I just completed my first rotation with my rams - 66 days. The forage is beautiful, and the lads are just doing great. Thanks for the know how Mr. and Mrs. Judy!
As long as the dew is around, your grass is drought-proof. It's amazing how the grass can grow up tall and snatch that water right out of the morning air.
When we get to upgrade to cattle on the homestead I'm always gonna have Mr. Judy in the back of my mind giving me advice. Best channel on TH-cam hands down. thx again for the great content!!
Most likely, and that's one way they get their necessary water. But some of it must slide onto the soil if not just non just on its own then when the cows come by and disturb the grass by walking through it and getting bites out of it. The cows get water this way, too, btw.
It's good to see someone with forage growing. Although we don't have it as bad as Wyoming or Utah, in our area of Ontario Canada, we haven't had significant rain in well over a month, and anything we get is followed by such bad heat that any moisture we got evaporates in a few hours. 2 foot tall pasture that we haven't even rotated onto yet this year is already dead and dry standing!
so far love your new book!! i once used old hay on a road like it didnt need any extra seeding, i did it the hard way a pitch fork and square bales that were falling apart, the following spring it was the darkest green spot on the place, i wish i would have done more,, great tips and video
Here in north central North Dakota, we are in an exceptional drought. It's very tough right now. On top of no rain/moisture, the wind blows almost everyday. While some may say it's not about how much rain you get, those folks don't understand what it's like to only get a few inches of moisture. Get back to me when you've only had 5 or 6 inches of moisture, or less, in a 12 month period.
I don't know what that's like to be in your situation, but I will say that because we have mostly 1 or 2% organic matter across many acres in my region as the population boom caused all hills that could have the rocks removed to be plowed straight down hill during harder times cropland and grasslands often do not make good use of rain during the summer, and there is truth to what Jan and Greg said here.
Marty I feel for you, we have been in your situation back in 2000. We went a full year with no rain. Everything turned brown and cracks opened up in the ground. We were custom grazers at that time. We destocked the farm and waited for rains to return.
@@swamp-yankee I absolutely believe in what Greg and Jan are doing, they are amazing! But others have made comments that it's not about how much rain you get, but the effectiveness of the rain. It's just really hard to something with nothing. But, this to shall pass and will hopefully be better for it!
Sold yearling steers and several good cows. The old me said "don't " but this way is better. Stock for a drought then if drought comes we'll take it much better.
Everything you are saying makes perfect sense, knowing what to do and being able to understand how things work in harmony. Excellent teaching Greg and Jan. Thumbs up!
I remember you guys doing that. Its absolutely beautiful here in Massachusetts. 70s. Cool season grasses are exploding. The bunnies have shown up it took a couple years. I built rabbitats all around my pasture. God bless
Greg, I remember in one of your videos there was a field that was essentially a single contiguous field other than the arbitrary straight line property line between what you managed and your neighbor --- there was such an incredible difference between your side and theirs. I don't remember the video's name, and I've seen almost all your videos now, and that's the only time I recall being able to so clearly see the difference in your management practice and your neighbors. I'd like to see more of that. I've told many people about that, it was very striking visually. Peace.
Only listen to terms and conditions pertaining to and including these three words. "Don't do that!" I'm 8,000 miles off in RSA. And. My word. Have I learnt a lot! Thank you is such a small term............ God bless!
When I was a child mum would take me out to pick the flowers off the clovers in our back yard and then we went over to Mrs Billy Boy and asked permission to pick some of her roses . When we got the flowers in mum's kitchen we took the petals off. mum called what she made honey I don't remember how she made it but I do remember that it was some good on toast. It was years before I found out that she was Mrs. William Duplisea and that we were related. I can still see Billy Boy sitting on their front porch steps he wore a fedora dress pants and a white shirt. I was convinced that money grew on trees because they would sprinkle pennies and nickels under the trees on the side lawn! they took delight in watching , me and the other neighbour children find the treasure, from their living room window. Today I harvested for the first time some lettuce that I have in planters by my kitchen door I filled a big bowl to cook with onions and ginger root .I wonder how long before I can graze where the first batch was cut! A beautiful evening thanks ,I enjoyed your company and the look on your face when She Who Must Be Obeyed spoke and you turned back😇😅🙋🏼♀️☘️🍀☘️🍀🖖🖖🖖🖖🖖👍👍👍👍👍❤️
These two HoneeEeez have built an incredible lifestyle, and I'm just grateful that they've decided to do so much to help me learn how to do it too :-) P.s. Greg, Paul Sellers, who is an amazing woodworker/jointer, calls himself a "lifestyle woodworker" ... it took me a while to get what that meant, but I get it now. I think it might work for you, too -- the lifestyle grazier.
