Why is it a problem? Why do we need a pill or spray to solve something that just occurs in nature? Moving the cows cuts down on the fly load...no pink eye issues and no health issues at all so I don't see why it's a problem. The problem is giving an animal that's made for human consumption a systemic medication that kills flies..thus killing the nutritive value of manure....poison manure doesn't promote land regeneration. That's why no wormers...no chemicals and no sprays. No health problems!
@@StoneyRidgeFarmer Hey Josh, from what I've seen Joe Salatin runs his chicken tractor four days behind his cattle and Greg Judy has his cattle a fair distance or 4-5 days away from the fly hatch. A refurbished utility trailer with a bunch of roosters might help. You are definitely doing it right. No slam on how Gramps did it. Shoot, they're even doing large acreage No-Till farming now. Stay the course son, you're doin' fine.
You can use chickens to spread the manure while at the same time the chickens eat the fly larvae. Low number of flies means less flies bite your cows. The protein from fly larvae will get used to make eggs and the chickens grow. Adding chickens is beneficial as an additional income. I also understand that it means additional work. You know your situation better than me, I am just sharing my thoughts.
yep....we've all seen videos online about folks moving chickens behind their cows. However....the fact is that it's very very labor intensive...the poultry net will not go in hard ground. It costs $2000 to build a mobile coop and predators like foxes will ruin your entire operation in and afternoon. What you're seeing on the internet is a nice dream....but it doesn't work in the long term. Raising chickens for eggs is not a money making venture...you've gotta recoop the cost of the chickens...feed, egg washer, fence, coop ...fuel to move the coop and time. I did the math the other day...say ya have 10 dozen chickens...that produce 8 dozen eggs per day...and you make $1.50 on each dozen eggs after expenses...so ya make $12 per day to take care of all of those chickens...plus losses and time. What would you do for $12 per day?? Fooling with chickens for 3 hours a day and making $12 isn't my idea of fun my friend. It's a big looser!! Meat birds...well that's another story...they're just about as profitable...so if you're gonna do chickens, you'd better do large volumes because America want's cheap food!
@@StoneyRidgeFarmer Interesting perspective - I was wondering about the labor required to follow Mr Salatin's "chickens spread cow patties" story. I imagine it's like anything else - it's about scale. If you can commit half a person's labor to managing a few thousand chickens to sell for meat while controlling flies in cow pastures, perhaps there is a numerical tipping point that makes it worthwhile.
@@MessyTimes it is a numbers game with chickens. one of the local farms sends a mod of chickens behind his cows does cut flys down. but losses about 100 a year to preditors but also has a self regenrating hurd of like 500 600 chickens. and sells in his store 15 a bird. so by no means a big mouney maker.
@@StoneyRidgeFarmer curious if this is a US problem only? In Sweden that kind of poultry is apparently the easiest money to make. (Source Richard Perkins)
I'm currently working to develop our 5 acres into small, self sustaining regenerative eco-farm. This is some of the most valuable knowledge around right now. Eliminate food shortages for your family and community. Keep it up brother! Love your channel!
RYAN, JOSH IS AWESOME BUT, MAKE SURE YOU WATCH THE TH-cam VIDEOS FROM THE REGENERATIVE AGRICULTURE EXPERT GABE BROWN! He's awesome and has a lot of tips, advice etc for farmers big and small. HE ADVISES FARM OWNERS ON OVER 22 MILLION ACRES SO HE'S THE "MASTER" IN THIS FIELD! pun intended!!!! ha! ha! Contact him ASAP Amen Retired, Veteran
I'm learning about regenerative farming so I stumbled on this video. I'm a vegetable farmer, and vegan, but this is how cows should be raised! Good luck getting your message out and I hope cattle farmers adopt your practices!
Thank you for being level-headed, more Vegans like you would help promote the benefits of Regen Ag. The die-hard militant Vegans are so against any Livestock Ag, while not realising its potential and health benefits for the environment and those who do consume meat.
If your crop fields are large enough, you can add some cover crops to your vegetable plots, and either have someone graze them off with sheep, or keep a few pet wethers yourself to do the nutrient recycling.
I used to put my grandkids out in the pasture with a golf club and told them to destroy as many cow piles as they wanted. Sound foolish but cows will not eat the lush grass in a cow pile, but if you scatter that pile it will fertilize more area and the kidos will have a few stories to share about crazy PawPaw in the process!!
Actually it seems the cow pats do more good left as they are. Can’t give you chapter and verse yet. Organizing a research group to be able to pinpoint such info in talks by Dr Christine Jones, soil ecologist from Australia, Ray Archuleta, and Gabe Brown among others
HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! THAT'S THE BEST STORY EVERY.... I LOVE IT!! I've "been there, done that" so it's even funnier for me!!! Amen Retired, Veteran
Thanks for Spreading the Word about Natural Farming! Absolutely True you don't need to buy thousands of Dollars of Herbicides, Pesticides and Fertilizer if you manage your Property Properly! Videos like these are So important for the Planet and the Farmers!! Absolutely True "You don't need a Pill to fix Nature" cuz Nature is Not Broken!!
We’ve started doing the same on our new homestead. Rolling out $50 hay bales and moving sheep and goats. Very enjoyable and can’t wait to see the final product.
Josh: You are doing great sharing the message of ecosystem restoration by working with nature. The cows looked very happy and healthy. I loved your style of presentation and your video. We need more farmers and ranchers to copy your ideas and model. Please keep up the wonderful job that you have been doing. Subscribed and liked. :)
You are so right about needing water I have started paddock grazing on my Pop's (84 years young) 100 acre farm. I watched him do the conventional method his whole life. I am in western PA and last year we were hit with a drought. Springs, creeks all dried up. So I built a water wagon out of 275 gal totes. 2 on the wagon with 4 water cups for the cattle to drink from. This wagon is solar powered to fill the cups and fresh water every 3 days. I have 10 cows/calves pair by the end of summer. This has been a life saver for me. Thanks for showing your pastures, mowed and not mowed. I feel the same about mowing is a plus. Such join watching cattle going into a new paddock.
Basically, from what I've learned, the animals foods from animals eating their historically/God-given natural diets, DON'T have the imbalance of omega 6 to 3 fatty acids ( way too much 6 ), which cause inflammation/disease. So, no need to try and make up for it with lots of fish or flax oils and so on, and possibly do that wrong/make mistakes or buy sub-par products. I have major inflammation issues I'm trying to heal, the struggle is real ! I can't currently afford to buy all our meat, and aren't able raise any right now, and mostly eat venison. But the deer eat a lot of corn n soy & I want to avoid gmos. We do get some deer given to us, when they get extra, from the area of my friend's organic dairy farm, thank God.
