NSAS promotes an agriculture that builds healthy land, people,
communities and quality of life, for present and future
generations. The NSAS newsletter is published quarterly.
You are welcome to reproduce anything in this newsletter. Please
credit the author(s) and the NSAS Newsletter.
NSAS membership costs $25 and newsletter subscriptions cost $10
annually. In addition to this newsletter, we publish a quarterly
update of sustainable agriculture events and resources, and we
have an extensive video library. For more information about
membership or these resources, please contact NSAS, PO Box 736,
Hartington, NE 68739; 402-254-2289; FAX 402-254-6891; e-mail
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IN THIS ISSUE:
IT'S NOT JUST FOR COMBINING ANYMORE
Experiences With A New Summer Annual: Grazing Maize
PUTTING THE GARDEN TO BED
NSAS NEWS
Youngberg to Speak at NSAS Annual Meeting
Don't Miss the 1996 NSAS Western Conference
Grazing Maize Conference Set for Wausa
Dairy Grazing Conferences Scheduled for Hartington and
Fairbury
Mentor Program Receives Third Year Extension
IMPACT Project Receives Additional Funding
WESTERN NEBRASKA NEWS
Farmers Share Ideas at Organic Tour
SUCCESSFUL GRAZING SYSTEMS START WITH SOLID GOALS
RESEARCH INDICATES NO NEED TO DESTROY PRAIRIE DOGS
IMPACT GROUP PROFILES
Pastured Poultry Enterprise is a Rousing Success
Producers Gain Experience with Management-Intensive Grazing
NEBRASKA IMPACT PROJECT: GROUP UPDATE
STEFFEN FAMILY WORKS TOWARD GOALS WITH HRM MODEL
RESOURCES
New Livestock Publications
Promoting Organic Agriculture Locally
Project Assists Disabled Nebraskans Working in Agriculture
JOB OPPORTUNITIES
POETRY
NSAS CALENDAR
__________________________________________________________
IT'S NOT JUST FOR COMBINING ANYMORE
Experiences With A New Summer Annual: Grazing Maize
by Victoria Mundy, Extension Educator
A bunch of cattle happily grazing healthy green corn is an
unusual sight in northeast Nebraska, but if nine producers from
Deweese to Obert have their way, we might get used to it. This
spring, with the help of Terry Gompert of Knox County Extension,
they obtained seed for Baldridge Grazing Maize, planted a couple
of acres apiece, and now the cattle are out grazing.
Richard Baldridge of Cherry Fork, Ohio, developed Baldridge
Temperate Grazing Maize. The maize is a hybrid of the same
species as regular field corn (Zea mays L.), but the line was
selected for good forage characteristics such as leafiness, high
total digestible nutrient content, and high protein content (11
to 16%) in the vegetative plant parts.
The best thing about grazing is that the animals harvest
their own feed, which saves you time, money, and fuel. Maize
provides high-quality forage just when cool-season grasses
decline in July, August, and early September. If you are short
of grass in the warm months, summer annuals such as this maize
can give your grazing season quite a boost.
The nine producers who tried Baldridge maize this year all
made slightly different management decisions. Planting dates
ranged from late April to early June, with populations ranging
from 30,000 to 55,000 plants per acre (recommendation is 40,000,
on 15" rows). Some people cultivated or sprayed for weeds, some
did not. Some added nitrogen or manure, some did not. Tom Larson
of St. Edward irrigated once in July. Animal types ranged from
small calves to lactating dairy cows to...pheasants, believe it
or not. Paul Phelps of Obert planted into CRP just to see what
would happen. The important point is that every producer did
what fit into his or her system.
Some producers put cattle out when the maize was five to
six feet tall and tasseling had just begun. Marvin DeBlauw of
Hartington and Don Peregrine of Fullerton waited until the grain
was available, using the forage more for finishing stocker
animals. All agree that animals should be given only one day's
worth of forage at a time, to reduce trampling waste. Running a
single electric line down a row did the trick, and it only took
a day or two for the producers to learn how much "one day's
worth" of maize was for their animals. Of course, when Lowell
Schroeder's sows got out in Stanton, the wire didn't seem to
matter much!
The results are in for a couple of trials. Nutrient
analyses showed protein values to be 10.4% from September
samples and 11.2% from August samples - both fields were planted
in early June and had 2-leaf N-deficiency. Kenneth Kruse's 45
dairy cows grazed two acres of maize at Bow Valley for four
days, and total milk production went up by 250 lbs/day over milk
production from millet. Dean Lammers of Bow Valley was surprised
when the four calves on cool-season pasture all this dry summer
did better than the four which grazed maize, but he has some
ideas about why that happened.
