HOW THEY ARE RAISED
LOCATION:
During the spring, summer and fall months our cattle enjoying grazing the lush green grasses though our 6 acres of pastures. The pastures are separated into half acre paddocks where the cattle are allowed to graze for 2-3 days and then are moved to the next area. The duration varies depending on many variables but the best way to judge is to move them when the grass gets down to 3-4” in height. Grazing the forage too low causes damage to the plant and stunts the regrowth, the more stems and leafs left behind the faster it will grow back. This type of management style allows for the grass to rest for 24-30 days before the cows come back to the paddock. There are several advantages to this rest period; the forages are able to fully rebound faster, gives time for the rain and sun to breakdown manure into vital nutrients for the forages and provides a natural block for parasites and bugs that need the constant presence of the animals. This allows us to lessen the amount of times that the cattle need wormed. During the winter months the cows are brought up to the barn area where they stay in a winter pen to prevent damage to the pastures during the wet/muddy season. The winter cow pen is located next to the pig pen so the pigs have easy access for our composting process, see below for more information.
FEED:
During the spring, summer and fall our cattle only receive the forages that they harvest from the pastures with access to fresh water at all times. Through our rotation system we are able to stockpile a few paddocks (allow the grass to get really tall and not let the cows on it until late fall) and reduce the amount of hay we need over winter. Once the grass stops growing and all the stockpiled forage is gone we start to feed them the hay we harvest from our fields and store in the barn. If the overnight temperatures get into the teens I will give the cows some grain to give them some extra calories to keep them warm through the night.
COMPOSTING:
We have setup a large winter pen next to the pig pen and barn for the cows. Cows waste A LOT of hay over winter and bed down on it and defecate on it so they are creating their own compost pile all winter long. To make proper compost it must be turned, rotated and mixed up to continue the decomposition of the waste. In come the pigs, quite literally, open the gate to the pigs a couple times during the summer while the cows are out on pasture and they will root it all up looking for wasted cow feed and seed heads from the hay. By controlling the location of waste and using the pigs to rotate I am cutting down on my time doing the work and the need for equipment. They are happy doing it and I am happy I get chemical free fertilizer! In the fall we spread it over our hay fields and garden to provide proper nutrition to the forage and plants for the next year. Perfect examples of taking the natural habits of animals and using it to our advantage to accomplish work around the farm.
During the spring, summer and fall months our cattle enjoying grazing the lush green grasses though our 6 acres of pastures. The pastures are separated into half acre paddocks where the cattle are allowed to graze for 2-3 days and then are moved to the next area. The duration varies depending on many variables but the best way to judge is to move them when the grass gets down to 3-4” in height. Grazing the forage too low causes damage to the plant and stunts the regrowth, the more stems and leafs left behind the faster it will grow back. This type of management style allows for the grass to rest for 24-30 days before the cows come back to the paddock. There are several advantages to this rest period; the forages are able to fully rebound faster, gives time for the rain and sun to breakdown manure into vital nutrients for the forages and provides a natural block for parasites and bugs that need the constant presence of the animals. This allows us to lessen the amount of times that the cattle need wormed. During the winter months the cows are brought up to the barn area where they stay in a winter pen to prevent damage to the pastures during the wet/muddy season. The winter cow pen is located next to the pig pen so the pigs have easy access for our composting process, see below for more information.
FEED:
During the spring, summer and fall our cattle only receive the forages that they harvest from the pastures with access to fresh water at all times. Through our rotation system we are able to stockpile a few paddocks (allow the grass to get really tall and not let the cows on it until late fall) and reduce the amount of hay we need over winter. Once the grass stops growing and all the stockpiled forage is gone we start to feed them the hay we harvest from our fields and store in the barn. If the overnight temperatures get into the teens I will give the cows some grain to give them some extra calories to keep them warm through the night.
COMPOSTING:
We have setup a large winter pen next to the pig pen and barn for the cows. Cows waste A LOT of hay over winter and bed down on it and defecate on it so they are creating their own compost pile all winter long. To make proper compost it must be turned, rotated and mixed up to continue the decomposition of the waste. In come the pigs, quite literally, open the gate to the pigs a couple times during the summer while the cows are out on pasture and they will root it all up looking for wasted cow feed and seed heads from the hay. By controlling the location of waste and using the pigs to rotate I am cutting down on my time doing the work and the need for equipment. They are happy doing it and I am happy I get chemical free fertilizer! In the fall we spread it over our hay fields and garden to provide proper nutrition to the forage and plants for the next year. Perfect examples of taking the natural habits of animals and using it to our advantage to accomplish work around the farm.