@@ajb.822 keep it up my friend I will pray for your health. Seems to me you are on the right track. Inflammation is the root of many chronic health problems, so good health is key. I'm sure you will live a long happy life
Hannah Conerly 1 second ago Incredible Books: The Soil Will Save Us by Kristin Ohlson (more informative) and One Straw Revolution by Masanobu Fukuoka (more spiritual and conceptual) Incredible Documentary: Kiss the Ground (on Netflix) Good Luck on your journey :)
DON'T FORGET TO WATCH THE TH-cam VIDEOS FROM THE EXPERT IN REGENERATIVE AGRICULTURE... GABE BROWN! He's now consulting to farm owners on over 22 MILLION ACRES! Great guy, excellent advice.... I wouldn't do anything on my farm until I contacted him and his organizations.... it's that important.... and he could save you hundreds or even thousands and thousands of dollars in mistakes! Amen Retired, Veteran
If you cannot give your pasture enough rest might need to look at cutting down on cow numbers. You are right, water is key but 3/4” poly pipe is relatively cheap and simple to unroll on top of the ground for spring, summer, and fall grazing. I wish I would have discovered poly pipe and quick couplers years ago.
We just use the poly pipe for spring, summer, and fall when we have the cattle tightened up more when we are using a portable water tank. We have some other PVC pipelines buried running to Mirafount freeze proof water points and also have a couple of ponds that feed water tanks. I’d like to have all of the poly pipe buried but that definitely adds a lot of time, cost, and you have to tear up the ground. With the quick couplers you still have to have an exposed rubber hose running to a portable tank so for us it made more sense just to keep it simple and cheap to run it on top of the ground.
Regenerative ranching tends to be a bit disconnected from regenerative farming. One thing I would recommend is learning how to keyline plow your pasture (subsoil ripping), and inject your biochar into those rips directly (fertilizer tea/compost can be used on biochar). Mob grazing with leader follower model (first cows, then chickens as suggested by Richard Perkins; but for a fuller list you can check Mark Shepard's book) will then help that topsoil grow even more.
Great video Josh.I have put a7 foot pasture punch to work on my farm.It has made a big difference in my grass production.Aeration will help,it’s like 200lbs of fertilizer per acre.Have a great day.
We are starting our journey into regenerative agriculture as well. We will get there one day. Starting small on our 77 acres. We do not have pasture yet. Good luck and thanks for sharing
Just closing on my first small farm.. 4 acres, already established 4 pastures and looking forwarrd to bringing in the cows! Glad to find your channel to help with the learning aspect
Thanks for sharing, it's information like this that needs to get out. We see significant improvement in pasture quality ourselves, even on just 5 acres grazing 2 Jersey's (Mother and Calf), 4 adult Ewes and 7 lambs, 8 Geese, 20 odd Ducks (yep they're strange, lol), 4 Turkeys, no idea how many chickens and about 18 Guinea Fowl. Using rotational grazing. Regen Ag is amazing, wish I'd done it years ago on our larger property when we were there.
Happy Day! Enjoy your passion. Have farms near Carolina/VA border so we deal with a lot of same issues. I would say that you are not mob grazing more rotational grazing. I try to use methods that are good for animals the earth and me! Started small now have 102 cows 71 calf’s on 2 farms move them all the time. I would tell someone starting go FSA find programs that apply to you. I love our farm! Best decision ever made. Enjoy the ride! Thanks for sharing. Gapfarm.
Glad to see that your efforts and approach are starting to prove themselves to be sustainable, successful... and in the long run... healthier. Like most things in Life, we learn by doing and experience tells us what works and what doesn't. Dad always said, "Anybody who says that they have NEVER made a mistake... isn't trying!" Keep on keeping on, Josh! Thanks for sharing your journey with us. (We don't, "Whoo!", too much up here in Indiana... but a silent nod of respect speaks volumes!)
I tell my students that if they aren't making mistakes, they're not working at the appropriate difficulty level. Learn how to deal with failure. Learn how to fail safely (manage risk).
Have you considered introducing clover into your fields. My place is very similar to yours except, I put Clover in with my Bermuda to fix the soil. I'm experimenting with different combinations of grass in all my fields. I even let a few fields sit idle for a few years. It requires mowing but it develops a good top soil base that won't wash away.
I like what you’re trying to do - also look into permaculture and food forests to intermingle into this, as well as the greening of the desert videos which have a lot about berms collecting water and letting it soak into the land better from rains
Hey guys, Pastor Fred here in Rockwood TN. Josh, I don't ever see me having cattle, but I really appreciate your videos as a source of information from someone who is living it!!! Thank you!!! Maybe I can help my neighbors with some of this information when I move up to my 20 acres, there is a cattle farm to the east of it, and I know they are trying! Have a great day!!
@@ronniejenkins4633 yes sir. I am in Rockwood caring for my 94 yr old mother, but have 20 acres up near Ozone Falls that is uncut forest that I will move on to after she passes. I watch him for ideas of what to do with my place. What direction are you 45 mins from me?
It's good information even if you are not raising cattle. I've found Josh to definitely be right about one thing:. the areas I mow regularly are much healthier than the areas of the property that only get knocked down once in a while. I'm further east from you fellows, so that makes three of us.
@@lisacastano1064 I have many friends in Ten Mile, and I attend Celebrate Recovery at the Watts Bar Community Church there on 68 on Thursday nights. Would love to purchase one of those farms near it it is so beautiful there!
Hello from Australia, Ive seen Joel”s stuff previously. Just starting my own small farm. I look forward to seeing more of your stuff. Gratitude , many hanks Gordon
We live in an instant gratification day and age and eventually that behavior results in everything being depleted. People need to slow down like you are showing us. Give back to the land more than you take and the land will take care of your needs. Your farm is looking outstanding, 🚜-Woooo!!
THANK YOU SO MUCH! I have been organic / natural for 2 years now. I took a ferrel pasture, burned it and went from there. Learning as I go. I have Red Devon/Angus cross with a Devon bull. Devon are great for Meat, dairy and oxen. Keeping my options open for Ox power harrow in the future. Also makes for calmer cows and great tasting meat. You have shown me so much! A big thanks from East Texas!