So some important questions remain. Does the maize really
improve animal performance under Nebraska conditions? Does it
pay to cultivate and fertilize? How does maize compare with
other summer annuals, or even with corn from the bin? Is it
better to graze early, while the vegetative material is
high-quality, or to wait until the grain is available? What
class of animals is most benefited? The producers who tried the
forage are on their way to answering some of these questions.
Meanwhile, Baldridge Grazing Maize is a new option for grazing
systems.
For more information about the producers who tried this
forage, contact the NSAS office or Terry Gompert at Knox County
Extension. Don't miss talking to Dr. Baldridge at the Grazing
Maize Conference at Wausa on December 11!
PUTTING THE GARDEN TO BED
by Tom Tomas
Most garden crops have been harvested by now, and the
garden is ready to put to bed for the winter. Spent plants and
weeds can be put into an over-winter compost pile. Areas with
problem perennial weeds can be worked one more time and left to
mellow over winter. Leaves can be used to mulch root crops like
carrots, parsnips and beets for winter harvest.
Fruit trees, grape vines and bushes should be watered well
if the soil is dry. If your garden is not rabbit proof, it is a
good idea to place a ring of chicken wire around the trunk of
each fruit tree now. This will protect the trees when the snow
falls and the bunnies are looking for a meal of tender bark.
It is also the time to put the garden into beds for early
planting next spring. I like to prepare beds about three feet
wide by eight inches high by spading in decomposed mulch or
compost and mounding the soil up toward the center of the bed.
I leave the beds rough when I finish spading. The soil will
absorb rain and catch snow through the winter, and the freezing
and thawing will soften the clods by spring. I mulch the trails
between the beds with leaves or hay so I don't have to walk in
mud in late winter, when I begin to work and plant the beds.
The raised beds drain well and thaw out earlier than the
rest of the garden. After a few warm days in late February,
they are usually thawed and dry enough to rake the top few
inches out into a smooth seed bed. I then plant lettuce,
radishes, spinach
or onion seeds, even though they will be exposed to more
freezing and snow in the next month or so. This will not harm
these hardy crops, and they will germinate when the soil is warm
enough. In the next few weeks, as weather permits, I will plant
peas and onion sets in other beds. In mid-March, I will plant
beets, swiss chard and carrots.
By preparing the beds in the fall, I can take advantage of
the first available planting days in late winter and early
spring. During last year's wet spring, those beds were the only
area I could plant as it was too wet to till the rest of the
garden. I could also get right to the fun of planting without
having to dig or till the garden first.
If you want to jump start your garden next spring, put it
to bed, or into beds, this fall.
NSAS NEWS
Youngberg to Speak at NSAS Annual Meeting
The 1996 NSAS Annual Meeting is set for Saturday, February
24th, at the New World Inn in Columbus. Dr. Garth Youngberg will
present this year's keynote address. Dr. Youngberg is the
Executive Director of the Henry A. Wallace Institute for
Alternative Agriculture. He served from 1980-1982 as the USDA's
Organic Farming Coordinator, and has authored numerous
publications on agricultural policy.
This year's annual meeting will feature the usual array of
workshops, which are currently being planned. Details will be
published in the November Update.
For more information, please call Cris or Jill at the NSAS
office: 402-254-2289.
Don't Miss the 1996 NSAS Western Conference!
John Gardner, agronomist from North Dakota State
University, will give the keynote address at the 1996 Western
Nebraska Sustainable Agriculture Conference. Dr. Gardner is a
compelling speaker who is currently working on a grassroots
initiative in North Dakota to make sustainable agriculture
economically viable.
The theme of the conference is Stewardship of the Land and
of Community. Workshops are planned on alternative crops,
community cooperation, farmers' markets, sustainable dry bean
production, sources of organic amendments, the Farm Bill and
alternative weed control.
The conference will be on Saturday, February 3, 1996, at
the Stagecoach Inn in Ogallala. Details are still being planned.
If you are interested in reserving display space, or for more
information, contact Jane Sooby, NSAS Western Organizer, at
308-254-3918.
Grazing Maize Conference Set for Wausa
University of Nebraska Cooperative Extension and NSAS will
present a Grazing Maize Conference on December 11, 1995 at the
Nebraska Auditorium in Wausa. The conference will feature Dr.
