The Scoop View All →
Want to Get Paid for Providing Ecosystem Services? Start by Lunching With Forages
Meet Debbie Reed, Executive Director of the Ecosystem Services Marketing Consortium. This Thursday, she’ll be talking about the work she and her colleagues are doing to develop markets that can pay farmers and ranchers for improving soil health and protecting water quality. Reed is the first in the Oregon Forage and Grassland Council’s “Lunch With […]
Read More →Paint Cows Like Zebras to Reduce Flies
For years, scientists have tried to answer the question, “Why do Zebras have stripes?” Theories included that stripes were good camouflage, that they were some kind of “air-conditioning” or a signal to herd mates. But lately, there’s growing agreement that it’s all about protection from biting flies. The conclusions come as a result of a […]
Read More →Why Do We Believe Cows Prefer Grass?
If you’ve read On Pasture for very long, you know that before I created On Pasture, I was best known for creating a method for teaching cows (or any other ruminant) to eat weeds. Starting in 2004, I developed steps that anyone could use, testing them and then refining, until the process only took 8 […]
Read More →Why Do Farmers and Ranchers Adopt Regenerative Practices?
This week’s Scoop comes to us from Michelle Klampe of Oregon State University. Regenerative ranching, a holistic approach to managing grazing lands, enhances ranchers’ adaptive capacity and socioeconomic well-being while also providing an opportunity to mitigate climate change, a new study from Oregon State University has found. Regenerative ranching practices rebuild ecological processes, allowing ranchers […]
Read More →How to Think, Not What to Think
Over a decade ago, I was a teacher/mentor for a program a friend and I founded to help students make the transition from the academic world to a potential job with land management agencies like the US Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management, and the National Park Service. Before heading out to summer-long internships, […]
Read More →Marketing Cattle and Heifers Strategically
One of the silver linings of living through a pandemic is that everyone and everything has gone online. That means you don’t have to travel to take advantage of some really great learning opportunities. And this is a great one! On September 1, you can connect with Noble Research Institute consultants and Integrity Beef Alliance […]
Read More →Rattan Lal Reinforcing Soil Health Principles For a Healthy Planet
Even if you haven’t heard of Dr. Rattan Lal, you’ve probably been influenced by his work. More than 40 years ago, while doing research in Nigeria, Lal encountered an idea that changed his life – and led, eventually, to global recognition that soil is an important part of our response to a warming climate. A […]
Read More →When Have You Been Your Happiest?
Thanks to Don Ashford for this week’s Scoop. Like Don, I’ve been remembering all the good fortune and fun I’ve had. It felt good to read Don’s memories of happy times and I hope it will remind you of good times too. When have you been your happiest? I was asked this question the other […]
Read More →Grazing Management View All →
Greg Judy on How to Use Portable Fence Reels and Set Up Electric Fence Quickly and Easily
Lately I’ve been seeing questions from folks about portable electric fence reels – which ones to use and how to use them. The next question is “Now, how do I use these to set up my fence?” Here are the answers in two great videos from Greg Judy. If you already know all this, consider […]
Read More →Three Keys to Being a Successful Grazier
In this video, we take a trip to Nye, Montana to visit the Keogh Ranch. It’s been in the family since Noel Keogh’s folks purchased it in 1947. It may be larger than the operation you run, but his management addresses the challenges that each grazier faces: Managing for good grass utilization with fencing and […]
Read More →Grazing Through Drought, Too Much Rain, and Fire
Because Oregon has been in a long-standing drought, John Marble has lots of practice acting on his drought plan and rebounding when it rains. His examples of what works can get you through, rain or shine.
