We all know most US beef and dairy cattle are fed grain predominately.  We are really an outlier compared with the rest of the world.  In New Zealand, cows have never seen grain; in outer Mongolia cattle graze vast grasslands with nomadic herdsmen, and largely have never seen or heard of grain.  In Argentina producers are finishing cattle with alfalfa pastures with a system of 5 months on annuals and 7 months on alfalfa and grass.  In fact, the largest certified organic farm, the Biopark in Germany (http://biopark.de/), raises feeder calves on a totally forage based diet.  According to Garry Lacefield, Forage Specialist at the University of Kentucky “in the US we no longer have the luxury of substituting low cost corn and soybeans for poor quality forages… and, we don’t have to.”

If the basic premise of economics is profitability = income – expense, we need to ask where can we control expenses?  Then we control the controllable.  And the truth of the matter is we DO have control over our grazing season.  So, how do we gain this control?  By managing for quality forages to produce quality animal products.

For many graziers, the tool of choice in controlling the grazing season is the fence or the poly wire.  This simple tool changes the decision making from the cow to the farmer, and more control is gained by dividing pastures more.  Controlling grazing though a rotational approach uses more of the available pasture and wastes less.  It has been said that cows will utilize 30% of the forages in a pasture if grazing conventionally and 60% if the pasture is divided and cattle rotated according to forage rest periods.  Thus grazing management is the first change (and has the highest impact) a farmer should make if they wish to improve pastures and animal performance.

Organic dairy, beef, and small ruminant farmers have become very good at meeting the NOP’s dry matter intake (DMI) on pasture requirement.  Most organic farmers provide from 30 to 50% dry matter intake from pasture during the grazing season.  But there is so much more to gain from increasing time on pasture, because as Lacefield points put, “every day grazed is money saved.”  Remember: the single best predictor of profitability is how much stored feed do I need in the winter… the longer the grazing season, the higher the profitability of the grazing operation.

So, the challenge this year is to look at your days on pasture and ask “how many more grazing days can I get this year to increase pasture DMI and save money on stored feed in the winter?”  How to get this done?  It’s all about planning, management, and adaptation…

• Spend your first dollar on soil testing and get a baseline of soil nutrients and pH
• Get some legumes growing to improve yield, forage quality, nitrogen fixation, and summer growth
• Plan for drought.  During drought pastures get abused, weed problems increase, and legumes decline.  Planning for drought creates real opportunities for improvement
• Grazing management: look at your grazing plan and make sure you are planning grazing based on forage plant rest periods that change during the grazing season
• Baleage for winter feeding is more efficient than hay.  Some stored feed will be needed, so produce higher quality in 2013 than 2012.  The most important factor is how old the forage was it when you cut it; more leaves mean higher quality
• Forage variety can make a big difference, use certified seed rather than common; forage yield and persistence matters
• Consider native warm season grasses and fit species to seasonality; i.e. summer slump

Fine tuning an already good operation is about managing for a great year, not an average year.  Remember, every day grazed is money saved!

Presented in partnership with DCNR, US Forest Service & PSU.
Funds also provided by the PA Department of Environmental Protection

You are invited for a day on the farm at Village Acres to find outWhat is charcoal, and why use it? Charcoal, also known as biochar, can be a versatile and valuable resource on the farm. It’s many uses include using it as an energy source, as a heat source, to power an internal combustion engine, as a natural insecticide, to enhance soil fertility and more.

Presenter Gary Gilmore will expand upon his well-received introductory workshops presented at this year’s PASA conference. Participants will watch demonstrations of the charcoal-making process and learn how to make the equipment they’ll need to begin producing their own charcoal. This workshop includes a session on woodlot management for sustainable charcoal production.

About the Farm & Prensenters.

Gary Gilmore, Forester with the DCNR Bureau of Forestry, is a tree farmer, forester, gardener, blacksmith, inventor, do-it-yourselfer and a timber frame builder. He will draw upon his experiences to share insights and knowlege gained through practical application. Village Acres Farm is an organic farm business committed to growing and selling food in a way that builds relationships that are sustaining, restorative, and transformative. The “FoodShed” was completed in 2011 and is used for food processing and as a gathering space for community and educational events.

For more information, visit:april26charcoal.eventbrite.com or call 814-349-9856.