I love the way you give your cattle a good life for the time they have. We did the same for our chickens. Food grade diatomaceous earth? I hear it cuts back on parasite loads. Our chickens got it, but then something got our chickens! We gave up on them. Have you considered getting some, sprinkle it on your hay?
Good job hand . It really is ALL about the soil. Biodiversity is the key. I would have liked to see your methods of making your charcoal for the composted biochar. This is the jump start and sustainable secret that is not as easy as it sounds. Blessings for the emphasis on good fencing and drinking water provisions, absolutely critical from the beginning. Also your use of donkeys for guardians. They are very capable defenders of all predators. Blessings
I'm just in the beginning stages of learning farming. I've been reading/listening to Joel Salatin and have enjoyed watching your videos. Thank you for all the great information!
Howdy neighbor! You might want to mow and collect a little patch from your two contrast plots. Evaluating visually can be hard because the old seed stalks and heads make that side appear brown. I suspect you’re right that it stimulated it, I just caution against trusting it from solely visual affirmation.
Have you considered digging holes on the low spots of your pastures, to see if water accumulates on it's own in enough capacity to water the livestock? I love that you are treating the land and the livestock right.
Oh...I've dug many holes in low spots...but the goal is to keep cows out of the water...they will poop, pee and wade belly deep in a pond...and continue to drink the water...not my idea of regenerative farming...although it is recycling to some extent lol
You're a great advocate for regenerative farming. Thank you for what you're doing! I subscribed. I'm excited whenever I see any enthusiastic Regen proponent. I just started advocating on a much smaller scale: the common backyard gardens. 🌿
Prior to stumbling across your channel years ago, I never really thought about soil condition. I’ve learnt so much & taken a lot of what you’ve shared on board. I live in Adelaide, Australia and about 30-45 minutes away there is a fertiliser company called Neutrog. They specialise in biological fertilisers & that’s all I ever use now.
DEAR AUSSIE.... PLEASE WATCH THE THE TH-cam VIDEOS ON THE REGENERATIVE AGRICULTURE EXPERT... MR. GABE BROWN! You "might' be able to stop purchasing your "biological fertilizers" and do everything naturally. Also, there are other Aussie videos on TH-cam regarding "Regen Ag" that you might like.... just search "Regenerative Agriculture" and they'll pop up... I just watched on a couple days ago and it was fantastic!! Amen Retired, Veteran
Gosh, your evolution is evident....... and you yourself are really demonstrating so much about what farming and learning can produce together...... the “process IS the path” ...I think I heard that somewhere....Grin
I am literally looking into setting up the pasture for rotational grazing cattle right now. This video is perfect timing! Thank you. I want to do Dexters if I can find them.
Thanks for the info. What height are you mowing your pastures? You should add llamas for your guard animals. They won’t leave a calf along even if rest of the heard leaves. Keep up the good work
I apologize for the fly question. I was listening while at work. As I WATCHED the video during my break, I saw your comments pertaining to flies. THANKS
This is a very good way to do things I have been doing this for years I would like th put it out there this does not cash flow though it is a financialy losing proposition
Can you buy more land adjoining to clear, and give yourself some breathing room, Josh? My Dad did what you’re doing. He approached a commercial piggery for their waste and spread it on top of the soil in sections and observed the results. Tall grass! More retained soil moisture.
The term is Organic farming. I love it. I knew an organic farmer who grafted tomato plants on top of his potato plants and actually grew both tomatoes and potatoes from the same plant. The pomoplant's potatoes and tomatoes we smaller but the percentage of yield from a smaller area on his farm was incredible.
Actually organic farming is becoming an industrialized crock. Anymore all that certification means is no synthetic chemicals and there's even a push right now challenging that... Know the farmer that grows your food, don't rely on labels.
Looks to me like the Stoney Ridge Farmer has lost a good bit of weight. Good Job. I thought you might have bought a few of Greg Judy's cows as Missouri is not too much different in weather than NC except for the colder winters.
Great job Josh. Good luck with direct selling your goods. The monopoly needs to be broken that hides behind food safety and enriches the few Packers and retailers.
I really like how your running the farm. For us we just not in a place to manage the farm so intensive. What been a hard decision for me is picking out what land to use for field and what needs to go back to woods. We live in WV in very hilly area. Most fields are on hillsides. Mowing can be hard with lots of rocks. I know it would be better to let go of some of it and just use the easier ground because erosion etc. but that a lot of aces to lose. There is many place you can’t get a tractor to and has to be done with weed eater. Just hard to let go of land that has grass on it.
ANDREW, SUGGESTION PLEASE... BEFORE YOU DO ANYTHING, WATCH THE TH-cam VIDEOS ON THE EXPERT IN REGENERATIVE AGRICULTURE... GABE BROWN... THEN CONTACT HIS ORGANIZATIONS FOR ADVICE AND TIPS! He is consulting to farm owners on OVER 22 MILLION ACRES IN THE USA... so he knows his stuff and what to do. PLEASE REMEMBER... AMERICA WAS ONCE MILLIONS OF ACRES OF PRAIRIES AND PACKED FULL OF ROCKS AND STONES AND THE BISON AND ANIMALS DID JUST FINE... so should you! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE do a soil test first, which Gabe can advise you on. I'm guessing that the rocks won't be a problem because you can run your farm a little differently and still be profitable. Every farm is different so contact him ASAP. Amen Retired, Veteran
@@StoneyRidgeFarmer Im not talking a ton over a few acres. Im saying a five gallon pail over a quarter acre. Preferably just after grazing and just before a rain. Go for it. You have a big enough following to prove it or disprove it.
I follow Greg Judy and the Understanding Ag channel. Nice to see you making the change - proof that even die-hard metal farmers (who love their tools) can make that change to regenerative and make money at it. 👏👏👏👏 You are so positive, I look forward to your videos.
Chicory can be added for natural deworming. It also grows in cooler months. Cutting grass will help along with dragging. Rock dust is good as well as the rock breaks down adds nutrients over super long periods of time. I live in Virginia similar area just north of you lol.
Good stuff mate, going to enjoy watching some of you’re other clips, we have a beef farm in the South Island of New Zealand. I have been thinking about this idea for a while, going to give it a crack now ! Cheers josh
Trying to do the same thing, only7 head at present. The actual move of the cows each time has been a challenge, even with premier one woven wire. Keeping at it, we'll get it right!
