Pasture walk

[TexasBred]

Especially if you are a small producer (under 500 cows) i believe you should be doing grass-fed beef or if you feel the need to use a little grain at finishing as my good friend TexasBred does -- they have a special designation for you called "Natural".

roflmaoooo......Ed I'm not a meat salesman, a butcher nor a roadside meat peddler. I don't raise anything and finish it for slaughter....that's your job.... but I guess my cows are "Natural" as they eat what they want and that's pretty natural for a cow....(500 mama cows is a pretty good size operation around here unless you're dairying). Best of luck to you.

 

[cfpinz]

I'd like to get to that one day, and am working on it, but not yet. One of the big guys that I know who does that is Joel Salatin out in Virginia. I'm planning on going and seeing his place next year when he offers tours.

I live about a half hour from him, have met him on several occasions. Ever heard the old saying, "Figures don't lie, but liars figure"? He's a quack.

 

[SRBeef]

I'd like to get to that one day, and am working on it, but not yet. One of the big guys that I know who does that is Joel Salatin out in Virginia. I'm planning on going and seeing his place next year when he offers tours.

I live about a half hour from him, have met him on several occasions. Ever heard the old saying, "Figures don't lie, but liars figure"? He's a quack.

I don't think it is right to accuse someone of anything on a public forum especially since there are no specifics and the other party is not here to defend himself. Just not called for.

His original book "Salad Bar Beef" like many how-to books, has some strong points. It also has some points that don't seem to fit my operation. I understand Salatin has also gone away from his original approach to "mob grazing" of a large herd on what I would think of as passed-prime pastures. I like some of his original approach better which is working nicely for me, modified for my condition.

None of which makes him a "quack". Let's just say he stimulates thought and discussion. Never met the man but don't like public accusations online. jmho. Jim

 

[mnmtranching]

The US imported 3,100,000,000 pounds of beef in 08. Almost ALL grassfed.
Cheap grassfed beef is available everywhere. Check out the burgers at your favorite fast food establishment.
Want good US beef? Go to a good steak house. They will be serving CORN fed US beef. Will always be the worlds finest.

 

[mnmtranching]

I do a pasture walk almost everyday :cowboy: Never put on any commercial fertilizer. Don't need the county agent, vet, or anybody else to tell me the pastures health. Just my old trusty dog. 8)
SO? whats the big deal??
Millions and millions of acres of rangeland has never had fertilizer. Again what's the big deal?

It's not a big deal. A vast increase in forage volume per acre can be attained with the use of fertilizer. This is economical in some situations that I don't think require explanation. That's the deal.

GA, there is VERY little commercial fertilizer used on pastures and range land in ranch country. I know on certain situations, small lots, extensive grazing and other specialties it may be cost effective. I can't imagine spreading fertilizer on a 800 acre pasture, and that's pretty small compared to many. Always the same, with rain we have excess grass and during dry weather ain't gonna help to fertilize.

 

[john250]

The US imported 3,100,000,000 pounds of beef in 08. Almost ALL grassfed.
Cheap grassfed beef is available everywhere. Check out the burgers at your favorite fast food establishment.
Want good US beef? Go to a good steak house. They will be serving CORN fed US beef. Will always be the worlds finest.

How to explain the dis-connect between a Big Mac (near lethal if you believe some) and the grass fed origins of that meat?
I guess passing through corporate hands is what makes the stuff so bad for you.

 

[Jogeephus]

The US imported 3,100,000,000 pounds of beef in 08. Almost ALL grassfed.
Cheap grassfed beef is available everywhere. Check out the burgers at your favorite fast food establishment.
Want good US beef? Go to a good steak house. They will be serving CORN fed US beef. Will always be the worlds finest.

How to explain the dis-connect between a Big Mac (near lethal if you believe some) and the grass fed origins of that meat?
I guess passing through corporate hands is what makes the stuff so bad for you.

Seems like I read somewhere that its not the grassfed beef that makes supersizing the big mac meal harmful to your health its the non organically grown pickles that does this. Pretty sure the research clearly indicated this was a definite probablility.

 

[ga. prime]

I do a pasture walk almost everyday :cowboy: Never put on any commercial fertilizer. Don't need the county agent, vet, or anybody else to tell me the pastures health. Just my old trusty dog. 8)
SO? whats the big deal??
Millions and millions of acres of rangeland has never had fertilizer. Again what's the big deal?

It's not a big deal. A vast increase in forage volume per acre can be attained with the use of fertilizer. This is economical in some situations that I don't think require explanation. That's the deal.