Presented in partnership with The Fertrell Company & the American Pastured Poultry Producers Association (APPPA)

Through the project Mentoring and Supporting Dairy Farmers towards Successful Organic Transitions, prospective organic farmers and mentors will be invited to workshops and field days.  At the first of three workshops, mentors will learn the transition decision-making process, and hone their skills in Organic System Plan development, dry matter intake calculations, organic pasture rule, monitoring systems, materials use, recordkeeping, and best management practices.  This will help mentors conduct group on-farm demonstrations and one-on-one assistance to provide support to transitioning farmers on organic certification and production.  Mentors will receive a stipend for their services while assisting farmers with their questions.  Plain Sect farmers, with no internet access, will be afforded a non-technical, non-electronic entry portal and service.

Two on farm workshops will be conducted this year for prospective organic producers.  At these workshops, farmers will be introduced to the certification process and will learn first hand from certified farmers and PCO staff all they need to know to begin the process.  In addition, farmers who are interested in certification but need to go through a transition period will have access to a mentor who they can rely on to answer questions, visit their farm, and assist them with OSP development, recordkeeping, or just give some good advice and encouragement.

The workshops are currently being planned and press releases and email newsletters will soon appear with dates and locations of these free workshops.  Farmers who are interested in organic certification, or have questions on becoming a farmer-mentor, are encouraged to contact Lee at lee@paorganic.org or 814-470-9734.

I sure am thankful for scientists.  I am no expert but I do understand the scientific method, and I am glad I can rely on vigorous replicated studies on an issue to inform my world.  But science is always a work in progress, evidenced by sometimes competing conclusions of various scientific works.  This is indeed not surprising given the complexity of the world we continually observe.  Case in point: the current conversation regarding bee colony decline and new work (reported today on NPR) substantiating a link between neonicotinoids (an agricultural pesticide applied to crop seeds, notably corn and canola) and bee decline and mortality.

Three studies are referenced in the NPR report, which show a causal link between bee growth, development, and death and the use of neonicotinoids.  Scientists have observed that these chemicals are showing up in bees and bee hives, sometimes at levels above the LD-50 (a dose at which 50% of an exposed population will die) of bees for this chemical.  Although they cannot ascertain whether, in dead bees, the chemical was ingested or was caused by surface exposure, the fact remains that a lethal chemical is objectively observed to be associated causally with bee decline.

One fascinating report has identified the routes of exposure of the chemical to the bees.  It seems that the chemical, applied to seeds prior to planting, does more than translocate throughout the plant to inhibit pests throughout the plant’s growth period (which is bad enough, in my opinion, as it winds in the pollen that is carried away by bees).  The pesticide is also carried on a “cloud” of talc and dust during field operations that exposes the soil and other blooming plants, notably dandelion (a bee favorite) to chemical contamination.  So a bee does not have to merely carry contaminated crop pollen back to the hive, but is susceptible to pesticide contact from a variety of sources throughout its foraging region.

Bayer CropScience, a major producer of neonicotinoid pesticides, has released a response questioning the methodology of these reports and cites studies showing “no adverse effects on bees at field-relevant concentrations.”  But here’s the kicker… Bayer says that “modern seed treatment applications minimize the potential for accidental exposure, so that the impact on bees is minimal.”  How can this be true, if the afore-mentioned studies have substantiated a high potential for exposure via talc dust and pollen?

Bayer states that their pesticides are a “critical tool, used by farmers, to control a wide range of destructive insect pests on a variety of crops, thereby significantly increasing yields.”  The problem is, we have objective evidence that this wide range of pests also includes collateral damage.

The problem is not fundamentally one of chemical use.  It is a problem that Paul Thompson (an agricultural ethicist at Michigan State) associates with Industrial Philosophy.  Instead, Thompson suggests modulating today’s modern agriculture with a pragmatic agrarian philosophy focused on ecological responsibility and commitment.  An agricultural vision focused merely on yields is myopic, as if truckloads of corn are the only measure of a healthy agriculture.  Bee decline caused by agricultural pesticides is symptomatic of a worldview that still, in a time when we are becoming more conscientious of climate and environment, regards the soil as a mere medium of exchange.

Download the full report in PDF format here: 2013 PCO Board and Standards Ballot (73)

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