We run a drag over our pastors after we rotate the cows through just to spread out the manure evenly and it seems to help the grass recover a lot faster
I live in NW Chatham county NC on 53 acre farm we bought 1 1/2 years ago built a house and have nice pasture we been cutting hay on. Big follower of Joel Salatin and Greg Judy. My neighbors Bomb their land with fertilizer but I mow mine to encourage earthworms and microbes. They think I’m crazy but I don’t care. Hope to get cows next spring for small time mob grazing. Maybe a chicken tractor or egg mobile too!
Know anyone who needs help on their farm in E. Chatham, Lee, or Harnett? I'm reading Greg Judy's books here in SW Wake and thinking about getting into grazing!
@@tylerboyd570 I really don’t but that doesn’t mean a thing. There may well be someone out there who does. I’m still setting things in place right now. Hang in there and ask around.
My word. Your native soil looks like ours. We have only eight acres, and are working only three. Chickens only. Been here going on seven years, never fertilized, like you. Soil amendments, yes. Cover cropping, yes. We paddock the hens on grass and under some tree/brush areas, moving them once a week. The grass areas we seeded also with clovers. Having had the hens out on the grass for four years now, we now have lush, deep green, diverse grass area. I can't call them "pastures"; but the technique is scalable up or down. Congratulations on reclaiming the land, sir.
I have been following your channel for a few years, and I love seeing the progress you have made. I do also follow Greg Judy, Gabe Brown and quite a few others. I don’t have cattle, but my small 11.5 acres has rotational grazing for my chickens, geese and pigs. You are doing a fantastic job!!
Could you run like 1” poly line to several key spots for waterers? Pretty sure they make a tractor Implement. that digs, places, and buries the line behind the tractor. Anyway love your stuff. Learned a ton from you. Thanks for sharing your knowledge with us.
Josh, thank you for sharing your learnings and experiences with this type of farming. As one who will soon be doing small-scale animal husbandry, this is the content that I enjoy most. More please!
yeah...go over there and talk to them and see what kinda maze of Bull crap they send you through. I'm completely disappointed in my NRCS office...all they want is for me to sign up so they can get more money next year! Installing a well and waterers on people's 5 acre property that raise cows for 2 years and sell out/abandon the "free" well. No thanks...keep the gov't off my land! Sorry...I don't mean to be negative but it's a bunch of political garbage in my county!
We have 5 cows (4 Dexters and one mini-Jersey) on two 6-acre pastures. We rotate them daily and only have water in one place. Although they have to walk up to the trough they seem to do fine. If they can get to water in a 10-minute walk or less it is supposed to be ok. We are currently getting 66 days of rest on each paddock--and that is in the central Texas summer! This is our third year of intensive rotational grazing and our pasture has exploded this year. I don't know why folks are reluctant to give this method a try--it has paid us huge dividends! We do not feed grain at all to our cows and our hay bill is about 10% of what it was in previous years.
The real school of thought is to have the waterers within 800 feet of the cows at all times. This prevents "Mob Drinking".....however we don't have water everywhere just yet...so the cows are walking to the water on one side of the farm....the other side has waterers within 800 feet in all areas
@@StoneyRidgeFarmer That's a good point that I hadn't considered. I only have five head so it hasn't been an issue. But if you have several more as you do I can see where mob drinking could be problematic. Thanks for the input--I will have to keep that in mind as we (hopefully) grow our herd.
I'm with you 💯 with no commercial fertilizers, but what about treating for flies. That's one problem that I want to solve as quick as possible.
Why is it a problem? Why do we need a pill or spray to solve something that just occurs in nature? Moving the cows cuts down on the fly load...no pink eye issues and no health issues at all so I don't see why it's a problem. The problem is giving an animal that's made for human consumption a systemic medication that kills flies..thus killing the nutritive value of manure....poison manure doesn't promote land regeneration. That's why no wormers...no chemicals and no sprays. No health problems!
Aren'r chickens on pastures the answer for fly problem?
@@StoneyRidgeFarmer Hey Josh, from what I've seen Joe Salatin runs his chicken tractor four days behind his cattle and Greg Judy has his cattle a fair distance or 4-5 days away from the fly hatch. A refurbished utility trailer with a bunch of roosters might help. You are definitely doing it right. No slam on how Gramps did it. Shoot, they're even doing large acreage No-Till farming now. Stay the course son, you're doin' fine.
Frogs....a cattle pond and the frogs helps keep the flies down ...
@@samiam1254 That to. And some shrubs and trees around for some birds nesting.
You can use chickens to spread the manure while at the same time the chickens eat the fly larvae. Low number of flies means less flies bite your cows. The protein from fly larvae will get used to make eggs and the chickens grow. Adding chickens is beneficial as an additional income. I also understand that it means additional work. You know your situation better than me, I am just sharing my thoughts.
yep....we've all seen videos online about folks moving chickens behind their cows. However....the fact is that it's very very labor intensive...the poultry net will not go in hard ground. It costs $2000 to build a mobile coop and predators like foxes will ruin your entire operation in and afternoon. What you're seeing on the internet is a nice dream....but it doesn't work in the long term. Raising chickens for eggs is not a money making venture...you've gotta recoop the cost of the chickens...feed, egg washer, fence, coop ...fuel to move the coop and time. I did the math the other day...say ya have 10 dozen chickens...that produce 8 dozen eggs per day...and you make $1.50 on each dozen eggs after expenses...so ya make $12 per day to take care of all of those chickens...plus losses and time. What would you do for $12 per day?? Fooling with chickens for 3 hours a day and making $12 isn't my idea of fun my friend. It's a big looser!! Meat birds...well that's another story...they're just about as profitable...so if you're gonna do chickens, you'd better do large volumes because America want's cheap food!
@@StoneyRidgeFarmer Interesting perspective - I was wondering about the labor required to follow Mr Salatin's "chickens spread cow patties" story. I imagine it's like anything else - it's about scale. If you can commit half a person's labor to managing a few thousand chickens to sell for meat while controlling flies in cow pastures, perhaps there is a numerical tipping point that makes it worthwhile.
@@MessyTimes it is a numbers game with chickens. one of the local farms sends a mod of chickens behind his cows does cut flys down. but losses about 100 a year to preditors but also has a self regenrating hurd of like 500 600 chickens. and sells in his store 15 a bird. so by no means a big mouney maker.