GA, there is VERY little commercial fertilizer used on pastures and range land in ranch country. I know on certain situations, small lots, extensive grazing and other specialties it may be cost effective. I can't imagine spreading fertilizer on a 800 acre pasture, and that's pretty small compared to many. Always the same, with rain we have excess grass and during dry weather ain't gonna help to fertilize.

Yes, I understand that fertilizing non-irrigated land in arid regions of the country would be a pointless waste. But in a place like Georgia for example where the historical average annual rainfall is up near 50 inches, fertilizer may be used to increase grass production/stocking rate on permanent pastures. Whether it is economical to do so depends on many factors. Rainfall being chief among them as you suggested. Drought conditions over the past 3 or 4 years has led me to not fertilize my permanent pastures at all the past two years and a subsequent reduction in herd size.

 

[mnmtranching]

YUP! Joe I read that to. Those dang farmers that put fertilizer on the cukes are to blame for lots of our health problems. I'm going to do a search on tomatoes, if I find their using non-organic maters I'm going to boycott :cowboy: Something. :compute:

 

[cfpinz]

I live about a half hour from him, have met him on several occasions. Ever heard the old saying, "Figures don't lie, but liars figure"? He's a quack.

I don't think it is right to accuse someone of anything on a public forum especially since there are no specifics and the other party is not here to defend himself. Just not called for.

None of which makes him a "quack". Let's just say he stimulates thought and discussion. Never met the man but don't like public accusations online. jmho. Jim

He rented out a booth at the VA Beef Expo a couple years back, when the wife and I walked by he started his whole spill about how the NAIS was going to put agriculture out of business in the US. I bit my tongue and let him go on, the example he used was that the government is going to tax every egg that we raise on our own farm and eat ourselves. According to him, that was the point of the NAIS. But if we were willing to pay X dollars to join his organization, we'd be helping to fight government intrusion into small-scale agriculture.

I doubt seriously he generates any gross income to speak of from his model farm, but he makes plenty selling ideas and pipe dreams.

I see no need to bite my tongue for fear of being politically uncorrect, and besides, I'm not the one who brought him up.

 

[TexasBred]

YUP! Joe I read that to. Those dang farmers that put fertilizer on the cukes are to blame for lots of our health problems. I'm going to do a search on tomatoes, if I find their using non-organic maters I'm going to boycott :cowboy: Something. :compute:

Don't forget the lettuce. No telling what they're putting on, under and around that stuff....and most is also harvested by "aliens". Or maybe the bun. Get you a good grass fed hamburger patty and slap it inside a "wheat bun".

 

[john250]

I doubt seriously he generates any gross income to speak of from his model farm, but he makes plenty selling ideas and pipe dreams.

cfpinz, do you know anything about the labor situation at polyface? That's what caught my attention when Pollan described the farm. Salatin, his son and some "interns". There has to be a lot of labor in that outfit, what with moving those chickens ever day etc, etc. I wonder what the interns are making? Or do they do it for the experience? Just wondered if you knew.

 

[brandonm_13]

First off, I don't think NAIS is anything but bad, but that's beside the point. I do know that polyface farm was(it has been getting bigger) grossing over $750,000 a year, with profits I think around 40% of that. The intern system he runs is(this information is old, but I think there may be some info on that on his site) free room and board, free meals, and $100 stipend a month. Now I know alot of people would scoff at this, but you are learning. Every semester I was at college to learn, I had to pay for my room, my food, my classes, and my books and they told me what I had to take.

 

[john250]

First off, I don't think NAIS is anything but bad, but that's beside the point. I do know that polyface farm was(it has been getting bigger) grossing over $750,000 a year, with profits I think around 40% of that. The intern system he runs is(this information is old, but I think there may be some info on that on his site) free room and board, free meals, and $100 stipend a month. Now I know alot of people would scoff at this, but you are learning. Every semester I was at college to learn, I had to pay for my room, my food, my classes, and my books and they told me what I had to take.

I need to find me some interns.

 

[brandonm_13]

I would too, but I can't afford to house them, feed them(their at the age of devouring everything), or fix the tractor and equipment whenever they break it. Of course, we're talking about a guy that only takes two interns a year(may be more now) after having written 6 books, made videos, speaks all around the states, and has become very popular. At this stage in the game, he could pick and choose between hundreds of GOOD applicants willing to pay him to work and learn on the farm. The best I can get is to pay someone to help with hay and they want to be the tractor driver. :compute:

 

[ga. prime]

He rented out a booth at the VA Beef Expo a couple years back, when the wife and I walked by he started his whole spill about how the NAIS was going to put agriculture out of business in the US. I bit my tongue and let him go on, the example he used was that the government is going to tax every egg that we raise on our own farm and eat ourselves.

:lol2: A whole lot of folks on this forum also believe this. Me not one of them. I don't know who this guy is that's being talked about and don't want to.