Book review - Comeback Farms by Greg Judy
I'm only 3/4 through this book, so I'll be coming back and updating this post. ETA: I finished the book. New comments are added to this post in blue.
Why I read this book: I am studying pastured cattle farming because I want to learn techniques that will help me keep my horse grass fed on one acre. I feed hay, but not grain. I also want to take care of the land in the proper manner.
Greg Judy writes about innovative grazing management - Management Intensive Grazing (MIG) and Holistic High Density Planned Grazing (HHDPG) to rejuvenate pastures. This is a form of rotational grazing, in which pastures/paddocks are rotated to prevent continuous grazing.
The method he espouses is to
The cattle are in a small enough paddock that they eat everything, including the weeds, in the given time frame; don't give them a large enough area where they will pick and chose what to eat. They will leave manure, urine, and trampled grass to feed and build up the soil in that paddock. The paddock is rested (not grazed) for a certain amount of time (25-100 days, I think) to allow the new grass growth time to develop a good root system as well as above-ground growth.
He has rejuvenated several old farms and pastures this way. He claims it even works in times of drought, without needing to irrigate the pasture! The cattle leave a fairly well distributed layer of manure and urine which keeps the moisture in the soil and also increases the level of humus in the topsoil.
He also writes about:
Birds and Bugs
Dung beetles are so important for distributing the manure underground, which helps take the moisture underground and also dries out the manure above ground which in turn helps kill parasites (mainly flies). Birds are also important for further grinding the manure into the ground and keeping insect levels down.
He talks about how Ivermectin (a de-wormer used on cattle and horses) also kill dung beetles. I wonder how he would adjust this for horses - de-worming a horse is pretty important for the horse's health.
Growing Microbes
Microbes in the animals' gut adjust to what they are eating. If you graze on good pasture, their systems adapt to digesting it. If you move onto poor pasture, it takes them time to adjust, and then they must adjust again when moved to good pasture. "Stockpiled" grass in a pasture dies over winter but come spring, that dried, dead grass acts as a buffer for the rich grass and aids in digestion. I'll don't think I'll ever be able to stockpile grass on my small acreage - I 'd have to graze each paddock too often.
Trapper Creek posted a very timely post that shows what stockpiled forage looks like in the pacific northwest.
Quotes:
"Keep an open mind and apply the concepts and methods that you think will work on your operation, discard the rest." It's nice to hear this - much better than "if you don't follow this 100%, you are going to fail and you can't say you are using my method."
"Whatever you do on the farm must be sustainable, in simple English, 'Must be able to perform without any added inputs.'"
How I can apply this info in my life
In order to help develop the grass in the yards during this drought, I'm thinking of dividing the grazing area into 6 sections. These sections are large enough for the horse to run about it, albeit not at full speed. After a section is grazed, I will demerde it, spread composted manure on it, and water it well. It will get 5 days of rest.
This differs from his methods a bit -
Why I read this book: I am studying pastured cattle farming because I want to learn techniques that will help me keep my horse grass fed on one acre. I feed hay, but not grain. I also want to take care of the land in the proper manner.
Greg Judy writes about innovative grazing management - Management Intensive Grazing (MIG) and Holistic High Density Planned Grazing (HHDPG) to rejuvenate pastures. This is a form of rotational grazing, in which pastures/paddocks are rotated to prevent continuous grazing.
The method he espouses is to
- divide a pasture into smaller paddocks using electric fencing
- use high-density grazing of cattle (i.e., pack a mob of cattle in the paddock) to trample, eat, fertilize, and water one of the paddocks
- in 12 or 24 hours, move the cattle to the next small area.
The cattle are in a small enough paddock that they eat everything, including the weeds, in the given time frame; don't give them a large enough area where they will pick and chose what to eat. They will leave manure, urine, and trampled grass to feed and build up the soil in that paddock. The paddock is rested (not grazed) for a certain amount of time (25-100 days, I think) to allow the new grass growth time to develop a good root system as well as above-ground growth.
He has rejuvenated several old farms and pastures this way. He claims it even works in times of drought, without needing to irrigate the pasture! The cattle leave a fairly well distributed layer of manure and urine which keeps the moisture in the soil and also increases the level of humus in the topsoil.
He also writes about:
- multi-species grazing
- developing your own herd of parasite resistant sheep
- fencing techniques
- genetics
- grass-finishing beef
Birds and Bugs
Dung beetles are so important for distributing the manure underground, which helps take the moisture underground and also dries out the manure above ground which in turn helps kill parasites (mainly flies). Birds are also important for further grinding the manure into the ground and keeping insect levels down.
He talks about how Ivermectin (a de-wormer used on cattle and horses) also kill dung beetles. I wonder how he would adjust this for horses - de-worming a horse is pretty important for the horse's health.
Growing Microbes
Microbes in the animals' gut adjust to what they are eating. If you graze on good pasture, their systems adapt to digesting it. If you move onto poor pasture, it takes them time to adjust, and then they must adjust again when moved to good pasture. "Stockpiled" grass in a pasture dies over winter but come spring, that dried, dead grass acts as a buffer for the rich grass and aids in digestion. I'll don't think I'll ever be able to stockpile grass on my small acreage - I 'd have to graze each paddock too often.
Trapper Creek posted a very timely post that shows what stockpiled forage looks like in the pacific northwest.
Quotes:
"Keep an open mind and apply the concepts and methods that you think will work on your operation, discard the rest." It's nice to hear this - much better than "if you don't follow this 100%, you are going to fail and you can't say you are using my method."
"Whatever you do on the farm must be sustainable, in simple English, 'Must be able to perform without any added inputs.'"
How I can apply this info in my life
In order to help develop the grass in the yards during this drought, I'm thinking of dividing the grazing area into 6 sections. These sections are large enough for the horse to run about it, albeit not at full speed. After a section is grazed, I will demerde it, spread composted manure on it, and water it well. It will get 5 days of rest.
This differs from his methods a bit -
- my sections will be a bit larger, but my horse needs to move. I also don't want him standing in/ stepping in so much manure - it's not good for his feet.
- I compost the manure to help kill worms and parasite larvae, plus a good portion of the bacteria - my concern of the bacteria is due to the presence of the well.
- My paddocks won't get as much rest, as they will be grazed once a week as opposed to once a month or twice a year.