@@StoneyRidgeFarmer what if you let the chickens be, some will live and others will perish, it's more about pest control after all?
@@StoneyRidgeFarmer curious if this is a US problem only? In Sweden that kind of poultry is apparently the easiest money to make. (Source Richard Perkins)
I'm currently working to develop our 5 acres into small, self sustaining regenerative eco-farm. This is some of the most valuable knowledge around right now. Eliminate food shortages for your family and community. Keep it up brother! Love your channel!
Thanks Ryan
Hell yeah bro that’s badass
Hey Ryan I'd love to chat. I too recently purchased 5 acres in zone 9b northern ca that im trying to figure out
RYAN, JOSH IS AWESOME BUT, MAKE SURE YOU WATCH THE TH-cam VIDEOS FROM THE REGENERATIVE AGRICULTURE EXPERT GABE BROWN!
He's awesome and has a lot of tips, advice etc for farmers big and small.
HE ADVISES FARM OWNERS ON OVER 22 MILLION ACRES SO HE'S THE "MASTER" IN THIS FIELD!
pun intended!!!! ha! ha!
Contact him ASAP
Amen
Retired, Veteran
@@hapafilms1763 me too. I'm in central Texas. I'm building a pasture over limestone clay. Just dropped a video you guys might like!
I'm learning about regenerative farming so I stumbled on this video. I'm a vegetable farmer, and vegan, but this is how cows should be raised! Good luck getting your message out and I hope cattle farmers adopt your practices!
It’s nice to hear a clear thinking vegan, good luck.
Thank you for being level-headed, more Vegans like you would help promote the benefits of Regen Ag. The die-hard militant Vegans are so against any Livestock Ag, while not realising its potential and health benefits for the environment and those who do consume meat.
If your crop fields are large enough, you can add some cover crops to your vegetable plots, and either have someone graze them off with sheep, or keep a few pet wethers yourself to do the nutrient recycling.
You are one of the smart ones. Many say we should try to get rid of cows when cows actually help farms.
That’s the way to raise beef!!! And most other animals we eat as well, happy animals, great meat. Stay awesome!
I used to put my grandkids out in the pasture with a golf club and told them to destroy as many cow piles as they wanted. Sound foolish but cows will not eat the lush grass in a cow pile, but if you scatter that pile it will fertilize more area and the kidos will have a few stories to share about crazy PawPaw in the process!!
Actually it seems the cow pats do more good left as they are. Can’t give you chapter and verse yet. Organizing a research group to be able to pinpoint such info in talks by Dr Christine Jones, soil ecologist from Australia, Ray Archuleta, and Gabe Brown among others
HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA!
THAT'S THE BEST STORY EVERY.... I LOVE IT!!
I've "been there, done that" so it's even funnier for me!!!
Amen
Retired, Veteran
you're my hero
Thanks for Spreading the Word about Natural Farming! Absolutely True you don't need to buy thousands of Dollars of Herbicides, Pesticides and Fertilizer if you manage your Property Properly! Videos like these are So important for the Planet and the Farmers!! Absolutely True "You don't need a Pill to fix Nature" cuz Nature is Not Broken!!
We’ve started doing the same on our new homestead. Rolling out $50 hay bales and moving sheep and goats. Very enjoyable and can’t wait to see the final product.
There's no "one" way to do most things. It's all about making it work for your conditions.
Amen!
Josh: You are doing great sharing the message of ecosystem restoration by working with nature. The cows looked very happy and healthy. I loved your style of presentation and your video. We need more farmers and ranchers to copy your ideas and model. Please keep up the wonderful job that you have been doing. Subscribed and liked. :)
You are so right about needing water I have started paddock grazing on my Pop's (84 years young) 100 acre farm. I watched him do the conventional method his whole life. I am in western PA and last year we were hit with a drought. Springs, creeks all dried up. So I built a water wagon out of 275 gal totes. 2 on the wagon with 4 water cups for the cattle to drink from. This wagon is solar powered to fill the cups and fresh water every 3 days. I have 10 cows/calves pair by the end of summer. This has been a life saver for me. Thanks for showing your pastures, mowed and not mowed. I feel the same about mowing is a plus. Such join watching cattle going into a new paddock.
I would be very interested to see your water wagon setup.
This has to be the future. And the grass fed finished meat is premium.
Basically, from what I've learned, the animals foods from animals eating their historically/God-given natural diets, DON'T have the imbalance of omega 6 to 3 fatty acids ( way too much 6 ), which cause inflammation/disease. So, no need to try and make up for it with lots of fish or flax oils and so on, and possibly do that wrong/make mistakes or buy sub-par products. I have major inflammation issues I'm trying to heal, the struggle is real ! I can't currently afford to buy all our meat, and aren't able raise any right now, and mostly eat venison. But the deer eat a lot of corn n soy & I want to avoid gmos. We do get some deer given to us, when they get extra, from the area of my friend's organic dairy farm, thank God.
@@ajb.822 keep it up my friend I will pray for your health. Seems to me you are on the right track. Inflammation is the root of many chronic health problems, so good health is key.
I'm sure you will live a long happy life
Looks beautiful Josh, you have a lot to be proud of! A good example of hard work and education paying off! Good of you to share. Wooooo
Oo-wee! You all are my heroes! Keep it up!!! We need your graciousness. God bless you and your work.
Good info. Bought a 25 acre farm last year. Got 9-10 acres of pasture. Researching and planning now. Thanks for the insight
Best of luck! Tons of great land vids on this channel...look at the playlist "turf lawn and pasture"
Hannah Conerly
1 second ago
Incredible Books:
The Soil Will Save Us by Kristin Ohlson (more informative) and One Straw Revolution by Masanobu Fukuoka (more spiritual and conceptual)
Incredible Documentary:
Kiss the Ground (on Netflix)
Good Luck on your journey :)
DON'T FORGET TO WATCH THE TH-cam VIDEOS FROM THE EXPERT IN REGENERATIVE AGRICULTURE... GABE BROWN!
He's now consulting to farm owners on over 22 MILLION ACRES!
Great guy, excellent advice.... I wouldn't do anything on my farm until I contacted him and his organizations.... it's that important.... and he could save you hundreds or even thousands and thousands of dollars in mistakes!
Amen
Retired, Veteran
If you cannot give your pasture enough rest might need to look at cutting down on cow numbers.
