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The bottom of the barrel…
…the stockpile barrel, that is.If there is a key in cattle raising, it is to avoid feeding hay at $100 a ton for as long possible. Here Church opens one of our last stockpiled pastures and the cows don’t need a second invitation. Video by Church Humphreys Native grasses here for the most part but will satisfy them until AI is scheduled for mid-month. Then we will bring a cover bull in and hope the grass will last until the end of the month. There’s 22 acres of grass left just across the road…tantalizing but Church has decided to feed that to our steers destined for meat. David
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Living in a resort…
…that’s what my 18 years at Thistle Hill have felt like. The farm has been in the family a lot longer…almost 75 years. And now a new generation…the fourth…is beginning to take hold. Grandson Church Humphreys is managing our Devon cattle herd and showing the same appreciation for the setting in the Blue Ridge mountains of Virginia that his great-grandparents fell in love with. Cutting through the picture…and the farm…is the beautiful Rappahannock River…the stream legend has it George Washington threw a coin across. (Actually a pretty easy toss). And no farm is complete without its fishing hole…and thanks to grandson Luis Gentry we’re well-stocked with large mouth bass perch,…
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The system circles the wagons…
..for 20 years I’ve been railing against glysophate…a chemical herbicide that Monsanto has been selling worldwide under the trade name “Round-up”. A number of studies have identified it as a carcinogen and a few farmers have successfully sued Monsanto for damages. Now however the EPA has declared glysophate entirely safe, putting millions of dollars in court awards in jeopardy. And more than that our health in jeopardy…particularly because glysophate/Round-up is invariably used in growing GMO foods. In short, glysophate is spread on almost all the vegetables we eat folks and the government, Big Chemicals and Big Ag are going to keep it that way. Joel Saladin is a natural grower…
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Starting second pass…
…after about 45 days rest. Grandson Church says too many weeds though that’s not apparent in the picture. We calculate we have about 54,000 pounds animal weight per acre…just about a quarter of what we really need to see the results off mob grazing. At this level the cows can still afford to be selective. And there’s only limited trampling affect. The obvious answer is to reduce the size of the paddocks but that brings up the question of water and shade. Yes, we could bring in more cows but it’s almost breeding time and again this year we’ll be testing several young bulls after ai-ing. Interesting choices for a…
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Evening sun at Thistle Hill….
Sometimes it seems Heaven is just down the road. David
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Second pass…
…after a 45-day rest period, we’re bringing the main herd to where we started six weeks ago. The clover stand predominates…probably 60-70%. Church took the phrase “overseeding” too literally last winter. We may adjust paddock size this time around. We could use more trampling effect. Again trampled grass is particularly beneficial in the hot weather as a kind of armor coating for bare soil. It also breaks down and is beneficial for carbon sequestration and organic matter. Wanna keep those microbes happy! And all that clover adds nitrogen to the soil…saving tons of fertilizer which keeps the treasury happy! That much clover dominated the regrowth of our grasses…but the cows…
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Watching grass grow….
The definition of “boring” may be watching grass grow but whoever said that was certainly never a cattleman. We’ve finally started strip grazing and here’s an after-action picture of the first paddock. The untouched grass is behind the electric wire in the background. This was the result on a half acre with 30 cow/calf pairs in the first day. Church has decided to add eight more two year olds to increase the trampling and manure distribution. We’d also like the main herd to clean up some of the weeds. Maybe on the next pass. This paddock will rest for about a month…depending on grass regrowth. It’s trial and error while…
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Here they come…
The main Devon herd stretched out across Thistle Hill at sunset. No fuss or bother as they follow grandson Church for close to a half a mile. Do they understand that luscious green grass awaits? They do certainly trust Church’s leadership and sense of purpose. Outriders, sticks and herding dogs not necessary. Once they’ve regrouped they’ll begin a daily rotation of fresh grass, roughly an acre at a time. They have to be this well trained after all because Church has college to attend and can’t be late. After a few days they’ll be waiting for him at the entrance to the next paddock. He won’t even have to whistle!…
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That didn’t take long…
What a difference five days makes. Grass is now 8 to 10 inches. We’ll have to move fast or risk falling impossibly behind. Grandson Church is erecting the stakes for one-acre paddocks and the main herd of 30 cows and their new calves will have an acre a day. Look carefully and you’ll see a healthy stand of clover. Out of curiosity Church turned over a shovel of dirt. Look carefully near the top and left of the picture and you’ll see earthworms. I count five in less than a square foot. Again note the clover…and the organic matter. Enlarge all our blog pictures by simply tapping on them. Healthy…
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Did someone mention Valentines Day….
Our young bull Cutcombe must have gotten the idea somewhere because he took off overnight looking for love. Fortunately a neighbor spotted him early in his search and helped Church herd the young lothario back into the bull pasture. Fortunate too that his eight mates didn’t follow him on his quest. So no harm done…oh the fence! David