Richard Baldridge, who developed Baldridge Temperate Grazing
Maize. The maize is a hybrid of the same species as regular
field corn, but the line was selected for good forage
characteristics. The conference will also feature a producer
panel and breakout sessions for dairy and beef producers.
Pre-registration costs $15, or $20 for couples. To
register, or for more information, contact Knox County Extension
at 1-800-277-2443.
Dairy Grazing Conferences Scheduled for Hartington and Fairbury
University of Nebraska Cooperative Extension and NSAS will
sponsor two dairy grazing conferences this winter. The first
will be held at the Hartington City Auditorium on February 15th,
1996, and the second will be held at the Fairbury 4-H Building
on February 16th.
The conference will feature Dave Forgey, a dairy grazier
from Indiana, columnist for Hoard's Dairyman and Director of the
American Forage and Grassland Council. It will also feature a
producer panel, and specialists Bruce Anderson and Rick Grant
from UNL.
Pre-registration costs $15, or $20 per couple. For more
information, contact Mike Lechner in Hartington (402-254-6821)
or Bob Stritzke in Fairbury (402-729-3487).
Mentor Program Receives Third Year Extension
The Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE)
Program approved another year of Mentor Program activities. This
means more opportunities for producers to learn about
sustainable agricultural and marketing practices, through
one-on-one interaction with a mentor.
There are currently 19 mentors across the state, with
expertise in rotational grazing, sustainable cropping systems,
alternative and organic crops and other sustainable practices. A
complete list of mentors and their areas of expertise was
published in the summer newsletter.
Tim Powell is this year's Mentor Program Coordinator. He
can be reached at 402-375-1158. Please contact Tim or the NSAS
office if you are interested in working with a mentor.
IMPACT Project Receives Additional Funding
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) awarded $25,000
for the IMPACT Project, through it's Environmental Justice for
Pollution Prevention program. Most of this money will be used to
fund group activities and projects, such as on-farm research of
environmentally-sound production practices, and outreach
activities like field days and on-farm demonstrations.
The IMPACT Project was also recommended for funding through
the Nebraska Environmental Trust Fund. A final decision will be
made after a public hearing on October 10th in Lincoln. If you
would like to attend this hearing or write a letter of support
for IMPACT Project funding, please contact the NSAS office.
WESTERN NEBRASKA NEWS
Farmers Share Ideas at Organic Tour
by Jane Sooby, NSAS Western Organizer
Lodgepole, Nebraska was the site of an exciting and
informative organic farm tour on August 25th. NSAS co-sponsored
the tour with Chapter #1 of the Organic Crop Improvement
Association (OCIA) and the University of Nebraska.
At its peak, 63 people attended the tour. The tour began
with Mark Jones discussing his use of clover in rotation and
showing his fields and equipment. He demonstrated the cleaning
facility that is used by a group of local organic producers to
clean their organic amaranth. The end product is bags full of
white, gleaming grain.
Mike Wiest discussed his experience raising organic
sunflowers. His landlord was at first surprised when Mike began
to grow crops other than the traditional wheat or millet on the
land, but has since come to appreciate Mike's rotation. Though
without chemicals there is insect damage to his sunflowers, Mike
feels it is at acceptable levels.
After lunch, provided by OCIA, the tour ended up at Ken
Disney's farm south of Lodgepole. Ken gave tours of his food
processing plant, which is used to sprout and package sunflower,
pea, bean, and alfalfa sprouts. Ken also described the organic
certification process. He showed off some fields that have been
rotated to clover and discussed soil-building techniques that he
uses.
Ken, the main organizer of the tour, felt that the best
thing about it was the "interaction among farmers" who took the
opportunity to talk with each other about organic production.
SUCCESSFUL GRAZING SYSTEMS START WITH SOLID GOALS
by Victoria Mundy, Extension Educator
Design of Grazing Systems: Part I
Productive, efficient grazing systems can be a truly
enjoyable part of farming. They are challenging to design,
though, and sometimes knowing where to start is the hardest
part. There are at least four parts to a successful system:
animals, plants, soils, and you.
Start with yourself, your family, and measurable goals. "We
want enough extra income to put Mary through UNL with no student
loans, and we only want to spend two person-hours a day working
on the grazing system after it is set up." "I want to have
blowout penstemon on that north hilltop, and 30 native grass
species on the rest of the range."