You are right, water is key but 3/4” poly pipe is relatively cheap and simple to unroll on top of the ground for spring, summer, and fall grazing. I wish I would have discovered poly pipe and quick couplers years ago.
I thought so too I haven't been watching but occasionally.
We just use the poly pipe for spring, summer, and fall when we have the cattle tightened up more when we are using a portable water tank. We have some other PVC pipelines buried running to Mirafount freeze proof water points and also have a couple of ponds that feed water tanks. I’d like to have all of the poly pipe buried but that definitely adds a lot of time, cost, and you have to tear up the ground. With the quick couplers you still have to have an exposed rubber hose running to a portable tank so for us it made more sense just to keep it simple and cheap to run it on top of the ground.
We start 20 James back in Namibia in the desert. First time I see the mowing of the grass,thanks for that won.
Utilizes God's great design praise the Lord thanks for your work Stoney
Regenerative ranching tends to be a bit disconnected from regenerative farming. One thing I would recommend is learning how to keyline plow your pasture (subsoil ripping), and inject your biochar into those rips directly (fertilizer tea/compost can be used on biochar).
Mob grazing with leader follower model (first cows, then chickens as suggested by Richard Perkins; but for a fuller list you can check Mark Shepard's book) will then help that topsoil grow even more.
yeppers...it's all a matter of time getting the farm in to full production...great advice for sure!
Great information! Thanks for sharing. Always exciting to learn from other farmers and farms!
Great video Josh.I have put a7 foot pasture punch to work on my farm.It has made a big difference in my grass production.Aeration will help,it’s like 200lbs of fertilizer per acre.Have a great day.
We are starting our journey into regenerative agriculture as well. We will get there one day. Starting small on our 77 acres. We do not have pasture yet. Good luck and thanks for sharing
I've been around awhile and the transformation since the beginning is amazing.
Just closing on my first small farm.. 4 acres, already established 4 pastures and looking forwarrd to bringing in the cows! Glad to find your channel to help with the learning aspect
Thanks for sharing, it's information like this that needs to get out. We see significant improvement in pasture quality ourselves, even on just 5 acres grazing 2 Jersey's (Mother and Calf), 4 adult Ewes and 7 lambs, 8 Geese, 20 odd Ducks (yep they're strange, lol), 4 Turkeys, no idea how many chickens and about 18 Guinea Fowl. Using rotational grazing. Regen Ag is amazing, wish I'd done it years ago on our larger property when we were there.
Happy Day! Enjoy your passion. Have farms near Carolina/VA border so we deal with a lot of same issues. I would say that you are not mob grazing more rotational grazing. I try to use methods that are good for animals the earth and me! Started small now have 102 cows 71 calf’s on 2 farms move them all the time.
I would tell someone starting go FSA find programs that apply to you. I love our farm! Best decision ever made. Enjoy the ride! Thanks for sharing. Gapfarm.
Glad to see that your efforts and approach are starting to prove themselves to be sustainable, successful... and in the long run... healthier. Like most things in Life, we learn by doing and experience tells us what works and what doesn't. Dad always said, "Anybody who says that they have NEVER made a mistake... isn't trying!" Keep on keeping on, Josh! Thanks for sharing your journey with us. (We don't, "Whoo!", too much up here in Indiana... but a silent nod of respect speaks volumes!)
I tell my students that if they aren't making mistakes, they're not working at the appropriate difficulty level. Learn how to deal with failure. Learn how to fail safely (manage risk).
Have you considered introducing clover into your fields. My place is very similar to yours except, I put Clover in with my Bermuda to fix the soil. I'm experimenting with different combinations of grass in all my fields. I even let a few fields sit idle for a few years. It requires mowing but it develops a good top soil base that won't wash away.
I like what you’re trying to do - also look into permaculture and food forests to intermingle into this, as well as the greening of the desert videos which have a lot about berms collecting water and letting it soak into the land better from rains
Hey guys, Pastor Fred here in Rockwood TN. Josh, I don't ever see me having cattle, but I really appreciate your videos as a source of information from someone who is living it!!! Thank you!!! Maybe I can help my neighbors with some of this information when I move up to my 20 acres, there is a cattle farm to the east of it, and I know they are trying! Have a great day!!
@@ronniejenkins4633 yes sir. I am in Rockwood caring for my 94 yr old mother, but have 20 acres up near Ozone Falls that is uncut forest that I will move on to after she passes. I watch him for ideas of what to do with my place. What direction are you 45 mins from me?
It's good information even if you are not raising cattle. I've found Josh to definitely be right about one thing:. the areas I mow regularly are much healthier than the areas of the property that only get knocked down once in a while.
I'm further east from you fellows, so that makes three of us.
Lol 4 of us we just bought 5 acres in ten mile.
@@lisacastano1064 I have many friends in Ten Mile, and I attend Celebrate Recovery at the Watts Bar Community Church there on 68 on Thursday nights. Would love to purchase one of those farms near it it is so beautiful there!
@@BibleBikerChurch there's a couple of lots left where we got ours from
Hello from Australia, Ive seen Joel”s stuff previously. Just starting my own small farm. I look forward to seeing more of your stuff. Gratitude , many hanks Gordon
We live in an instant gratification day and age and eventually that behavior results in everything being depleted. People need to slow down like you are showing us. Give back to the land more than you take and the land will take care of your needs. Your farm is looking outstanding, 🚜-Woooo!!
thanks buddy
THANK YOU SO MUCH!
I have been organic / natural for 2 years now.
I took a ferrel pasture, burned it and went from there. Learning as I go.
I have Red Devon/Angus cross with a Devon bull.
Devon are great for Meat, dairy and oxen. Keeping my options open for Ox power harrow in the future. Also makes for calmer cows and great tasting meat.
You have shown me so much!
A big thanks from East Texas!
another channel to check out(Just A Few Acers More Farm),they do intensive grazing on 46 acers
That channel has quickly become one of my favorites!
Josh. Very informative. I enjoy all your videos but I really felt informed after this one. Great job.
I love the way you give your cattle a good life for the time they have. We did the same for our chickens. Food grade diatomaceous earth? I hear it cuts back on parasite loads. Our chickens got it, but then something got our chickens! We gave up on them. Have you considered getting some, sprinkle it on your hay?
