I'm 27 years old and I have had a really hard time finding what I wanna do with my life. I have always wanted to start a cattle farm, finding this channel has given me hope in starting that. I always thought you needed money or born into the life style, I have been lacking a mentor and I think I found one! Thank you for this series! and the hope!
Great advice. The only thing I would add is put a 90 degree elbow joint at the male end of the quick coupler connection so your hose sits flat on the ground and is less likely to kink.
You have no idea how influential you are in my life .... I am moving to Missouri in May 2020 I am starting a goat farm . After we get finished improving the land then I we will run cattle .
this series is really helpful even AFTER having attended the grazing school in Albany... I really appreciate that you continue to give excellent info that supports and reinforces and integrates so many factors. thanks man! love the white board for visuals.
I just installed a portable K-line stainless steel water tank in my 24 acre pasture. I have a 1 inch/200 psi/NRCS spec. hose that attaches to the tank that runs from our deep well to the pasture/tank. Attached to the tank via quick-disconnect camlocks is a 150 ft/1 inch/200 psi rated hose that will stretch to three 6 acre paddocks. It seems to working pretty slick. It is easy to move with an ATV. One can drag it around every couple of days to a new spot to avoid localized over grazing around the water system. The float system on this unit is pretty amazing. The float system very quick action-shut off when the float reaches the desired level. Much better that some of the other water systems we have on the farm. Any thoughts or comments? Your videos are highly informative and very educational. Thanks for sharing your knowledge.
@@gregjudyregenerativerancher I would not call it chunk change. It was about $1,800. But I swear it will probably last a life time. The water tank is all stainless steel. The float system is well engineered and the unit itself drags across the field very stable. It would take a tornado to tip it over. Like anything you get what you pay for. My philosophy is if you are striving to have a high quality pasture., one should have a water system the integrates well to reflect that quality. All the best and keep up the good work. My local NRCS gave me your web-site. I am leaning a lot from your videos. Mike
I have 20 used Philmac float valves you can have. I have upgraded to Max flo valves from Hansen a New Zealand company. They don't need a screen, Just blows out any debris. PS Love your videos, Glad you have contributed so much to your channel.
Jobe also makes a high flow/low pressure valve called the Rojo Valve and it works phenomenally for gravity feed situations. Less than $30 on amazon currently
Oo man the grazing school is on my birthday haha. I gotta get down there this year if at all possible. Maybe I can convince my dad to take vacation and come down with me!
Greg you talked about those rubber hydraulic hoses. I was curious if you had any issues with those hoses touching a hotwire. I have a few of those rubber hoses and for whatever reason when they touch the wire grounds to the hose and boy does it grab you. It can also charge the water in the tank. Have you experienced this at all?
We have one leased farm where they are not buried. We graze that farm off before we get the cold freezing temps. We come back in early spring and start grazing it then.
The best fittings are from Powerflex Fence Company. They are super heavy duty Polyethylene fittings that tighten down on the pipe. The cheapest route is a plain plastic T that you buy at Home Depot and make sure to use 2 hose clamps on each connection. The clamps need to be facing the opposite direction when you tighten them. If your going to bury it, use Powerflex fittings and you will never have to worry about that connection again.
Greg, I bought the 3/4” brass female hose adaptors from Powerflex and had a local hydraulic shop mount them to a 3/4” 6’ hydraulic hose. However, I’m having a little difficulty trying to connect the 3/4” brass female hose adapter to the male end of our Jobe Mega Flow valve. I didn’t want to force thread it in fear of messing up the plastic threads on the Jobe valve. I did wrap the male threads with a couple rounds of Teflon tap, which added a little bulk to the threads. I then tried wrapping the male threads with just one wrap, but the female adaptor still didn’t want to thread when trying to connect it to the Jobe male end. Are the threads of the adaptor and Jobe compatible? Should I not be using Teflon tape? Is there a special adaptor I need to use between the brass female adaptor and the plastic Jobe male fitting? Or, am I possibly not putting enough pressure on the fittings when trying to screw them together? Thank you in advance for your help.
Stop, don’t do that!! Buy the pipe thread to garden hose adapter from Powerflex Fence. If you strip your plastic threads on your Jobe valve, you have ruined it.
I don’t know what Jobe and Plasson quick couplers both use male pipe threads. It certainly causes a lot of headache and ruined fittings for their customers.
To be a farmer, you need to be a plumber, an electrician, a carpenter, a builder, an ecologist, a biologist, an architect ... jeez, how do you guys do it lol?
@@pcdreams1 - Exactly. Ecology and biology have long been interests and I’ve done the rest of @Bradley’s list. Marketing and sales are beyond me - so by far the biggest challenge.
