Strip grazing is much like rotational grazing in that it utilizes the same pastures, equipment, and animals, but in a slightly different manner. Electric fencing is used to subdivide the pasture into small one day divisions. Each day, the herd is allowed into an area of the crop which they will fully consume in one day. This process distributes the natural fertilizer, suppresses weeds, but also prevents excess waste from trampling and lounging. The herd essentially eats its way across the field. A typical paddock for strip grazing is much smaller than those utilized in rotational grazing. The same herd which received 5 acres in a rotation may only receive ½ an acre for strip grazing. While they both feed the cattle for the same one day period, after the day is over in a strip grazing field, no crop remains. Water and mineral are always accessible as is shade during the hot summer months.

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Rotational grazing and strip grazing are management tools which utilize the herd itself for the preparation of the land for the next crop. The herd clears the ground through consumption of the crop allowing for the subsequent feed crop to be planted almost immediately after the herd is moved from the pasture.

Stockpiling takes place here on the farm in our permanent pasture fields. These fields are native grasses which grow on their own or volunteer. The fields are managed similarly to the planted fields but are reserved for those times of the year when the herd cannot graze on a green planted pasture. The fields are subdivided to allow access to a crop which has stopped growing, but which has some residual nutritional value. In this situation, the herd is fed chopped hay, free choice protein lick tubs, and free choice mineral. We use a haybuster to chop our hay. The hay is processed this way for a variety of reasons. The hay is chopped in long rows allowing all of the herd to access the hay at the same time. This prevents the disturbance and destruction of the surface of the ground which takes place when the hay is presented in round bale form. A bale left in round form congregates a small number of animals surrounding the bale. The more timid animals tend to hang back until the others have fed and do not always receive their proper portion. In addition to all the animals having an adequate chance to feed in a timely manner, the chopped hay allows for potential lounging on dry bedding in inclement weather. Also, that hay which is ultimately trampled returns to the soil as fertilizer.

Dry lot feeding utilizes holding pen enclosures to allow the animals to be fed a grain-based diet and hay. The enclosures are adjacent to our working facilities and allow us to tend to the herd in a timely and efficient manner.

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We plant sorghum-sudangrass as our main warm season feed crop. The sudangrass is grazed from May to November and cut for silage to feed in the winter. Additionally, we have planted crabgrass to graze. This is a recent addition to our feeding profile. Our permanent pastures have Bermuda, Bahia, and fescue. The sudangrass is strip grazed and followed by planting our cool season crops. The crabgrass was stockpiled and fed in a similar manner as the permanent pastures.

The cool season crops we plant are wheat, ryegrass, and turnips. The wheat, ryegrass, and turnips are planted in the first fields available and are grazed in November through February. These fields are prepared and planted in late August and early September. This allows us to move the herds directly from the last sudangrass fields straight into the turnips blend. The latter planted fields receive only wheat and rye. After the fields of wheat, rye, and turnips are grazed, the cattle are removed to allow the grass to grow for spring and summer grazing.
Spring grazing is mainly on the wheat and rye. The permanent pastures allow for grazing while the warm season crops are growing. All of these fields are rotationally grazed.