He not only retains the rain that falls on his fields, but he also gets the water from surrounding farms that let their rain run off their soil. It's no wonder his fields are green while theirs aren't.
I really needed to hear Jan talk about selling her steers... loosing customers.. & Greg say 'but we stayed in business and saved our genetics'. This video could have been premised with 'Now Lana...." hahaha
I allow the grass to get cleaned up . And then a rest of longer time. Minimum of 60 days. This makes a much thicker pastures. I only give what they can eat in one day to three days.
@@TheConloo good question.. you can measure how much moisture is in the atmosphere but how much gets to the roots may be hard to figure out... but you see Greg walking through the pasture in the morning with pants that are soaked... i imagine just feeling into the surface of the soil regularly and comparing it with other pastures not maintained well and you might see something...
I wouldn't say almost. :) And just compare how much moisture he's collecting all night and early morning, how it slides down the grass and onto soil that's protected from the sun, with a field where the cows just wander where they want and eat all the best stuff down to the dirt while leaving the less desirable plants still standing. Or not. I think it's safe to say bare ground does not get dewy.
Don’t know much about Florida grazing so a bit of a guess without looking at anything but probably 3 per acre no problem. Could be double that. Start small and breed. IMO.
Hi Greg, I am buying a farm that has not been maintained in certain areas. Lots of overgrowth. Would you mow it once before putting goats or sheep on it or just let them have at it? I am not planning on running cattle
@@ironhillfarms9273 to some degree i disagree. If you soil was healthy prior to drought your "carbon hold" remains longer which means you retain water in the soil for longer. Greg is retaining a hell of a lot of water in his soil. Over extended perior of droughts like we get in africa it will catch up with you but that is why you need to plan ahead. We plan for 3 year periods... When there is drought there will always be dew provided you have plant material...
@@drevil2783 dew volume is also reliant on climate. When we get drought here, even at sunrise, all surfaces are barren and dry. During Drought we rarely see cooling temperatures overnight either though. I agree in a climate where you get an overnight temperature drop, Dew can carry you a long way with healthy soil. but you do need that dew. A couple inches a year of rain can keep healthy soil going, but you still need that couple of inches. Some places here folks haven't collected 1/2" of rain since February.
You don't, you give those pastures a more severe grazing to buy time for the others, Hoping that you still have pasture in front of the cows when the rain does come. 1 Severe grazing isn't ideal, but it can be a tool. Repeated severe grazings is when you start to deplete root carbohydrate stores and killing plants and stand density.
Your trying to buy time when you tighten them up, If you keep up your same speed of moving them, you will have a grazing wreck that will ruin your whole farm. It's better to overgraze a few paddocks than the entire farm. You should also be destocking 10% of your cow herd at the start of grass slowing down its growth when hot weather hits. Your trying to buy more time for it to rain. Remember that in droughty weather, your forages are more mineral dense and the cows do not require as much forage to perform well.
Greg. If I decide to get rid of a few old cows what would you recommend? Sale barn? I just can’t stomach getting so little for my older cows. Hamburger would bring so much more profit. But butcher shops are a year out on bookings. Watched most of you videos and read comments but never seen what you do with your old cows if destocking . Thanks!
If you can't get them butchered they need to go to the sale barn. They are eating precious grass that your younger more profitable cows could be eating.