Good job hand . It really is ALL about the soil. Biodiversity is the key. I would have liked to see your methods of making your charcoal for the composted biochar. This is the jump start and sustainable secret that is not as easy as it sounds. Blessings for the emphasis on good fencing and drinking water provisions, absolutely critical from the beginning. Also your use of donkeys for guardians. They are very capable defenders of all predators. Blessings
I'm just in the beginning stages of learning farming. I've been reading/listening to Joel Salatin and have enjoyed watching your videos. Thank you for all the great information!
Howdy neighbor! You might want to mow and collect a little patch from your two contrast plots. Evaluating visually can be hard because the old seed stalks and heads make that side appear brown. I suspect you’re right that it stimulated it, I just caution against trusting it from solely visual affirmation.
Have you considered digging holes on the low spots of your pastures, to see if water accumulates on it's own in enough capacity to water the livestock? I love that you are treating the land and the livestock right.
Oh...I've dug many holes in low spots...but the goal is to keep cows out of the water...they will poop, pee and wade belly deep in a pond...and continue to drink the water...not my idea of regenerative farming...although it is recycling to some extent lol
If the ground accumulates water it shows you your water cycling isn’t working.
It's been fun watching your progress! Thank you
You're a great advocate for regenerative farming. Thank you for what you're doing! I subscribed.
I'm excited whenever I see any enthusiastic Regen proponent. I just started advocating on a much smaller scale: the common backyard gardens. 🌿
Prior to stumbling across your channel years ago, I never really thought about soil condition.
I’ve learnt so much & taken a lot of what you’ve shared on board.
I live in Adelaide, Australia and about 30-45 minutes away there is a fertiliser company called Neutrog. They specialise in biological fertilisers & that’s all I ever use now.
Wonderful!
DEAR AUSSIE.... PLEASE WATCH THE THE TH-cam VIDEOS ON THE REGENERATIVE AGRICULTURE EXPERT... MR. GABE BROWN!
You "might' be able to stop purchasing your "biological fertilizers" and do everything naturally.
Also, there are other Aussie videos on TH-cam regarding "Regen Ag" that you might like.... just search "Regenerative Agriculture" and they'll pop up... I just watched on a couple days ago and it was fantastic!!
Amen
Retired, Veteran
Loved watching your cows frolicing across the open fields.
Awesome Josh. Great lessons on self sustainable living. I always learn something
Reminds me of a film called "Back to Eden". Its all about building the soil.
So glad to have found your channel! I've got goats but have goals of doing the same on small scale
Pastures are looking good Stony Ridge Farmer. Ours in Walnut Cove are recovering nicely from these beneficial rains from the last few weeks
Gosh, your evolution is evident....... and you yourself are really demonstrating so much about what farming and learning can produce together...... the “process IS the path” ...I think I heard that somewhere....Grin
I am literally looking into setting up the pasture for rotational grazing cattle right now.
This video is perfect timing! Thank you.
I want to do Dexters if I can find them.
Happy Farming , brother !
Lots of “out of the box” thinking here! Awesome advice to alternative farming
Follow with chooks they eat the fly larvae out of the cow poop
Thanks for the info. What height are you mowing your pastures? You should add llamas for your guard animals. They won’t leave a calf along even if rest of the heard leaves. Keep up the good work
typically around 4-5 inches
I apologize for the fly question. I was listening while at work. As I WATCHED the video during my break, I saw your comments pertaining to flies. THANKS
all good...we're all here to learn together Bessie
This is a very good way to do things I have been doing this for years I would like th put it out there this does not cash flow though it is a financialy losing proposition
I found it hard to give up the “our”, “us” and “we”. Best wishes moving forward Mr Josh
Can you buy more land adjoining to clear, and give yourself some breathing room, Josh?
My Dad did what you’re doing. He approached a commercial piggery for their waste and spread it on top of the soil in sections and observed the results. Tall grass! More retained soil moisture.
The term is Organic farming. I love it. I knew an organic farmer who grafted tomato plants on top of his potato plants and actually grew both tomatoes and potatoes from the same plant. The pomoplant's potatoes and tomatoes we smaller but the percentage of yield from a smaller area on his farm was incredible.
Grafting different plants together seems like pure sorcery to me!
Actually organic farming is becoming an industrialized crock. Anymore all that certification means is no synthetic chemicals and there's even a push right now challenging that... Know the farmer that grows your food, don't rely on labels.
@@snazzyd6915 eh it's fine, its like getting a mule from a donkey and a horse. It can't breed by itself but more docile and hardworking.
Great looking herd! I love cows so much. At the farm I volunteer at I always brush them, they love it. They taste great too.
Watched a video the other day and was shocked to read how brilliant donkeys are as guard animals to your livestock.. learn summin new everyday
Looks to me like the Stoney Ridge Farmer has lost a good bit of weight. Good Job. I thought you might have bought a few of Greg Judy's cows as Missouri is not too much different in weather than NC except for the colder winters.
Great job Josh. Good luck with direct selling your goods. The monopoly needs to be broken that hides behind food safety and enriches the few Packers and retailers.
Awesome stuff Josh, keep on doing what you are doing, it's looking great and we appreciate you sharing!
You got it!
I really like how your running the farm. For us we just not in a place to manage the farm so intensive. What been a hard decision for me is picking out what land to use for field and what needs to go back to woods. We live in WV in very hilly area. Most fields are on hillsides. Mowing can be hard with lots of rocks. I know it would be better to let go of some of it and just use the easier ground because erosion etc. but that a lot of aces to lose. There is many place you can’t get a tractor to and has to be done with weed eater. Just hard to let go of land that has grass on it.
ANDREW, SUGGESTION PLEASE... BEFORE YOU DO ANYTHING, WATCH THE TH-cam VIDEOS ON THE EXPERT IN REGENERATIVE AGRICULTURE... GABE BROWN... THEN CONTACT HIS ORGANIZATIONS FOR ADVICE AND TIPS!
He is consulting to farm owners on OVER 22 MILLION ACRES IN THE USA... so he knows his stuff and what to do.
PLEASE REMEMBER... AMERICA WAS ONCE MILLIONS OF ACRES OF PRAIRIES AND PACKED FULL OF ROCKS AND STONES AND THE BISON AND ANIMALS DID JUST FINE... so should you!
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE do a soil test first, which Gabe can advise you on.
I'm guessing that the rocks won't be a problem because you can run your farm a little differently and still be profitable.
Every farm is different so contact him ASAP.
