take much to get them out onto one of the pasture paddocks that will be divided by electric fence. I'm excited to have this little start going and to learn about grass-finishing beef and rotational grazing (I don't think we will be able to call it "managed intensive grazing" until I make it down on the farm).

Be sure to stop by next fall for some great grass-fed (or salad bar if you're Joel Salatin) beef!

Pigs and Berries

I must admit that out backyard chickens and impending (still!) dexters has kind of side tracked me from some of my initial farming thoughts and ideas. A couple of the first farming "ventures" that I began researching were pasture raised pigs and raspberries. Yesterday I found myself reading a post over on www.homesteadingtoday.com (check out the link on the left) about profitable farming ventures that some people are pursuing. As I read along, I was interested to see that there were people raising pastured pork and profiting from it. My initial thoughts on the pigs was that here is something that can reproduce up to a couple of times a year and grows out to finish weight rather quickly (especially compared to cattle). Well, that post brought me back to my original ideas ... pigs and berries.

During some of my work breaks yesterday and today I have been trying to find some articles and information regarding pasture raising pigs. Things like breeds, forages, shelter, farrowing, etc. It has been pretty interesting, and I have found some things to check out. One thing that I am really interested in is finding the right breed or cross for this type of system. Most of the time the "heritage breeds" come up when people talk about pastured pigs, so I am specifically looking for information and Iowa breeders of the tamworth, the large black, glouchester spot, berkshire, and maybe some more.

But, pigs weren't the only thing on my mind. The pigs brought the raspberries back to the front of my mind (Nice combo, huh? Stinky pigs and juicey berries). I remember reading that it takes about three seasons for newly planted raspberries to begin producing. I think I would like to plant some this fall if possible in hopes of getting a jump on that possible farming venture. We can start out small and then expand. I know one thing for sure ... if we plant berries and end up doing nothing profitable with them, I can count on my family to eat ALL OF THEM!

Any thoughts, ideas, info?

Second Time Around...

I am currently reading "Salad Bar Beef" by Joel Salatin for the second time. I don't really want to become a person who worships Joel Salatin, but I wanted to get a second look at his ideas on grass-fisished beef. This time, as I read, I highlighting some of the more interesting or important things ... partially for my own use and partially for my dad. I'm hoping that he will read it as we are going to be entering some some this farming thing together.

One thing that I have really noticed as I reread "Salad Bar Beef" is that there are lots of different take on this whole "grass-finished beef" idea. Gene Logsdon's book, "All Flesh is Grass", takes a pretty experiemental approach to finishing beef. He writes about experimenting with different grasses, legumes, and other ideas. The thing about Mr. Logsdon is that he is not really a "full-time" farmer (meaning he does not get all of his income from the farm) and that he likes to try different things. His book was very informational for thinking outside of the conventional farming "box", but also seemed like a bit more involved approach.

Mr. Salatin is very much straight forward in his approach. He tells people to get animals before reseeding pastures, adding lime, or anything like that. Also, he preaches the idea of growing in your fields what grows in your ditches and leading the animals and the natural progression rehabilitate your pastures. I think maybe Mr. Salatin would agree with my uncle's quote, "reading is good, doing is better". He wants people to start doing and then see what needs to be done in order to increase the lands cattle carrying capacity.

Finally, as I reflect on the field day that I attended last week I am really seeing the many different approaches to making a living raising cattle through value added or sustainable practices. The DeCook's ranch that I visited last week was around 800 acres and they were raising 500 head at a time on their ranch (cows, calves, yearlings). I would say that they were practices a sort of rotational grazing but not really a managed intensive grazing approach. For example, when we visited they had 200 dry cows on about 40 acres. He was planning on leaving them there for four or five days. In talking with him it seemed that his greatest limiting factor was water.

Which brings me to a few things that are really on my mind right now. First of all, I'm very interested in learning more about and putting into practice some electric fencing ideas. I liked what I saw at the DeCook ranch and I'm interested in the things I read in Mr. Salatin's book, but I would like to see things in practice. Secondly, I would really like to learn more about watering systems so that I don't have that limitation on my setup (if I ever have a setup!). And finally, I would like to read some more books to continue to get a different prespective (or talk with other people). I am thinking about checking out some of Allan Nation's books, of the "Stockman Grass Farmer", but I'm having a difficult time choosing. If anyone does actually read this blog let me know if you have any ideas.