These goals tell you exactly how many dollars your grazing
system needs to make or what specific management each paddock
will need. Don't set going-nowhere goals, like "more income" or
"less time working." Think about your personal values and
consider how the grazing system can help you to obtain your
specific quality-of-life goals. This step is hard, but it's more
than worth the effort.
Inventory your available resources: existing facilities,
soils, forages, labor, capital, and whatever else you have. The
soggy meadow you can never get hay from could provide summer
grazing so the hilltop can be left to let that penstemon flower.
If Mary wants to be a vet, she might care for the animals now;
if she wants to go into business, she could keep the books. The
best thing about having some resources but not others is the
mental stimulation, after all - everything does fit somewhere.
Design of Grazing Systems: Part 2
The other three parts of a grazing system - plants,
animals, and soils - are simpler to deal with. The idea with
controlled grazing systems is to use forages to harvest
sunlight, make animals harvest their own feed and re-distribute
nutrients to the soils, and use soils to grow forages. The
better the cycle works, the more productive the system will be.
Proper paddock layout and design can help the cycle turn. A
good paddock design will make the grazing environment within
each paddock as uniform as possible. Each area can be managed
according to its needs, so forage growth, grazing, and nutrient
distribution will be adequate in every part of each paddock.
The following tips for paddock layout are only guidelines.
The specifics of your design need to fit your situation.
Particularly, people in dry range will have other priorities and
will make different decisions, especially concerning water, than
people who have reliable rainfall. Not every idea can or should
be applied to every paddock.
Plan your ideal system on paper, to use as a blueprint as
you build. The plan can be changed as new thoughts come along -
but if you know how the finished system should look, you'll have
to tear out fewer fences. Ask lots of people for ideas,
especially anyone who will have to use the system. Most graziers
love to talk about design; call NSAS for names.
Topography and Soils
Fence along landscape lines. Try to fence on the contour and
along ridgetops. Erosion will be reduced because animals will
walk on the contour instead of trailing up and down the hill.
Fence maintenance will be easier, too. Try to plan lanes and
alleyways along high contours, so they will stay drier and be
less prone to erosion.
Separate south- and north-facing slopes. Ridgetop fences
accomplish this. Forage growth, even of the same species, is
often very different on one side of a hill than on the other:
south-facing slopes are warmer and drier than north-facing ones.
Separating the slopes will allow you to manage the forage on
each side of the hill according to its growth. Animals will tend
to favor one slope over the other; separating the slopes will
make them graze and distribute manure more evenly.
Separate landforms. Cattle generally prefer to graze flat spots
rather than hillsides; sheep prefer hills. Separating slopes
from hillcrests and valleys will keep animals from camping in a
hollow or overgrazing their favorite spot.
Separate major soil types if possible. Separating landforms and
slopes will help with this, as soils differ across topography.
Within a landform, try to separate wet from dry spots, or very
productive sites from less productive ones. Forages may have
different growth patterns across soil types; separating them
will make site-specific management easier and grazing more even.
Water and Shade
Keep animals within 800 feet of water if possible. Providing
water in every paddock is a good long-term goal. Meanwhile,
consider all options for water delivery, including portable
systems or a nurse tank. Grazing and nutrient distribution will
be more even if no area of the paddock is more than 900 feet
from water. Animals will drink 15% more if the water is within
800 feet; then they eat more and produce better. Make sure the
water is clean, especially for young or very high-producing
animals. In the end, water development may well cost nearly as
much as fencing.
Separate shady areas - maybe. Shade can provide some comfort
for animals, which may increase production. If shade is
available, expect the animals to spend time there, to graze
close to the shade, and to deposit most manure in the shady spot
after grazing the sunny area. Do keep shade and water far
apart. If the uneven grazing and manure distribution associated
with shade is unacceptable, fence the shade off.
Paddock Shape and Size
Make paddocks as near to square as possible. Paddocks that are
closer to square will have more even grazing distribution
because the forage will be more equi-distant to water. The
longer the grazing period, the more important shape becomes for
even grazing. Square paddocks require less fencing, and
straight fencelines are easier to install and maintain. Square
paddocks are not suitable for hilly or non-uniform land;
topography is more important.
Paddocks should be of similar productive capacity. The idea is
to size paddocks so that animals spend a similar amount of time
in each. A paddock on very productive land can be smaller than
one on a droughty, infertile site. Fencing according to
topography, landform, and soils will help, as will separating
areas with different forage species.
The topics covered in this article are just the start.