@@wadepatton2433 Rest is a very misunderstood tool. When government people have put of national parks or other types of protected area to minimize the impact of grazing animals, they are using the tool of rest, it basically means protecting an area for a long period. Some plots have been protect for decades and the degradation from over-rest is terrible. Grasslands are dynamic, they need Impact followed by Recovery, that is how they work and developed. (protecting land in for example rain forests can be a good option, or in humid environments in general, but not for grasslands in brittle environments) Here is an article about all of the tool we haves to manage our environment, including the tool of rest. savory.global/the-missing-tool-without-which-climate-change-cannot-be-addressed/
Well if a neighbour believes Greg gets more rain i think they are in the wrong game. To think that just proves that they are less intelligent??? Farming requires intelligent people, period.
Some farmers do not have access to as many acres as you do, therefore their pastures may not get the proper rest so they're forced to feed some hay. They're just trying to survive too.
@@ruedaricardo We have more cattle than the farm can "officially " ie catttle / acres support. So we try to "survive "by making hay on ground that is not nearby,ie 2-3 miles away.Most people don't have access to 1000 contiguous acres.I realize it would be less expensive to graze & not feed hay, but no two farms are alike. We are very aware & conservative with our land/ soils.
@@tim7409 that's true, but whatever type land one has or wherever. Rotational grazing creates more grass. Can't understand how farms work without paddocks. We say here grow in 21days and graze in 3, that said Ireland is the best place in the world to grow grass. I've cut artificial fertilizer to the bone and maintained high weight gain, If growth is poor, give them only enough for a day and kick them out to the next patch. If cattle are grazing the same land for more than three days you are losing out, that's the same if one farm's in Ireland with massive grass growth or semi desert plains.
I love when Jan holds the camera and asks questions! Best format ever!
I just completed my first rotation with my rams - 66 days. The forage is beautiful, and the lads are just doing great. Thanks for the know how Mr. and Mrs. Judy!
As long as the dew is around, your grass is drought-proof. It's amazing how the grass can grow up tall and snatch that water right out of the morning air.
You got a good director there, Mr. Judy, reminding you to talk into the camera and everything.
When we get to upgrade to cattle on the homestead I'm always gonna have Mr. Judy in the back of my mind giving me advice. Best channel on TH-cam hands down. thx again for the great content!!
What might not be known: leaves of grass absorb moisture through the leaves and the roots. Leaves absorb dew.
Most likely, and that's one way they get their necessary water. But some of it must slide onto the soil if not just non just on its own then when the cows come by and disturb the grass by walking through it and getting bites out of it. The cows get water this way, too, btw.
the two of you interacting so lovingly is heartwarming. Great information too. Love your videos!
Was great to interview you today - a real highlight for me - love seeing all that grass
Is this James? If so, I thoroughly enjoyed our zoom chat as well. Hope to see you in Britain one of these days!
Thanks for caring. Time will tell. The Earth is our Mother, respect her and she will teach you how to survive.
Happy belated birthday. That's also our daughter's birthday. She's 2. :)
Incredibly beautiful. Thanks Jen and Greg for this lesson! 👍😊❤️
It's a great day to live in Missouri!
You two make great videos together. Very enjoyable and informative.
It's good to see someone with forage growing. Although we don't have it as bad as Wyoming or Utah, in our area of Ontario Canada, we haven't had significant rain in well over a month, and anything we get is followed by such bad heat that any moisture we got evaporates in a few hours. 2 foot tall pasture that we haven't even rotated onto yet this year is already dead and dry standing!
so far love your new book!! i once used old hay on a road like it didnt need any extra seeding, i did it the hard way a pitch fork and square bales that were falling apart, the following spring it was the darkest green spot on the place, i wish i would have done more,, great tips and video
Here in north central North Dakota, we are in an exceptional drought. It's very tough right now. On top of no rain/moisture, the wind blows almost everyday. While some may say it's not about how much rain you get, those folks don't understand what it's like to only get a few inches of moisture. Get back to me when you've only had 5 or 6 inches of moisture, or less, in a 12 month period.
I don't know what that's like to be in your situation, but I will say that because we have mostly 1 or 2% organic matter across many acres in my region as the population boom caused all hills that could have the rocks removed to be plowed straight down hill during harder times cropland and grasslands often do not make good use of rain during the summer, and there is truth to what Jan and Greg said here.