Wild Country Ranching

It has been a long time since I last posted a blog. I haven't forgotten about this ... my life has just taken on a extra bit of busyiness. Just because I have been busy doesn't mean that I have stopped thinking, reading, and doing farming. Since my last post I have finished a couple of books (Salad Bar Beef - Joel Salatin and All Flesh is Grass - Gene Logsdon), sent final payment for our cattle (but not picked up yet because of a important family issue), built fence for the cattle, and done a lot of talking with farmers and family.

But, today I had a chance to go to my first PFI (Practical Farmers of Iowa) Field Day. The day was hosted my the DeCook family which farms about 20 miles south of where I live. They raise grass-fed beef on about 800 acres (around 500 head of cow/calves). It was a great tour of their farm that included five stops for some great explanation and question/answer time. I learned a lot about pastures (seeding, management, forage types, and more), fencing, water, and just some good conservation practices. The DeCooks do not run their farm exactly as I have envisioned mine because they do not finish their cattle, but they do send them off to others to be finished on grass so they select for good foraging genetics. It was a very enjoyable morning full of information. I also heard about a couple other field days coming up that I would like to attend. One is next week and focuses on portable fencing and solar water pumping (something I think could be very helpful on my dad's farm).

Hopefully we will have a chance to post some pictures of our cattle at home on the farm soon. Remember, reading is good ... doing is better!

Yep ... Our First Cow!!

Okay, we have placed a hold on the dexter cow Peaceful Place Karen (who is bred back) and a steer named Rocky Road. Hopefully Karen will become the start of our herd and Rocky Road will become our first grass-finished freezer animal. So, in about a year from now you might want to hit us up for some good eatin'!!

We aren't going to be picking her up until the middle of July after we get back from the Mission Trip and Camp ... also, it gives us some time to get the fencing finished up at my dad's.

Here is another picture of Karen...

Grandma's Dexter Farm...

It has been a little quiet lately on the "Beginning Farmer Blog", but that doesn't mean that farming thoughts and discussions haven't been occuring. Lately I have really been researching grass-finished cattle and looking at the Dexter breed specifically (as I mentioned earlier).

Well, this past weekend we had a chance to go and check out one of the larger Dexter herds in the area. We went and saw the herd at Grandma's Dexter Farm which is located north of Cedar Rapids. It was nice to get out and see some of these cattle in the flesh and talk with someone that has been around them. The owner of the farm was Dan Butterfield and had a lot of answers to some of the questions that had been bouncing in my head. One of the great things was to see a large number of Dexters ... Dan has around 40 now, but has had over 60! I spent about 20 minutes in the cattle lot with him among the cows and the bull and I can easily attest to the fact that they are very calm. While we were in there he pet his bull as the bull sniffed my shoes and had a few different cows come up to say hi.

Besides just checking out the breed in general we also went with the purpose to check out some cows that he had for sale. One in particular is Peaceful Place Karen ... who is pictured below.



That isn't the greatest picture of her, but she is a good looking dehorned cow. If we got her we would also be picking up a steer to finish out for our freezer and she is bred back to calve next year. I'm pretty excited about the possibilities, but I'm trying to do a little more research first. I think I've talked to four different herd owners in Iowa, and I'm trying to set up an appointment to check out another herd in person.

Along the grass-finished lines I have also recently ordered Joel Salatin's book "Salad Bar Beef" in hopes of learning some finishing tips and pasture ideas.

Laying Eggs for the Book Farm...

Here is a quck picture of three of our hens in the laying boxes ... errr ... buckets. They are just free 5 gallon pails from the grocery store that I cut up with my jig saw. It took them a day or so to get used to them, but for the past two days we have picked out 5 eggs each day!