Watch for more. If there's something you want to read about,
contact us at NSAS.
Anderson, B. Evaluating a Pasture Site. University of Nebraska
Dept. of Agronomy. Lincoln, NE 68583-0910.
Gerrish, J. 1995. Layout and Design of Grazing Systems. p.
97-108. In J. Gerrish and C. Roberts (eds.) Missouri Grazing
Manual. Univ. of Missouri Ext. Publ. 157.
Undersander, D., B. Albert, P. Porter, A. Crossley, and N.
Martin. Pastures for Profit: A Guide to Rotational Grazing.
Univ. of Wisconsin Ext. Publ. A3529.
RESEARCH INDICATES NO NEED TO DESTROY PRAIRIE DOGS
by Duane Hovorka, President, Nebraska Wildlife Federation
Ranchers and graziers: before you go to the trouble - and
expense - of trying to poison or shoot those prairie dogs in
your pasture, consider recent research on the competition
between prairie dogs and livestock for forage.
In a 1994 report to the USDA Forest Service, C.J. Knowles
and P.R. Knowles examine several studies evaluating competition
between prairie dogs and cattle. One 1982 study found that,
during the summer, steers achieved similar weight gains grazing
on both a prairie dog colony and an adjacent area off of the
colony. Winter gains were only slightly less for the steers
grazing on the colony.
This study found that forage plants on the prairie dog
colony had a higher nutritional quality than those on the
adjacent field. This helped compensate for the greater quantity
of forage available off of the colony.
The report concludes that, ". . .digging activity of
prairie dogs may actually increase the fertility of soils within
their colonies."
Poisoning, hunting, and habitat destruction have reduced
the number of prairie dogs on the Great Plains by 98-99% in just
150 years. Two of the five species of prairie dogs are now
endangered, and the other three are in sharp decline. Species
like black-footed ferret that depend upon the prairie dog are
also in trouble.
This year, the Nebraska Legislature repealed an old law
which labeled prairie dogs "pests." Landowners are no longer
required to destroy colonies on their land. Sustainable
ranchers who wish to produce in harmony with nature should be
delighted by the research and the change in the law, which
indicate they don't need to slaughter prairie dogs to bring in
the beef.
IMPACT GROUP PROFILES
Pastured Poultry Enterprise is a Rousing Success
by Victoria Mundy and Paul Swanson, Extension Educators
Profitability. Environmentally friendly production.
Producer-consumer linkages. Getting families involved in
farming. These are the goals of the producers in the Adams
County Pastured Poultry IMPACT group - not necessarily in order
of importance.
These producers decided to move toward their goals by
raising broilers on pasture and direct-marketing the birds in
the Hastings area. They buy day-old chicks and place them in
brooders for two to three weeks. After that, the chicks move to
the pasture, where they live in bottomless, moveable coops. The
chicks have access to fresh grass every day, and also receive
antibiotic-free, non-commercial grain rations. Seven or eight
weeks later, the birds weigh about five pounds. The producers
use a portable slaughter facility to process the broilers right
on the farms, and customers come out to pick up their
home-raised chickens. Dollars involved go right to each
producer.
By all accounts, the enterprise has been a rousing success
this first year. Among them, the six farmers raised
approximately 2500 chicks, had relatively few losses, and sold
every bird. Children were able to help with the birds,
especially on some of the smaller farms. Certainly, small
batches of birds raised where nutrients can be recycled is easy
on the local environment. And customers got to see where the
birds were raised, met the producers, and perhaps began to form
some connections.
This year has been a learning experience, since most of the
farmers had never dealt with poultry before. They have had a lot
of help from local and university veterinarians and extension
personnel, but talking among themselves and cooperating with one
another to solve problems has been one of the most positive
aspects of the season.
Producers Gain Experience with Management-Intensive Grazing
by Martin Kleinschmit, Center for Rural Affairs
Most folks think that watching grass grow is about as
exciting as watching paint dry. For a group of farmers in
northeast Nebraska, however, that's no longer the case.
The Hoofmasters Grazing Group formed with the common goal
of working together to gain experience in Management Intensive
Grazing (MIG) practices. This group is part of the Nebraska
IMPACT Project.
The Hoofmasters expect that MIG practices will improve
grass diversity in their pastures, cut milk and beef production
costs, lower somatic cell count levels, and improve herd health.
The group's members also agree that conventional beef and dairy
herd management practices require high levels of labor, which
diminish the quality-of-life ideals they expected from their
farming careers.
