Pasture Crop fall 2020

As described in our previous post, we are trying our first Pasture Crop as part of the CCTA-Farms Advancing Regenerative Management Systems project. Pasture cropping is simply planting an annual crop into existing pasture. The pasture is made up of primarily warm season perennial grasses that grow back every year, we don’t need to do anything and the grass just comes back.

So why would we try to add an annual crop, that we must plant with a tractor and planter into this same ground? Since warm season pasture grass goes dormant from November to May, this creates a window of opportunity for a crop of annual cool season grass. The cool season grasses will be capturing sunlight, and CO2 while pumping sugars (carbon) from photosynthesis into the soil while the warm season grasses take a break.

Photo October 5th, one month after seeding cool season annual grasses into our pasture. The “Pasture Crop” is coming up, green rows of annual cool season grass, in front of our mobile pasture chicken coops. The chickens enjoyed the fresh greens!

In the photo above, the warm season pasture grass is turning brown and going dormant while the newly seeded cool season annual pasture crop is actively growing. The pasture crop is utilizing free solar energy and putting that energy into the soil as carbon that we would not normally be capturing this time of year.

Herd prepares pasture for cropping

We grazed the herd this past summer at various levels of intensity across the pasture where we seeded annual grasses. In addition, we mowed a small portion of the pasture for the chicken coops to more easily move through. Below are photos showing different levels of grazing in the pasture and what we found for the new pasture crop. The left side of the photo is a view of the grazed pasture and the right side of the photo is a ground level close up of the new seedlings (photos taken September 18th, 13 days following planting).

Seeding information

The pasture crop seed mix obtained from Green Cover Seed, Bladen Nebraska:

  • 73% Winter Triticale
  • 10% Winter Peas
  • 6% Annual Ryegrass
  • 5% Hairy Vetch
  • 3% White Clover
  • 3% Red Clover

Planting date September 5th. Our fields were dry at planting and a few days after seeding we received a 2 inch rain (prayers are answered). Since then, we have had very little precipitation but have experienced dewy mornings and last week, 2 inches of snow.

The various seeding rates tried: ~55, ~60, ~70 and ~80 lbs. of seed per acre. Next spring we will clip and weigh final pasture crop growth to see if there was differences in total grass grown versus seeding rates.

What has nature accomplished so far?

Below are some seedlings we dug up over the past two months and gently washed the soil off the roots. The first photo below gives an excellent comparison of an annual grass plant root system versus a perennial grass plant roots.

10 days after planting. Annual cool season grass (Winter Triticale) on left and two small perennial grasses on the right. Note root mass difference.
22 days after planting. One small warm season grass on far right and four Winter Triticale seedlings for comparison.
22 days after planting. Winter Triticale seedling from previous photo with roots spread apart for detail.
Two cool season legumes at 37 days after planting. Winter Peas on the left and Hairy Vetch on the right.
How much root impact is that?

Currently our soil moisture condition is ok. We did have snow and cold last week but the 10 day forecast includes multiple days of sun with temperatures in the 60 to 70 degree range. The pasture crop will easily provide 2+ months of extra solar energy capture and carbon inputs into our pasture soils this fall.

If we just consider the winter triticale, seeded at an average rate of 67.5 lbs. per acre… that comes to 1,080,000 (yes that would be 1 million +) plants per acre. Each of these plants dribbling photosynthesis sugar into the soil microbiome through their roots while our native warm season plants go dormant. Granted, all of those seeds probably did not germinate, but that still sounds like a lot of additional soil ecosystem food already released this fall. And remember, these cool season plants should have a longer growing season yet to come next spring! On top of that, when was the last time the microbes living in our pasture soils had the opportunity to gorge themselves on winter triticale sugars? I would venture the guess of never. So we have added new root systems (habitat) and root exudates (food) that should diversify our soil microbe population or at least make the existing population healthier and happier. We like to see happy cows and happy microbes in our pastures.

From skeptical to optimistic

You can read why we were skeptical in the blog post prior to this one concerning this pasture cropping test. We still may be a little skeptical. But based on the results we have seen so far, things are definitely looking up! Stay tuned for future updates and we will leave you with a few final photos of the 2020 fall pasture crop.

