Getting Started Grazing

What Other Farmers Think About Management-Intensive Grazing

"Management-Intensive Grazing has made it possible for us to turn a run-down Southeast Ohio hill farm into a highly productive, environmenttally sound, low input livestock operation. Good grass management is earning us a return to land, labor, and management of over of $250 per acre. This is an appropriate and profitable way to farm on our so called marginal ground."

Rick Duff and his family run a 100 ewe sheep flock and 1215 stocker calves on their 45 acres of grass in Athens County. Their Dorset Romanoff ewes lamb on pasture in late April averaging a 218 % lamb crop (including ewe lambs). Rick was one of the first graziers in Ohio to adopt management intensive grazing. They direct market many of their lambs and average a net profit of $85 per ewe.

"Raising pastured poultry allows farmers to add diversity to family farms without a large financial investment. Consumers look far and wide for poultry raised without the chemical inputs typically found in confinement houses. For farmers, this is an opportunity to enter niche marketing, bridging the gap between producer and consumer. We have found pastured poultry is an economically and environmentally sound choice in adding diversity to our pasture based dairy farm. A couple producing 10,000 broilers on 20 acres can net $25,000."

Paul and Colleen Yoder operate Bear Hollow Farm in Wayne County where they graze 60 cows on 120 acres of pasture. They are working toward converting to seasonal dairy and produce 1,000 range broilers.

"I have found that management-intensive grazing nets more dollars than conventional cropping rotations and allows year round application of composted hog manure. In a highly urbanized setting, cattle on pasture help create positive feelings between the livestock farm and the neighboring community."

Tom Price operates a livestock enterprise in Delaware County where he raises some row crops in combination with pasture.

"The advantages to rotational grazing are many. There are economical advantages with not buying so much fertilizer and herbicides, while equipment repairs are low. When I started grazing, my feed bill was cut in half. But what I like the most about grazing dairy cows is that we're not so busy. My family is relaxed and my cows are relaxed. We have time to enjoy each other."

Robert Yoder and his family own and operate a grass based dairy in eastern Knox county. They transitioned 25 holsteins from a conventional feeding system to a grass based system with approximately 70 cows while maintaining production level.

"I practice management intensive grazing because it is very environmentally friendly, reduces erosion, maintains clean water, makes my cattle easy to handle, and last but not least, is more profitable. I can produce more beef per acre with less investment in equipment."

Earl is a purebred Angus breeder who specializes in producing mature replacement brood cows and bulls. He runs 150 cows on 300 acres and produces an average of 800 lbs. of beef per acre. He moves his cows and calves an average of 2 times per day to maintain high daily gains.