This group includes nine farmers recently introduced to
Management Intensive Grazing (MIG) techniques. Three group
members are dairymen and six have beef herds. Four have off-farm
jobs. They reside in the Bow Valley and St. Helena communities
of northeast Nebraska, where feeding mechanically harvested
grain and forages in a confined system is the norm for dairy
farmers.
Dairyman Alvin Kathol was the first group member to use
managed pasture grazing. He was dry-lot feeding his milk herd
when he decided to give grazing a try. He sowed orchard grass
into six acres of standing alfalfa, which he then divided into
two paddocks. He alternately grazed the two paddocks with 40 or
so milk cows.
Although the cows were heavily supplemented to extend the
grazing schedule, an increase in quality and quantity of the
forage showed Alvin that grazing has some real advantages. He
liked the way the cows responded with increased milk production,
improved health and better attitudes when they had to come in
the barn. Pleased with the results of his grazing experiment, he
sowed additional acres to grass for next year's season.
Alvin enjoys his evening walks to "get the cows". He
prefers the sound of a startled bird to the commotion of the
feed wagon dumping processed, stored feed into concrete mangers.
Dairy farmer Ken Kruse is another Hoofmaster. Before
joining this group, Ken fed his dairy cows hay, silage and grain
in the yard, and grazed his young stock and dry cows on an 18
acre pasture. By mid- to late summer, the pasture was bare and
these animals required yet more stored feed.
This spring, Ken divided his pasture into 20 paddocks,
which he grazed with his 35 milk cows. The grass grew faster
than the cattle could eat. Wanting to keep the grass in a
vegetative state, Ken clipped the paddocks which the cows were
unable to graze. He said it bothered him to cut this grass, but
later when he saw the amount and quality of the regrowth, he
felt it was a wise decision.
A portion of Ken's pasture is on a wet spot covered with
poor quality grasses, like Reed canarygrass. In the past, he
considered this spot a waste land of little value. Ken rotated
his cattle through this paddock often this year, with little
time for rest. Frequent rotations resulted in a higher quality
and quantity grass than he thought possible. He now considers
this portion of his pasture to be above average.
Ken was so sold on the idea of grazing, he planted more
grass this year for future use. He also grazed standing alfalfa,
standing millet and standing corn on an experimental basis.
Dairy and forage specialists from the University of
Nebraska visited the Kruse farm this summer to learn about
grazing and offer advice. They noticed that Ken seemed more
content with his farming operation than many of the conventional
dairymen they know. They wondered if this was a function of the
grass dairy operation or a personal trait of Ken's.
Ken assured them that his stress levels have decreased
since he put his herd out on grass. Management Intensive Grazing
has proven to him that working with nature, rather than in spite
of it, makes life more fun.
University of Nebraska Cooperative Extension and NSAS will
sponsor Dairy Grazing Conferences in Hartington and Fairbury on
February 15 and 16. Ken Kruse will participate on a panel at
these meetings. For more information, see p. 12.
NEBRASKA IMPACT PROJECT: GROUP UPDATE
The Hillary Clinton Club: Hay Springs
This group of five women came together to learn about
marketing and farm finance. The women are active partners in
decision-making in their farming operations, which include
livestock, dry edible beans, mixed forages, and small grains.
They are learning skills they need to make good farming and
family decisions. Marketing literacy is a crucial issue for
them, since they want to make their farms more profitable.
The group holds educational events which they open to the
public. They talk about decision-making skills, farm finances,
and long-term financial planning. They try to improve
communication within farm families, both between husbands and
wives and among parents and children. They want to educate the
public about food pricing policy and other farming issues.
Contact: Twila Weyers HC 56 Box 83 Hay Springs, NE 69347
The Hoofmasters: Bow Valley
This group is using Management Intensive Grazing (MIG)
techniques on their dairy and beef farms. These practices help
cut production cost, compared to the conventional method for
raising cattle in the northeast Nebraska area, which is to
harvest and haul feed to confined animals. This labor-intensive
practice conflicts with the quality of life ideals that the
Hoofmasters expect from farming. The group hopes to demonstrate
that good planning and grazing management is an effective
alternative to capital, facilities, machinery, and energy use.
Two group members have just begun MIG systems this year.
Their systems are more complex than most new graziers try, and
they are impressed with the reduced labor, with animal
performance, and with the enjoyment they get from dealing with
the grazing systems.
Contact: Alvin Kathol RR 3 Box 176 Hartington, NE 68739