Marty I feel for you, we have been in your situation back in 2000. We went a full year with no rain. Everything turned brown and cracks opened up in the ground. We were custom grazers at that time. We destocked the farm and waited for rains to return.
@@swamp-yankee I absolutely believe in what Greg and Jan are doing, they are amazing! But others have made comments that it's not about how much rain you get, but the effectiveness of the rain. It's just really hard to something with nothing. But, this to shall pass and will hopefully be better for it!
@@martypowell124 I hope you get some moisture soon.
@@martypowell124 also I think Jan made that effectiveness of rainfall statement in this video.
Another tool for the toolbox . We are learning soo much!
Listening and learning.. Thanks Greg and Judy! I remember yall seeding this
Sold yearling steers and several good cows. The old me said "don't " but this way is better. Stock for a drought then if drought comes we'll take it much better.
That is some kind of lush forage, thanks for sharing your supper with us Greg, lol!
Looks like the auction for the heifer starter kit is doing well!
Mr Judy.... you have an amazing soul.... GOD Bless you n your family
Thank you greg. You've motivated me beyond belief.
Everything you are saying makes perfect sense, knowing what to do and being able to understand how things work in harmony. Excellent teaching Greg and Jan. Thumbs up!
Glad it was helpful!
Honey, what do you mean that's my dinner?🤣 Love you guys❤️
Had a pretty nice June here in Tennessee so far. Looking like lows in the mid 50s next week which is fantastic.
I love that you show and name the various grasses. Always learn something.
You have done gods work! Hopefully your wisdom continues to spread and heals the world. Cheers to you!!!
I remember you guys doing that. Its absolutely beautiful here in Massachusetts. 70s. Cool season grasses are exploding. The bunnies have shown up it took a couple years. I built rabbitats all around my pasture. God bless
Happy belated Birthday!!! To another 61 years!!
Greg, I remember in one of your videos there was a field that was essentially a single contiguous field other than the arbitrary straight line property line between what you managed and your neighbor --- there was such an incredible difference between your side and theirs. I don't remember the video's name, and I've seen almost all your videos now, and that's the only time I recall being able to so clearly see the difference in your management practice and your neighbors. I'd like to see more of that. I've told many people about that, it was very striking visually. Peace.
Thank you for continuing to teach!!!
I’m not a farmer I just love learning about the ecosystem and the farm.
Only listen to terms and conditions pertaining to and including these three words.
"Don't do that!"
I'm 8,000 miles off in RSA.
And. My word.
Have I learnt a lot!
Thank you is such a small term............
God bless!
Good one!
When I was a child mum would take me out to pick the flowers off the clovers in our back yard and then we went over to Mrs Billy Boy and asked permission to pick some of her roses . When we got the flowers in mum's kitchen we took the petals off. mum called what she made honey I don't remember how she made it but I do remember that it was some good on toast. It was years before I found out that she was Mrs. William Duplisea and that we were related. I can still see Billy Boy sitting on their front porch steps he wore a fedora dress pants and a white shirt. I was convinced that money grew on trees because they would sprinkle pennies and nickels under the trees on the side lawn! they took delight in watching , me and the other neighbour children find the treasure, from their living room window. Today I harvested for the first time some lettuce that I have in planters by my kitchen door I filled a big bowl to cook with onions and ginger root .I wonder how long before I can graze where the first batch was cut! A beautiful evening thanks ,I enjoyed your company and the look on your face when She Who Must Be Obeyed spoke and you turned back😇😅🙋🏼♀️☘️🍀☘️🍀🖖🖖🖖🖖🖖👍👍👍👍👍❤️
Happy belated birthday 🎉🎂🎉! Thanks for all you do, it's so inspiring.
Absolutely beautiful ❤️ pasture!! Thanks you guys for this educational lesson!
Greg, every thing you said is correct. It is not how much rain you get, but how much moisture you keep in the ground.
These two HoneeEeez have built an incredible lifestyle, and I'm just grateful that they've decided to do so much to help me learn how to do it too :-)
P.s. Greg, Paul Sellers, who is an amazing woodworker/jointer, calls himself a "lifestyle woodworker" ... it took me a while to get what that meant, but I get it now. I think it might work for you, too -- the lifestyle grazier.