You must not get any serious amounts of snowfall where you’re at. How would your cattle hold up if for say 3 months outta the year they had to be fed round bales? (Give or take obviously there isn’t snow on the ground for 3 months straight) but grass growth pretty much stops completely where I’m from for atleast 3 months possibly up to 5.
Depends how much pressure you have at your water source. Also any rise in elevation really reduces flow. We have one farm with 45 psi pressure and are running water through a 3/4 " above ground pipe for a distance of 1800 feet. It can water up to 400 head if you use a 400 gallon tank.
@@gregjudyregenerativerancher Thank you for your response. Pressure will be about 50ps. Water line would run about 2,600’ and be about 12’ lower at the termination point than at the meter. I think it would work. I can’t imagine we would ever be watering more than 50 head.
Mr. Greg, I know this is a stupid question to a veteran like yourself, but I have a question. Would it be possible to put in piping into an existing pond, or would I have to completely drain the pond and put the pipe in?
They should be down deep too in a sleeve of some sort so the hose reaches down to them rather than them being up at ground level. I'm going to have a cap to keep the cold air out & throw some wool insulation in their with it (wool generates heat when it soaks up moisture)
Great questions Gray. The snap couplers are placed inside a 6" pipe with a cap over the pipe. I am going to show that setup and how to install them in an upcoming series.
@@gregjudyregenerativerancher Thanks Greg! With a 3 ft frost line depth here in PA and an arm length less than 3 ft I'm curious how this would work. Thanks again for all the information you provide!
@@graydonturner Our frost line here is Missouri is 32" depth. Our lines have been buried for over 25 years at 18-24" depths. We have never froze a line, but we use 1.5" pipe which gives us more mass. The other thing that really helps insulate the pipe is a good heavy fescue sod growing over the top of your water line. A heavy sod is a great insulator.
@@gregjudyregenerativerancher I too have observed the insulating value of a dense sod in winter, but never considered the unconventional intentional installation above the frost line. I imagine the quick connects at 18-24" and leaving the main line below the frost line would be even better. The simplicity of your paradigm shift perspectives and easy to understand explanations are incredible. Thank you! I'm looking forward to your whiteboard series on sheep!
If you use a larger pipe around your riser, say 12" instead of 6", you will get more ground heat to prevent freezing and you don't have to bury the pipe as deep. You can then reach the coupler. If you already have it buried deep, then you have an issue. You could unscrew the quick coupler after you shut off your water supply and add 6-8" of supply pipe on to the "T" then put back on your coupler. You will then be able to reach it. The PVC piece that you put on can be screwed on to your existing T with a male 3/4" threaded fitting glued to your pvc extension. Then glue on a 3/4" female threaded fitting to screw the coupling back into. DONE.
Randall this is an example to show folks the important steps in developing a grazing operation. In our county the average carrying capacity is 4 acres per cow per year. That is where the 5 cow stocking rate came from. If you live in extremely fertile land with plenty of rain, your stocking rate might be much higher.
I'm 27 years old and I have had a really hard time finding what I wanna do with my life. I have always wanted to start a cattle farm, finding this channel has given me hope in starting that. I always thought you needed money or born into the life style, I have been lacking a mentor and I think I found one! Thank you for this series! and the hope!
Same
Greg Judy - you have changed my life. Thank you.
I love this little series. This one in particular is great.
I'm liking what you are teaching. My little farm is similar to what you are describing. Thanks so much.
Great advice. The only thing I would add is put a 90 degree elbow joint at the male end of the quick coupler connection so your hose sits flat on the ground and is less likely to kink.
Thank you for this series it's helping me fill in some blanks especially your kindness of showing the tools - equipment & estimated ball park cost
Loving this series so far Greg
You have no idea how influential you are in my life .... I am moving to Missouri in May 2020 I am starting a goat farm . After we get finished improving the land then I we will run cattle .
this series is really helpful even AFTER having attended the grazing school in Albany... I really appreciate that you continue to give excellent info that supports and reinforces and integrates so many factors. thanks man! love the white board for visuals.
Washing machine hookup hoses work well too for water tank supply
I am always with you sir,
Greg, thank you so very much. This is some of the best how-to videos.
We love this series! Thank you so much. You are educating so many of us every day!!!
We farm in northern Minnesota. Great Grandpa hand dug the water line from the house to the barn 9 feet deep
Wow, that is a serious deep ditch.
Wow!
Awesome content. Gives great advice and offers hope that you can start without 8 figures of infrastructure!
I just installed a portable K-line stainless steel water tank in my 24 acre pasture. I have a 1 inch/200 psi/NRCS spec. hose that attaches to the tank that runs from our deep well to the pasture/tank. Attached to the tank via quick-disconnect camlocks is a 150 ft/1 inch/200 psi rated hose that will stretch to three 6 acre paddocks. It seems to working pretty slick. It is easy to move with an ATV. One can drag it around every couple of days to a new spot to avoid localized over grazing around the water system. The float system on this unit is pretty amazing. The float system very quick action-shut off when the float reaches the desired level. Much better that some of the other water systems we have on the farm. Any thoughts or comments? Your videos are highly informative and very educational. Thanks for sharing your knowledge.