Read More →Limit Feeding Corn With Forage an Option to Get Through Drought
OK, I know I’m going to get smacked around just for mentioning feeding corn. But hear me out. Drought has hit a lot of places this summer resulting in poorer pastures heading into winter, and as usual, the cost of hay goes up when precipitation goes down. Alternatives for folks in this situation are to […]
Read More →The Answer to “Why Do We Ranch This Way?” Leads to Better Grazing for This Rancher
The Atlas Blizzard of October 3, 2013 was a big shock to Jody Brown of Faith, South Dakota. The freak storm dropped as much as 4 feet of snow in some places and wind gusts up to 70 miles per hour blew in drifts that made travel outdoors all but impossible. About 43,000 cattle, horses […]
Read More →Grazing Stockpile in the Snow
As we talk about swath grazing, and grazing stockpiled forage, one of the questions that always comes up is “What happens when it snows?” The answer, as always, is “It depends.” Grant Taillieu says, “You can’t just take a group of cows and say, I’m going to graze in the middle of winter. If they’ve […]
Read More →Benefits and How-To’s of Swath Grazing
Even though it’s only early August, we’re all thinking about what our fall and winter grazing and feeding is going to look like. One option is swath grazing, where instead of baling the cut forage, it’s left in the field in swaths. As Dr. Vernon Brown of Agriculture and AgriFood Canada says in this video, […]
Read More →On Spaghetti, Silvopasture and New Opportunities
When you think of Italian food, what pictures come to mind? Scrumptious spaghetti. Luscious lasagna. Perfect pizzas. What do they all have in common, other than the ability to send you into a carb-induced coma after a heavy lunch on a hot day? Tomatoes. They all use tomatoes. When Julius Caesar wanted something to go […]
Read More →Pasture Health View All →
Cheating Cheatgrass
I got an email not long ago from a researcher who wondered if I could help her find a place to purchase cheatgrass seed. I wasn’t aware of anyone selling the seed, but I did want to help, so I wrote back, “My suggestion is a little odd, but I think it would work. I […]
Read More →Twice as Many Cows, Twice as Easy
This piece comes to us from Clarence Kelly,* work unit conservationist for the Soil Conservation Service (now known as the Natural Resources Conservation Service). It was first published in September of 1962 in the Soil Conservation magazine. This rancher faced a lot of the same challenges many of us face today. His solution was to […]
Read More →Using Trees as Forage
Spring and fall are wonderful times to be a grass farmer. The weather is pleasant, the livestock are fat and happy, and the forages are lush. But of course, summer comes right after spring, and the lean, dry times can wipe away the memory of those beautiful lush grasses of spring. It doesn’t take much […]
Read More →Graziers and Crop Farmers Benefit From Working Together – Part 2
This two-part two of a series from the Beef Cattle Research Council of Canada on the ins and outs of graziers can work with crop farmers to feed animals during the winter months while improving soil health and productivity. Last week we looked at communicating, assigning value, and the importance of good fences. This week […]
Read More →Graziers and Crop Farmers Benefit From Working Together – Part 1
If you’re looking over at the remains in your neighbor’s crop residue or cover crops and are seeing potential forage, you’ll like this two-part series. It will give you some ideas and tips for creating a win-win opportunity. You feed your livestock while improving soil health and productivity for your neighbor! Thanks for this series […]
Read More →Stressed Plants Can Pass on “Memories” to Create Hardier Offspring
Penn State researcher Sally Mackenzie didn’t really set out to scare soybeans. But that’s what she did when she silenced the plants’ MSH1 gene. Though the plants were growing in perfect conditions, they suddenly sensed they were encountering a wide range of stresses all at once – drought, extreme cold and heat, high light levels […]
Read More →On Spaghetti, Silvopasture and New Opportunities
When you think of Italian food, what pictures come to mind? Scrumptious spaghetti. Luscious lasagna. Perfect pizzas. What do they all have in common, other than the ability to send you into a carb-induced coma after a heavy lunch on a hot day? Tomatoes. They all use tomatoes. When Julius Caesar wanted something to go […]
Read More →Utilizing Summer Annuals in Your Grazing System
Thanks go to Ben Beckman, Nebraska Extension Educator, and University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s BeefWatch team for this article. Whether grazed, harvested for hay, or cut for silage, warm season annual grasses are the kings of forage production. Common species like forage sorghum, sudangrass, sorghum/sudangrass hybrids, and millets grow best under warmer temperatures, with peak performance […]
Read More →Livestock View All →
Help Your Animals Adjust to a New Location by Feeding Familiar Foods
One of the challenges your livestock face on a daily basis is picking out something safe to eat without the benefit of food safety labels, or any labels at all for that matter. They’ve solved this dilemma by eating what those around them eat. But when we haul them to a pasture with forages […]
Read More →Red Clover Hay Supplementation Grows Fat Cattle
To jump right to the end of the story, researchers have found when 15% of the diet of steers in pasture was a supplement of red clover hay/ with about 3 pounds of dried distillers grain, they gained more weight than those on pasture alone – 2.45 pounds a day compared to 1.94. That’s interesting […]
Read More →How to Choose Your Replacement Heifers
This is the time of year when many folks are choosing their replacement heifers. These tips from Nebraska Extension Beef Educator Aaron Berger and his colleagues at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) will help you make good choices. First, get rid of heifers whose mothers were troublesome. Send on heifers that are: • from cows […]
Read More →Teaching Cattle to Graze Through Snow
We’ve covered some of this information in other articles, but I thought it would be helpful to gather it in one spot for you so you can begin to plan your winter management.
Read More →Avoid the Danger of Being Associated with the Feed Bucket
We’ve probably all experienced that scary moment when the animals we care for become dangerous to us because they’re just excited to be fed. Here’s how to break that cycle and be safe.