Our pleasure!
Amazing channel! I always learn something valuable.
Best TH-cam line of 2021 “that is your dinner now”. Lol. Any time frame when 3rd book will ship out? I ordered my book this week. Ty vm
If you do get rain it would be very enlightening to document how your managed pastures retain the rain compared to other pastures in your area.
He not only retains the rain that falls on his fields, but he also gets the water from surrounding farms that let their rain run off their soil. It's no wonder his fields are green while theirs aren't.
I really needed to hear Jan talk about selling her steers... loosing customers.. & Greg say 'but we stayed in business and saved our genetics'. This video could have been premised with 'Now Lana...." hahaha
I allow the grass to get cleaned up . And then a rest of longer time. Minimum of 60 days. This makes a much thicker pastures. I only give what they can eat in one day to three days.
Clover and a good steak! LOL Nice video you two!
it almost makes sense that a dense, cool surface is going to attract the most moisture from the atmosphere from what is available...
I wonder how much water condensates onto the soil surface and understory. Nature has systems built-in to help her and us!
@@TheConloo
good question.. you can measure how much moisture is in the atmosphere but how much gets to the roots may be hard to figure out... but you see Greg walking through the pasture in the morning with pants that are soaked... i imagine just feeling into the surface of the soil regularly and comparing it with other pastures not maintained well and you might see something...
@@TheConloo
universities could do soil moisture testing on two comparative fields and might see the difference...
@@TheConloo
a complication might be mycorrhizal fungi and if they play any role in water transport.
I wouldn't say almost. :) And just compare how much moisture he's collecting all night and early morning, how it slides down the grass and onto soil that's protected from the sun, with a field where the cows just wander where they want and eat all the best stuff down to the dirt while leaving the less desirable plants still standing. Or not. I think it's safe to say bare ground does not get dewy.
Man that’s some awesome forage!
Greg I wish you would dig some holes to see what the root structure looks like.
yeah people say that about my farm i get more rain i just manage it better hahaha
Today we got up to 128. Nice and cool.
I've got seven acres I'm working on in Florida and I'm curious on how many sheep would i be able to fit on 7 acres with having consistent grazing?🤔
Look up the recommend stocking rate in your county, and start there.
Don’t know much about Florida grazing so a bit of a guess without looking at anything but probably 3 per acre no problem. Could be double that. Start small and breed. IMO.
Dew on plants is underrated, it’s free moisture and makes a difference.
Curious if studies have been done ?
What do you do about poison hemlock in a pasture. Do you not worry about it and roll out hay and seed over it to drowned it out?
I would like to see an update on that strip you clipped in a few months. Just to see if there is any difference.
"Talk to the camera, hun" :)
Hi Greg, I am buying a farm that has not been maintained in certain areas. Lots of overgrowth. Would you mow it once before putting goats or sheep on it or just let them have at it? I am not planning on running cattle
Its not about how much rain you get, its about the effectiveness of the rain.
And how healthy your soil is...
@@drevil2783 healthy soil is definitely part of being able to use the rain effectively.
When there's no rain, the best soil in the world still can't help you!
@@ironhillfarms9273 to some degree i disagree. If you soil was healthy prior to drought your "carbon hold" remains longer which means you retain water in the soil for longer. Greg is retaining a hell of a lot of water in his soil. Over extended perior of droughts like we get in africa it will catch up with you but that is why you need to plan ahead. We plan for 3 year periods...
When there is drought there will always be dew provided you have plant material...
@@drevil2783 dew volume is also reliant on climate. When we get drought here, even at sunrise, all surfaces are barren and dry. During Drought we rarely see cooling temperatures overnight either though.
I agree in a climate where you get an overnight temperature drop, Dew can carry you a long way with healthy soil. but you do need that dew. A couple inches a year of rain can keep healthy soil going, but you still need that couple of inches. Some places here folks haven't collected 1/2" of rain since February.
So when someone says they will eat all of the grass down to nothing by slowing them down, how do you keep them from doing that?