Sounds like a great pasture water system. Was it fairly economical to buy?
@@gregjudyregenerativerancher I would not call it chunk change. It was about $1,800. But I swear it will probably last a life time. The water tank is all stainless steel. The float system is well engineered and the unit itself drags across the field very stable. It would take a tornado to tip it over. Like anything you get what you pay for. My philosophy is if you are striving to have a high quality pasture., one should have a water system the integrates well to reflect that quality. All the best and keep up the good work. My local NRCS gave me your web-site. I am leaning a lot from your videos. Mike
Love this content cant wait for the rest of the series!
Do not put gate immediately by the road. Make sure you have enough space to park your truck & trailer while opening/closing the gate.
I have 20 used Philmac float valves you can have. I have upgraded to Max flo valves from Hansen a New Zealand company. They don't need a screen, Just blows out any debris.
PS Love your videos, Glad you have contributed so much to your channel.
Jobe also makes a high flow/low pressure valve called the Rojo Valve and it works phenomenally for gravity feed situations. Less than $30 on amazon currently
Solid practical advice. Awesome.
Oo man the grazing school is on my birthday haha. I gotta get down there this year if at all possible. Maybe I can convince my dad to take vacation and come down with me!
Great series...cant wait for each next video.
Honestly Greg, tell us what you really think of that other fence post.
I'm loving this. Can't wait for the sheep variation.
No difference for sheep except you want a shallower trough.
Thank you
This information is gold
FYI - plastic pipe, ProPex
Greg you talked about those rubber hydraulic hoses. I was curious if you had any issues with those hoses touching a hotwire. I have a few of those rubber hoses and for whatever reason when they touch the wire grounds to the hose and boy does it grab you. It can also charge the water in the tank. Have you experienced this at all?
You are absolutely correct, those black hydraulic hoses can be conductive. Just don't let them touch hot wire.
My calves are over a year now, so
I’m going to have to run pipe. The buckets are getting heavy. ;)
Great 👍!!! You the man!
Thank you for the information and insights. If the PE pipes are not buried, what do you do in winter?
We have one leased farm where they are not buried. We graze that farm off before we get the cold freezing temps. We come back in early spring and start grazing it then.
I like your videos, could you do more on breeding them?
It is amazing!
What was the name of the plug in water system?
Plasson quick connect couplers
Greg, great series. What T-connector/fitting do you like to use when putting the Plasson quick couplers in a PE black pipe line?
The best fittings are from Powerflex Fence Company. They are super heavy duty Polyethylene fittings that tighten down on the pipe. The cheapest route is a plain plastic T that you buy at Home Depot and make sure to use 2 hose clamps on each connection. The clamps need to be facing the opposite direction when you tighten them. If your going to bury it, use Powerflex fittings and you will never have to worry about that connection again.
Greg Judy Regenerative Rancher thank you.
I'm a bit confused as to which 3/4 PE I need. It seems Lowes has about a million choices.
I would buy it at Powerflex Fence Company, it is much better water pipe. If you buy it at Lowes, get the 160 PSI.
@@gregjudyregenerativerancher Thanks Greg!
This is great!
Greg, I bought the 3/4” brass female hose adaptors from Powerflex and had a local hydraulic shop mount them to a 3/4” 6’ hydraulic hose. However, I’m having a little difficulty trying to connect the 3/4” brass female hose adapter to the male end of our Jobe Mega Flow valve. I didn’t want to force thread it in fear of messing up the plastic threads on the Jobe valve. I did wrap the male threads with a couple rounds of Teflon tap, which added a little bulk to the threads. I then tried wrapping the male threads with just one wrap, but the female adaptor still didn’t want to thread when trying to connect it to the Jobe male end. Are the threads of the adaptor and Jobe compatible? Should I not be using Teflon tape? Is there a special adaptor I need to use between the brass female adaptor and the plastic Jobe male fitting? Or, am I possibly not putting enough pressure on the fittings when trying to screw them together? Thank you in advance for your help.
Stop, don’t do that!! Buy the pipe thread to garden hose adapter from Powerflex Fence. If you strip your plastic threads on your Jobe valve, you have ruined it.
I don’t know what Jobe and Plasson quick couplers both use male pipe threads. It certainly causes a lot of headache and ruined fittings for their customers.
To be a farmer, you need to be a plumber, an electrician, a carpenter, a builder, an ecologist, a biologist, an architect ... jeez, how do you guys do it lol?