Read More →Fenceline Weaning for Calves
Last week we shared a two-stage weaning process that reduces stress and illness and maintains or improves weight gain. Here’s another option that also reduces stress: Fenceline weaning. Abruptly separating mother and young is noisy. There’s a lot of mooing and fence walking. It can go on for up to three days, and while it’s […]
Read More →Two-Stage Weaning is Calf, Grazier, and Scientist Approved
Weaning may be the biggest stress that a calf endures in its life. When calves are abruptly separated from their mothers, they bawl, they don’t eat, and they pace their pens and fence lines, walking an average of 25 miles a day in one test. They also become more vulnerable to respiratory infections. How do […]
Read More →Preventing African Swine Fever – First Ever Vaccine Created
African swine fever (ASF) is a highly contagious and deadly viral disease affecting both domestic and wild pigs of all ages. It is found in countries around the world, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. More recently, it has spread through China, Mongolia, Vietnam, and North Korea as well as within parts of the European Union. ASF […]
Read More →Money Matters View All →
How to Start a Ranch From Scratch
Can’t be done. At least that is what conventional wisdom says. I’d agree that it can’t be done, if you follow the rules of traditional ranching – running cows the way everyone else does and owning everything. If you are willing to break some rules and challenge conventional wisdom maybe you can join the amazing […]
Read More →A New Meat School Coming to a Town or Computer Near You!
Are you interested in learning more about production, processing and selling your pasture-finished product to diverse market channels? Would you like new ways to manage risk in your meat business and improve your profitability? If the answers are yes, then you’ll want to check out the Western Meat School. The Western Meat School is organized […]
Read More →Overcoming Challenges to Create a Successful Grass Fed Beef Supply Chain
A case study of a regional grass fed beef supply chain that came out this past Spring gives us a good look at how one producer addressed the issues that direct marketers in this business usually encounter. From building a brand and successfully marketing it, to having enough product to meet the demand of customers, […]
Read More →Solar Panels for Powering Your Farm/Ranch – Here’s What to Consider
If you’re wondering if solar power is a good option for your operation, this four-part video series from John Hay and University of Nebraska Extension is for you. Though the series bills itself as information for beginning farmers and ranchers, it’s really beneficial to anyone interested in solar power options. I’ve included all four videos […]
Read More →Rancher Loren Poncia Talks Covid-19 and a Shift to Direct-to-Consumer Sales
Loren Poncia of Stemple Creek Ranch near Tomales Bay, California is a fourth generation rancher raising grass fed beef, lamb and pork. His goal is to “raise an awesome, wholesome, nutritious product, and, at the same time, do the dance with Mother Nature to build soil health and biodiversity.” When Covid-19 hit, the ranch lost […]
Read More →These Could Be The Best Cows
Back in May, John wrote “What Makes a Really Good Cow” where he talked about judging the cows in your herd by blaming them for how their calves turn out and selling the cows that fail that basic test of performance. That’s a great theory, but how does it work out in practice? John shares […]
Read More →Diverse Income from Your Scenic Pastures: Consider Glamping
In the early 2000’s, I had the joy of spending a memorable four days with Bill Burrows, a 6th-generation rancher and Holistic Management practitioner from Northern California. Bill told us the story of how his family very nearly lost the ranch in the 1980’s when the bottom fell out of the cattle market, and how […]
Read More →Working With an Apprentice – Setting Expectations & Balancing Work and Education
This is our fourth in our series to help you find and work with apprentices or interns. You can catch up with the whole series here. Your apprentice is about to arrive! How do you structure the workday, week, and month so that both education and the work get done? Today we’ll share strategies from […]
Read More →The Classic by NatGLC View All →
Which Feed Is A Better Value? Here’s a Calculator to Help Figure it Out.
From October of 2016, here’s a timely article to help you get the most for your money. There are a variety of reasons why you might decide to feed or supplement grazing cattle in the fall and winter. One might be providing a little extra for a pasture that doesn’t meet your herd’s nutritional needs. […]
Read More →Get Rid of Bio-Film and Clean Lines, Tanks and Floats With the Easy “Slug Method”
From 2018, here’s a great way to keep water troughs clean and working well. Oregon is a funny place. We recently changed our State bird from the Meadow Lark to the Osprey, mostly because several other States were claiming the Meadow Lark, and Oregon likes being….unique. Some would say bizarre. Our State Flower is called […]
Read More →A Very Helpful Grazing Systems Planning Guide
From our September 2014 issue, here’s a guide that is still very valuable. Pictures and simple tables – that’s what I like in a book, especially if they illustrate what the author is trying to explain in a way that cuts to the chase. If you like that too, you’ll really appreciate this Grazing Systems […]
Read More →Livestock Combine With Cover Crops to Build Soil Health
From January of 2017, here’s why livestock are an important part of cover cropping.