***UPDATE***

I just thought I would add a quick update to say that all six of our chickens laid yesterday! We had topped out at five layers a few times, but we had one black hen that hadn't laid since the day we brough her home. Well, yesterday she got back on track and hopefully we will be able to average about five a day from here on out. If we can do that then we will begin selling some eggs to help cover the costs. We will just be looking for 2-4 people to buy a dozen eggs every week or two. Hopefully this can be a small step in the farming direction for us. It would be a very small step, but a step nonetheless.

Only One Problem...

Okay, so I mentioned briefly in my last post that there was one minor incident in the chicken pen. On Thursday morning (the first morning we had the chickens) I woke up early to move the pen and get ready for work. I went out and found that the pen was heavy and that I had to really lift to get it to move any. So, as I was lifting I noticed a few hens trying to escape, but I was always able to get it down before they got out ... until this girl decided to escape!

Yep, this little girl took off running towards the neighbors backyard ... which I might add looks a lot like a nature preserve with tons of bushes, shrubs, etc. I lost her and knew that I wasn't going to catch her by myself so I went inside to get reinforcements (a.k.a. Becca). We went out and I took off down the railroad track waking up every dog along the way! Finally, I gave up and decided that she would have to try to make it back to the yard on her own if she survived. When I was just about back to our yard I noticed her in the undergrowth of the neighbors yard. What ensued was about a twently minute chase all over the yard, up and down the railroad ditch, and back and forth across our back fence! In the end Becca was the one that was able to make the catch ... with our big northern pike fishing net!!!

So, what did I learn? Number one: I need to find a better way to move the pen. Right now I am moving it sideways which is much easier, but I think I will add some wheels to the heavy end to make things easier. Number two: Chickens can and will run away if they get a chance! Number three: It's a good thing that I got up early to move because I needed the extra time to catch my runaway.

Ahh, the life of the city dwelling wannabe farmer. Hopefully tomorrow I will get a chance to go check out some Dexters in Carlisle. Maybe I will find the beginning of a herd???

Of Chickens and Men

When I posted my last entry I put a little note at the bottom about hoping to be able to post some chicken pictures soon. Well, soon can sooner than I expected! On Monday my dad called to tell me he was on the way to my uncles with the trailer so he would drop off the wood that I needed to build the pen. He showed up Tuesday afternoon and after unloading we were talking about his plans. That was when I found out that he would be driving through again on Wednesday afternoon. We immediatly decided to have him bring back our chickens which meant we only had about 24 hours to build their home! So, between soccer practices and my work at church we got the main parts of the pen done in time to house the chickens. I haven't finished the nest box yet, but they are in their new home and hopefully we begin giving us some eggs. We have six of the lovely ladies!

Here are some pictures of the pen building process. I used mostly salvaged materials to keep the costs down and designed something that is somewhat movable. I need to do a little work on the move ability part, buy you can read the next post for those details!

Dexter Cattle in the Future?

Over the past few months in my research and reading I've been thinking about having a grass-finished beef herd as part of my farming operation. If I was going to have cattle on my farm (you must remember that my farm doesn't exist yet!) then wanted to have cattle that could fill a niche, forage on pasture well, and be easy with calving. In my research I came across the Dexter breed which is an older breed from Ireland that didn't come to the U.S. until early in the 20th century. Also, they are a smaller breed of cattle with cows/heifers toping out between 650 - 800 or so and bulls/steers sometimes going a little higher. The beef is supposed to be especially tasty, but just as importantly to me they are great foragers and realitvely easy to care for becuase they are such a hardy breed. Another interesting thing about them is they really are a tri-purpose animal. Dexters can be used for milking, for beef, and even as a draft animal.

I am planning on going to visit a few breeders who live in my area to take a look at their herds and learn some more about the breed. Also, my dad and I have been discussing the possibilities of beginning a small herd on his farm to learn, test the waters, and get a head start on things if this is a direction that we can eventually follow.

I continue to be excited about farming possibilities and I am trying to learn as much as I can. Soon I would like to have some plans and goals for our farming adventure posted and hopefully we'll have pictures of our backyard laying hens and their movable pen soon!

P.S. Here are some links to Dexter Cattle Associations
American Dexter Cattle Association
Pure Breed Dexter Cattle Association