Amen
Retired, Veteran
Great explaning josh ! I starded intensif mob grazing too and it's getting good result
Just like you did a split trial for the mowing the paddock and found the benefit, you need to do a split trial for ammonia sulphate.
my friend I'm not spreading chemical fertilizer on the farm
@@StoneyRidgeFarmer Im not talking a ton over a few acres. Im saying a five gallon pail over a quarter acre. Preferably just after grazing and just before a rain.
Go for it. You have a big enough following to prove it or disprove it.
So glad to hear this spreading.
I didn’t notice at first but you’ve really shed some weight, looking good bro 😎
I follow Greg Judy and the Understanding Ag channel. Nice to see you making the change - proof that even die-hard metal farmers (who love their tools) can make that change to regenerative and make money at it. 👏👏👏👏 You are so positive, I look forward to your videos.
Chicory can be added for natural deworming. It also grows in cooler months. Cutting grass will help along with dragging. Rock dust is good as well as the rock breaks down adds nutrients over super long periods of time. I live in Virginia similar area just north of you lol.
Good stuff mate, going to enjoy watching some of you’re other clips, we have a beef farm in the South Island of New Zealand. I have been thinking about this idea for a while, going to give it a crack now ! Cheers josh
Trying to do the same thing, only7 head at present. The actual move of the cows each time has been a challenge, even with premier one woven wire. Keeping at it, we'll get it right!
Keep up the great work. Support local organic farmers.
Awesome looking herd! Great tips! You’re so right…..make sure you have good infrastructure in place! I learned that lesson the hard way haha
We run a drag over our pastors after we rotate the cows through just to spread out the manure evenly and it seems to help the grass recover a lot faster
Cows look happy and soil looks healthy. I am definitely saving this video
Good stuff. Reminds me of what Richard Perkins does on his channel, farm and courses, minus the market garden.
I live in NW Chatham county NC on 53 acre farm we bought 1 1/2 years ago built a house and have nice pasture we been cutting hay on. Big follower of Joel Salatin and Greg Judy. My neighbors Bomb their land with fertilizer but I mow mine to encourage earthworms and microbes. They think I’m crazy but I don’t care. Hope to get cows next spring for small time mob grazing. Maybe a chicken tractor or egg mobile too!
Know anyone who needs help on their farm in E. Chatham, Lee, or Harnett? I'm reading Greg Judy's books here in SW Wake and thinking about getting into grazing!
@@tylerboyd570 I really don’t but that doesn’t mean a thing. There may well be someone out there who does. I’m still setting things in place right now. Hang in there and ask around.
My word. Your native soil looks like ours. We have only eight acres, and are working only three. Chickens only.
Been here going on seven years, never fertilized, like you. Soil amendments, yes. Cover cropping, yes. We paddock the hens on grass and under some tree/brush areas, moving them once a week.
The grass areas we seeded also with clovers. Having had the hens out on the grass for four years now, we now have lush, deep green, diverse grass area. I can't call them "pastures"; but the technique is scalable up or down.
Congratulations on reclaiming the land, sir.
I have been following your channel for a few years, and I love seeing the progress you have made. I do also follow Greg Judy, Gabe Brown and quite a few others.
I don’t have cattle, but my small 11.5 acres has rotational grazing for my chickens, geese and pigs.
You are doing a fantastic job!!
First timer. The "whoooo" in the intro song earned the subscribe!
Brilliant advice Josh, your videos are priceless! Thank you so much buddy.
@@rosalinaannpabelico7983 Hi Rosalina, I’m doing ok thank you. How are you?
@@rosalinaannpabelico7983 Sure no problem, a pleasure to meet you. Where are you from?
Could you run like 1” poly line to several key spots for waterers? Pretty sure they make a tractor Implement. that digs, places, and buries the line behind the tractor.
Anyway love your stuff. Learned a ton from you. Thanks for sharing your knowledge with us.
more coming soon...but I'm not gonna burry line twice if I can help it ...I've got 1-1/4 inch line to run throughout the whole farm
Josh, thank you for sharing your learnings and experiences with this type of farming. As one who will soon be doing small-scale animal husbandry, this is the content that I enjoy most. More please!
josh, i encourage you to research gabe brown's regenerative ag practices on his ranch, great information
love this, will be following you for regenerative farming tips!!!
Love what you guys are doing and the approach you take.
Josh, I have property in the country, but have to live in the city for work 😢, your videos make me happy. Count your blessings 👍🏻.
Hello from my Minnesota TH-cam Channel! Always got to keep learning!
Your local NRCS office could help you plan/design a system, and possibly even provide funding for the project.
Cost share is available from NRCS and/or local conservation office for grazing infrastructure and for rotational grazing!
yeah...go over there and talk to them and see what kinda maze of Bull crap they send you through. I'm completely disappointed in my NRCS office...all they want is for me to sign up so they can get more money next year! Installing a well and waterers on people's 5 acre property that raise cows for 2 years and sell out/abandon the "free" well. No thanks...keep the gov't off my land! Sorry...I don't mean to be negative but it's a bunch of political garbage in my county!
You did such a good job bringing your farm back
Thanks for keeping it real Josh.
Your ranch looks beautiful
You are doing a really good job
Your doing some great stuff their Josh. Keep up the great work. You have come a long way from the first video of yours on YT.
We have 3 acres. Please check out Glen Rabenburg, & Gabe Brown, soil builders.
Keep it simple, make it fun🌻
I've seen videos where chickens follow a day behind the cows. They scratch apart the cowpats and eat the fly larvae.
You are doing it right!! The creators design is the best design!!
We have 5 cows (4 Dexters and one mini-Jersey) on two 6-acre pastures. We rotate them daily and only have water in one place. Although they have to walk up to the trough they seem to do fine. If they can get to water in a 10-minute walk or less it is supposed to be ok. We are currently getting 66 days of rest on each paddock--and that is in the central Texas summer! This is our third year of intensive rotational grazing and our pasture has exploded this year. I don't know why folks are reluctant to give this method a try--it has paid us huge dividends! We do not feed grain at all to our cows and our hay bill is about 10% of what it was in previous years.
The real school of thought is to have the waterers within 800 feet of the cows at all times. This prevents "Mob Drinking".....however we don't have water everywhere just yet...so the cows are walking to the water on one side of the farm....the other side has waterers within 800 feet in all areas
@@StoneyRidgeFarmer That's a good point that I hadn't considered. I only have five head so it hasn't been an issue. But if you have several more as you do I can see where mob drinking could be problematic. Thanks for the input--I will have to keep that in mind as we (hopefully) grow our herd.