And those are the easy parts. You also have to be a marketer and salesperson. That's the harder part. The rest are just challenges..
@@pcdreams1 - Exactly. Ecology and biology have long been interests and I’ve done the rest of @Bradley’s list. Marketing and sales are beyond me - so by far the biggest challenge.
Do you keep the cows there in the winter time
How far apart do you put your tees?
You must not get any serious amounts of snowfall where you’re at. How would your cattle hold up if for say 3 months outta the year they had to be fed round bales? (Give or take obviously there isn’t snow on the ground for 3 months straight) but grass growth pretty much stops completely where I’m from for atleast 3 months possibly up to 5.
He’s in central Missouri. They get snow alright. Not quite as bad as Minnesota.
How far can you run 3/4 poly pipe before friction loss necessitates a larger diameter pipe?
Depends how much pressure you have at your water source. Also any rise in elevation really reduces flow. We have one farm with 45 psi pressure and are running water through a 3/4 " above ground pipe for a distance of 1800 feet. It can water up to 400 head if you use a 400 gallon tank.
@@gregjudyregenerativerancher Thank you for your response. Pressure will be about 50ps. Water line would run about 2,600’ and be about 12’ lower at the termination point than at the meter. I think it would work. I can’t imagine we would ever be watering more than 50 head.
Greg, how long before a newb farmer backs into a hot wire himself?
We only do that once ;)
If it really hot, you will only do it once!!
Mr. Greg, I know this is a stupid question to a veteran like yourself, but I have a question.
Would it be possible to put in piping into an existing pond, or would I have to completely drain the pond and put the pipe in?
If you bury the water line below the frost line, are those quick couplers T'd up to ground level? Wouldn't they freeze?
They should be down deep too in a sleeve of some sort so the hose reaches down to them rather than them being up at ground level. I'm going to have a cap to keep the cold air out & throw some wool insulation in their with it (wool generates heat when it soaks up moisture)
Great questions Gray. The snap couplers are placed inside a 6" pipe with a cap over the pipe. I am going to show that setup and how to install them in an upcoming series.
@@gregjudyregenerativerancher Thanks Greg! With a 3 ft frost line depth here in PA and an arm length less than 3 ft I'm curious how this would work. Thanks again for all the information you provide!
@@graydonturner Our frost line here is Missouri is 32" depth. Our lines have been buried for over 25 years at 18-24" depths. We have never froze a line, but we use 1.5" pipe which gives us more mass.
The other thing that really helps insulate the pipe is a good heavy fescue sod growing over the top of your water line. A heavy sod is a great insulator.
@@gregjudyregenerativerancher I too have observed the insulating value of a dense sod in winter, but never considered the unconventional intentional installation above the frost line. I imagine the quick connects at 18-24" and leaving the main line below the frost line would be even better. The simplicity of your paradigm shift perspectives and easy to understand explanations are incredible. Thank you! I'm looking forward to your whiteboard series on sheep!
Would you please discuss more about I think it’s servo pasture ? What is the spacing on trees that I leave size of trees etc ?
Peater Johnson it’s silvo pasture I think you’re referring to.
He has a few videos on your very question regarding silvo pastures and how they created them. They are good watching.
Does the job megaflow operate a valve on gravity or do you need a power wire for it?
It operates off of pressure. So unless your gravity system makes sufficient psi then it probably won't work
Now that I've seen the video I see he recommended a good gravity valve too. But no, none of them require electricity. The valves r all mechanical
We have many Plasson Quick couplers behind our pond dams that have pipe running through the dam. They work great with hardly any pressure.
@@gregjudyregenerativerancher oh wow, that's surprising. How high is the water level at the surface of the pond above the actual watering point?
@@joelhollingsworth1926 8-10 feet
😁👍👌✌🖖😎
How would you suggest I disconnect the snap coupler if the frost line is deeper than my arm’s length? Thank you in advance for your reply.
If you use a larger pipe around your riser, say 12" instead of 6", you will get more ground heat to prevent freezing and you don't have to bury the pipe as deep. You can then reach the coupler. If you already have it buried deep, then you have an issue. You could unscrew the quick coupler after you shut off your water supply and add 6-8" of supply pipe on to the "T" then put back on your coupler. You will then be able to reach it. The PVC piece that you put on can be screwed on to your existing T with a male 3/4" threaded fitting glued to your pvc extension. Then glue on a 3/4" female threaded fitting to screw the coupling back into. DONE.
@@gregjudyregenerativerancher Thank you very much!
Why just 5 cows?
Randall this is an example to show folks the important steps in developing a grazing operation. In our county the average carrying capacity is 4 acres per cow per year. That is where the 5 cow stocking rate came from. If you live in extremely fertile land with plenty of rain, your stocking rate might be much higher.