Author: John Marble

Whether it’s fair or not, people seem to believe that northwest corner of America is a fairly unique place. Folks like to rave about the extraordinary degree of “greenness” in this country, while also whining and moaning about our soggy winters. I always find this entertaining. The truth is, we do have a long, gray […]

On September 9, John Marble’s short voice mail on my home phone said, “We have fire on three sides and we’re evacuating cattle.” He was running from the Holiday Farm fire that had been whipped into a frenzy by gale force winds two days earlier. By the next day, his part of the Calapooia Valley […]

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 […]

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.

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 […]

A note from Kathy: Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about how inter-related we all are and how much the quality of my life depends on the actions and responses of others, and how much the simplest things I do are equally important to them. It turns out my friend John Marble has been thinking […]

  I am often reminded of my old professor Dr. Breakey, especially lately as I review the results of two recent “field experiments.” Project 1: What in Tar(weed)Nation? Managing a New Weed Last spring I wrote about a massive invasion of Tarweed that had dominated a large chunk of the ranch. Those nasty plants interfered […]

A few weeks ago I wrote an article about moving newly-arrived and unsocialized cattle around in our handling facility. There was a little video showing some of those cattle too. Along with some interesting comments, we got some questions from people who noticed that some of those cattle had numbers or letters spray-painted on their […]

Here are the answers to the Bovine Art Appreciation Pop Quiz. I run a seasonal operation with a focus on buying under-valued animals and increasing their value through grazing, calving and breeding. We also produce a small amount of burger for friends and family. In addition to translating the markings on each animal below, I’ve […]

Because he usually works stock by himself, John Marble has modified his handling facilities to make it easy and safe for a single man/woman. Check out his tips and then share yours with the On Pasture Community.

Recently, John Marble has been adjusting what he raises on his ranch to meet what his local customers are asking for. Here’s what they want, and how that might be impacting you. Of course, things may be different in your region. But this may help you explain what’s happening at your livestock auction, or give […]

In addition to being an article about forest conversion, this is also an example of looking at the resources we manage, paying attention to a site’s potential, and considering what is best for our operations. We hope it inspires you to look around with new eyes.

As most of you know, On Pasture author John Marble typically offers up an article every month, something about grazing management or ranching or some technical issue. But in January, John was busy with other tasks. In another life, John spent a significant amount of time working on drinking water problems in small communities across […]

Animal handling can go a lot more smoothly with the proper facilities. Here’s how On Pasture author John Marble made that happen at his place.

Last week, I wrote about how tarweed showed up on my ranch a few years back, and how the management that had worked so well in the past seemed to fail me. In the end, I realized I needed to know more about my opponent. So here’s what I learned. I hope you’ll use it […]