You don't, you give those pastures a more severe grazing to buy time for the others, Hoping that you still have pasture in front of the cows when the rain does come. 1 Severe grazing isn't ideal, but it can be a tool. Repeated severe grazings is when you start to deplete root carbohydrate stores and killing plants and stand density.
Slowing them down is not stopping them. Taking more than usual is not the same thing as over-grazing.
Your trying to buy time when you tighten them up, If you keep up your same speed of moving them, you will have a grazing wreck that will ruin your whole farm. It's better to overgraze a few paddocks than the entire farm. You should also be destocking 10% of your cow herd at the start of grass slowing down its growth when hot weather hits. Your trying to buy more time for it to rain. Remember that in droughty weather, your forages are more mineral dense and the cows do not require as much forage to perform well.
Elon probably posting the best tweet of his life tomorrow to get cryptos back up. The dip is just an opportunity to get more cryptos
For real crypto is profitable
I got Elliot Benjamin info how good is he ?
Greg. If I decide to get rid of a few old cows what would you recommend? Sale barn? I just can’t stomach getting so little for my older cows. Hamburger would bring so much more profit. But butcher shops are a year out on bookings. Watched most of you videos and read comments but never seen what you do with your old cows if destocking . Thanks!
If you can't get them butchered they need to go to the sale barn. They are eating precious grass that your younger more profitable cows could be eating.
1% extra organic matter in the soil, holds a inch of moisture in the ground.
Rest = Permanent, which is bad.
Recovery = Temporary, which is good.
I thought I recovered while I was resting. That both were beneficial to progress/performance.
@@wadepatton2433 Rest is a very misunderstood tool. When government people have put of national parks or other types of protected area to minimize the impact of grazing animals, they are using the tool of rest, it basically means protecting an area for a long period.
Some plots have been protect for decades and the degradation from over-rest is terrible.
Grasslands are dynamic, they need Impact followed by Recovery, that is how they work and developed.
(protecting land in for example rain forests can be a good option, or in humid environments in general, but not for grasslands in brittle environments)
Here is an article about all of the tool we haves to manage our environment, including the tool of rest.
savory.global/the-missing-tool-without-which-climate-change-cannot-be-addressed/
@@Gustav4 Thanks for perspective of the terminology in the respect. I'll read up. Green it up.
You need some ranch dip for your snack
I would like to know if you ever cut hay?
Never ever will I cut hay, makes no sense when you can buy it for $40 a bale.
Well if a neighbour believes Greg gets more rain i think they are in the wrong game. To think that just proves that they are less intelligent??? Farming requires intelligent people, period.
The pasture is a big sponge
it won't rain we had a horrendous drought in Australia last few years droughts are due to low sunspots
What?!? My birthday is 6/14 also
Stop disagreeing with Jan will ya :)
Grass Whisperer, Jan digs it when I disagree with her :)
😁👌🖖👍✌😎
Some farmers do not have access to as many acres as you do, therefore their pastures may not get the proper rest so they're forced to feed some hay. They're just trying to survive too.
Tim, it’s not about how much area you have access too. It’s about managing whatever you’ve got
@@ruedaricardo We have more cattle than the farm can "officially " ie catttle / acres support. So we try to "survive "by making hay on ground that is not nearby,ie 2-3 miles away.Most people don't have access to 1000 contiguous acres.I realize it would be less expensive to graze & not feed hay, but no two farms are alike. We are very aware & conservative with our land/ soils.
@@tim7409 that's true, but whatever type land one has or wherever. Rotational grazing creates more grass. Can't understand how farms work without paddocks.
We say here grow in 21days and graze in 3, that said Ireland is the best place in the world to grow grass. I've cut artificial fertilizer to the bone and maintained high weight gain,
If growth is poor, give them only enough for a day and kick them out to the next patch.
If cattle are grazing the same land for more than three days you are losing out, that's the same if one farm's in Ireland with massive grass growth or semi desert plains.
I know one day I'm going to buy a Greg heifer and a Sonne farm Bull to create the best critters ever......
Imagine trying to do a 3mile run through that grass. You're gonna be wasted.....trpping all over yourself😆😆😆