Shake up your grazing!

The ‘principle of disruption’ can keep your pastures improving

by Allen Williams, Ph.D.

Progress can be a frustrating thing.

In our search for improved soil health and forage productivity, we look to certain grazing “systems” as the key to improvement. Many of you have implemented some form of intensive grazing — management-intensive grazing (MiG), rotational grazing, mob grazing or even adaptive multi-paddock grazing — in an effort to make progress in building soil health and increasing forage productivity. Continue reading “Shake up your grazing!”

June 1, 2015April 18, 2020

Why you might be green with envy

What is your neighbor doing that you aren’t?

By Daniel Olson

Lena, Wisconsin — I know this is just a figure of speech, but there are times when your neighbor’s pastures look greener than yours. Or at least they seem to be substantially better. We all know that he isn’t smarter than you (he probably doesn’t even subscribe to this magazine) and he doesn’t work any harder (his barn lights don’t go on until 5:45 in the morning).

But there, on the other side of the fence, are some wonderfully beautiful pastures. Not only is this contrast embarrassing, it is expensive. If you are wondering how that neighbor got his pastures to grow so well, the following may include a few of his secrets. Continue reading “Why you might be green with envy”

April 1, 2015April 18, 2020

The seven pillars of 100% grassfed dairy

By Paul and Phyllis Van Amburgh

Sharon Springs, New York — We like to say we don’t suffer from an agricultural education. Paul was a builder and Phyllis an occupational therapist prior to our farming lives. We mean no disrespect to agricultural degree programs or the folks who complete them, but we like to make it clear that we came into farming without preconceived notions of what will and won’t work from an educational or experiential standpoint.

Most of what we’ve learned about 100% grassfed dairy production came from our willingness to try things that seemed long-shots at best. We were, and remain, eager to listen to all viewpoints, be they conventional, organic, confinement, grassfed or other. The ability to think outside the box has helped as we worked toward a functioning production model at our Dharma Lea farm. Continue reading “The seven pillars of 100% grassfed dairy”

October 1, 2014July 21, 2020

Premiums welcomed, but not required

David just thinks A2 and no-grain are the most ‘ethical’ ways to make milk

Random Lake, Wisconsin – The future of alternative dairy might well be on display on a small organic farm operated by a maverick 70-year old with a graduate degree in crop chemicals.

David Heidel feeds no grain to his dairy animals and breeds his herd for A2 milk and receives not a cent in milk check premiums for these efforts. And David isn’t optimistic he’ll see such money in his remaining farming lifetime, what with his cooperative (CROPP/Organic Valley) unlikely to extend its Grassmilk no-grain procurement to this part of Wisconsin, and commercial A2 milk markets yet to be launched in the U.S. Continue reading “Premiums welcomed, but not required”

October 1, 2014April 18, 2020

If you want to build topsoil, try bale grazing

By Janet McNally

Hinckley, Minnesota—In past articles I’ve described how much more productive my managed pastures have been compared to the continuously grazed pasture right across the fence line.

I’ve also told how much more productive and drought-tolerant my pastures have become since I moved toward a mob-grazing system with more frequent moves and longer (six- to eight-week) rest periods. I always attributed the improvement to deeper roots and better plant vigor, both of which tend to be true when plants have longer rest periods. Continue reading “If you want to build topsoil, try bale grazing”

June 1, 2014April 18, 2020

Trees and pasture can grow together

Silvopasture important part of diversified Forks Farm grazing

By Tracy Frisch
Orangeville, Pennsylvania— For many graziers, the woodlot is a place where the livestock end up when they break through the fence. For others, it’s a poorly managed shade lounge for hot summer afternoons. For John Hopkins, trees represent a natural extension of his pasture management.

And woodlot management. At Forks Farm, tree lots are viewed as something more than providers of summer shade and winter shelter. They are valued for providing diversity and complexity to the farm’s grazing program. And the grazing stock are viewed as improving the quality and market value of the trees by controlling competing weeds and brush. Continue reading “Trees and pasture can grow together”