Who will reap carbon market rewards?

By Joel McNair

Imagine if someone offered you $150 an acre just to keep doing what you’re already doing. No doubt some of you would turn away due to philosophical reasons, and at least initially quite a few of you would view the pitch as just another dose of snake oil.

But no doubt many of you would be intrigued.

Intriguing indeed is the concept of being paid for ecosystem services. And it’s happening. Specifically, private enterprise is offering payments to farmers who are either judged or proven to be reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

May 1, 2021October 19, 2021

Practical genetics: knock out the props

By Allen Williams

Genetic selection is often complicated and confusing for many livestock producers. We try to decipher numerous trait measurements. We pour through and try to interpret breeding values and EPDs. We like to use weighted or adjusted values for various traits. In the past couple of decades we have added DNA marker technology to the mix.

We read breed promotion literature, look at the glossy pictures in breed association catalogs, and ask neighbors and friends what they are using. Some of us pay attention to sale barn owners and operators, feedlot managers, the packer or processor, the lender or whoever is selling us something.

January 1, 2021October 19, 2021

Why we built a baleage dryer

By Nathan Weaver
First in a series

The seed for a mechanical hay drier was planted in my mind by an article in the May 2010 issue of Graze. On a visit to northern France, Joel McNair had talked with Jean-Luc Gaugain about his system for drying loose hay.

Jean-Luc’s system captured solar energy from air heated inside the black, steel roof and walls of his barn. This heated air was forced through loose hay to finish the drying process of forages that had been harvested at 30-35% moisture.

April 1, 2020July 26, 2020

Keeping a farm in the family

Corse family using grazing to maintain 152-year legacy

By Martha Hoffman
Whitingham, Vermont — For the past 152 years the Corse family has milked cows in south central Vermont.

Today, Leon Corse, his wife, Linda, and their adult daughter, Abbie, are doing their best to continue that legacy with organic-certified management tailored to their farm. And they’re helping others begin their own legacies through participation in the Dairy Grazing Apprenticeship, a program aiming to bring new dairy farmers into the industry.

February 1, 2020July 12, 2022

Doing what it takes to launch a grass dairy

Beichlers flexible with funding and market niche

By Martha Hoffman

Middlebrook, Virginia — Dairy experience was the main capital Ben and Kristen Beichler used when they started their grass dairy in 2017. An investor group covered the cash.

Since then, there have been plenty of surprises and curveballs, but with some creative solutions they’ve been able to employ, the Beichlers are happy with the direction they’re headed in feeding no grain, milking once a day, and selling raw milk herdshares.

January 1, 2020July 12, 2022

Greg Stricker’s once a day story

By Martha Hoffman
Greg Stricker had been eyeing OAD milking for six years, running the numbers to see what net profit would look like with the expected 30% drop in milk production.

Greg and his family, which includes his father, Forrest, milk 120 mostly Jersey cows year-round in southeastern Pennsylvania. Greg keeps a sharp eye on the farm’s finances. The Strickers do not feed any grain, shipping to Natural by Nature’s organic grassfed program. So while the milk price is higher than with conventional organic, the herd’s production levels are lower.