Read More →Electrified High-Tensile Woven Wire Is a Great Option
From August of 2013, here’s how a grazier in Vermont dealt with fencing for her growing herd of sheep and cattle. How is it that flocks and herds can grow so fast? Ten ewes turned into 20 and starting with one steer we suddenly find ourselves with 15 head! Well, okay, it wasn’t that sudden, […]
Read More →Winter Strip Grazing – Determining Strip Size
Here are the ins and outs and the math for figuring out how big each strip should be to feed your cattle and make best use of your stockpile. It comes to us from our November 2014 issue of On Pasture. We reconfigured our farm’s permanent, hi-tensile fence to better allow the use of portable […]
Read More →Two Videos Demonstrate How Grazing Management Affects Soil Health
From August of 2013, here’s a good look at the difference between continuous and rotational grazing on soil’s ability to absorb water. This video by the Natural Resources Conservation Service in South Dakota does a great job of demonstrating that how we manage our livestock on pasture determines how sustainable we’ll be as farmers and […]
Read More →Romance vs. Reality Part 1: A Grass-fed Beef Marketing Cooperative Shares Lessons Learned
There’s a lot of interest lately in figuring out new ways to create a food system that is more resilient and that meets the needs of both the producer and the customer. With that in mind, here’s the first of a two-part series that could add to the discussion. It was originally published by On […]
Read More →Consider This View All →
The Time I Almost Died On My Tractor…Mom Please Skip This One.
I was sitting here thinking about how I’m glad I don’t wear my mistakes on my person. Like many of my farming kin, I have done some really thoughtless things on the farm. It seems that the end of a long day, under the sun, with deadlines looming, animals needing to be fed, and bills […]
Read More →Managing Vegetation in Solar Arrays With Sheep
Last spring we shared a series of stories from the American Solar Grazing Association on the increase in solar developments, and how sheep grazing is becoming an important part of managing vegetation so solar panels work most effectively. The first in the series described the opportunities and potential income for sheep graziers. In Part 2, […]
Read More →Make Sure Your Equipment Doesn’t Turn Into Just a Pile of Steel
“I need you to come right away. The driveline just snapped off the baler” “IT DID WHAT?! Shut it down. I’ll be there in five minutes” Click. The heat of the afternoon sun smacks me in the face as I scramble down the steps of the big, blue New Holland PowerStar 120. I hit the […]
Read More →It Takes a Village (of Insects) to Raze a Manure Pile
The manure your livestock leave behind in pasture can provide beneficial nutrients. But how do the nutrients get from the pile and into the soil? If you said Dung Beetles, you’re only 1.5 to 3% correct.
Read More →Rethinking Methane – Why Livestock Are Not the Problem and Could Be a Solution
Cow burps and farts – that’s mostly what first comes up when people talk about agricultural methane, making it seem kind of silly. So why all the concern? It’s because methane is a very powerful greenhouse gas, about 84 times more potent than carbon dioxide for the decade it lasts in the atmosphere. But, […]
Read More →Build a Self-Starter Apprentice/Employee With Feedback and Mentoring
Adding an apprentice or intern to your operation is a great way to add energy and new ideas to your operation while providing training to the next generation of graziers. But, like any new practice, there’s information to make it easier, and skills we must develop to be successful. For the past 6 weeks, Leah […]
Read More →Will Eating Dirt Make Us Smarter?
Back in 2014, there was a lot of buzz about how a bacteria found in soil may help reduce depression. But that’s not the only thing dirt might be good for. Additional research shows that same bacteria might even make us smarter. Let’s start with depression. Based on results in lung cancer patients, who said […]
Read More →Evaluating Apprenticeship Applications & Conducting Effective Interviews
This our third in the series to help you find and work with apprentices and interns. Last week, we talked about how to be clear about what kind of opportunity you have to offer, and the kind of person you’d like to work with. Now, let’s talk about evaluating applications and conducting effective interviews. Go […]
Read More →The Funnies View All →
Pass the Pepper – Joseph’s Machines
Ok, I liked “Pass the Salt” from last week, but I think this one is even better. Enjoy!
Read More →Pass the Salt – Joseph’s Machines
I like how the salt gets distributed in the end. It’s 4:26 of wonder. Enjoy! If you liked this and would like to see out takes and more, you can support Joseph’s artwork here. Next week, “Pass the Pepper!”
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This Tractor Needs Serious Repair
It seemed like a good idea at the time… And I was surprised by how many different videos I found of tractors suffering this particular breakdown.
Read More →Silly Signs and Headlines – Part 1
Communicating in writing is not always easy. Here are some examples of folks who may not mean what they wrote. There’s more where these came from. Stay tuned! 🙂
Read More →Recreating “Night Watch” by Rembrandt
You’ve probably seen photos from the #GettyMuseumChallenge where regular folks recreate classic works of art at home, like the examples below. But the folks at the Rijksmuseum in the Netherlands were way ahead of them. See how they recreated “Night Watch” as a flashmob at a local mall back in April of 2013. And here’s […]
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