Some lucky cover crop seedlings coming up through a cows calling card.
Mobile pasture chicken coops heading into some fresh green pasture crop seedlings.

Soil health project

We are excited to be working with the Colorado Conservation Tillage Association in the FARMS (Farmers advancing regenerative management systems) project. Previously on this blog, we have discussed the importance of soil health and how it relates to all of us. Healthy Soils = Healthy Plants = Healthy Animals = Healthy Humans. Remember, we have a direct link to the soil. Humans are “beings of the soil”.

Quick review, the five main soil health principals (that apply anywhere):

  • Keep the soil covered
  • Disturb the soil less
  • Plant diversity
  • Living root as long as possible
  • Animal impact
Drilling a cool season annual into a predominately warm season grass stand, a technique called “pasture cropping”.

Pasture Crop

Our Soil Health plan involves a number of practices but the one of most interest to us is the idea of accelerating land regeneration through a process called “pasture cropping”. The idea is to add an annual crop into an existing pasture stand of perennial grass. Let’s say we are intrigued by the idea but at the same time question the overall concept.

We question:

  • Why would one want to add “inputs” like the cost of seed, labor and drilling, into a system that will produce grass with basically no inputs besides proper grazing management?
  • Will the added plant diversity and living root increase soil health more rapidly?
  • Will the added crop even survive?

Since the area we are trying pasture cropping is old cropland, it seems easier to justify the effort of pasture cropping. This land was reseeded to grass about 35 years ago and currently has limited plant diversity. We know we can improve this land with grazing alone, but maybe pasture cropping will accelerate the process. It would be more difficult to justify trying this in a native prairie that already has excellent plant diversity.

I guess others thought it was worth investigating, so with the support of the FARMS Project, we will give it a try. Stay tuned as we share more information about the practices we are trying, how we will monitor change and our progress along the way.

2020 Grassfed beef

Harvest time has arrived. It just makes sense that the best time to harvest Certified Grassfed Beef is from pasture, with green forages, near the end of the growing season. Our pastures are predominantly warm-seasons grasses and as August comes to a close, our growing season is 90% complete. The herd has spent all summer putting on fat for the upcoming winter.

What makes sense, according to natural cycles, is backed up by science. We have written extensively about healthy fats in previous blog posts and documented our results by lab testing the fatty acid profile of our beef. Wherever you see green (grass, leaves, chlorophyll) you are are looking at Omega 3 fats. Omega 3 fats are the most abundant fats in nature BUT they are also highly perishable. These fats are lost once the plant dies (cut for hay). In addition, Omega 3 fats do not persist long within the animal. So to capture these Omega 3 fats in the beef we provide our customers, now is our primary harvest time.

2020 Pasture Grazed Beef Photos

Below are a few photos of beeves that will be harvested in 2020. We are happy with how these animals look. Vibrant, healthy and showing good “grass fat” cover. Remember, these animals have never been fed an ounce of grain. By the way, do you know they can’t digest grass either? The billions of microbes in their gut do the work to convert inedible green forages and into fatty acids that build and maintain the animal. This unique process creates healthy animals and meat that our customers consume. God’s design is simply amazing.

Note the horizontal lines across the gut of this animal, we call those “happy lines”. Defines good grass fat cover on a happy animal.
Note the smooth cover over the top of the animal across the back hip bones. A small framed 2+ year old 100% grass fed steer.
Note the vertical lines (folds) from the neck back over the shoulders. Indicates a supple hide with adequate fat cover. This animal also shows horizontal “happy lines” over the gut. (Big bluestem grass with seed heads in foreground)
Healthy looking (bright eyed) animal. Horizontal happy lines over gut. Smooth cover over rump. Skin folds on neck and shoulders. A nice small framed, grass fed 2+ year old steer.

If you are interested in trying some local pasture grazed/grassfed beef, check out our Beef Bundle Info web page. This is your opportunity to take home this unique product. Beef (especially pasture-fed) is a wise choice according to the wisest man of all times. King Solomon’s Daily Provisions:

22 Solomon’s daily provisions were thirty cors of the finest flour and sixty cors of meal, 23 ten head of stall-fed cattle, twenty of pasture-fed cattle and a hundred sheep and goats, as well as deer, gazelles, roebucks and choice fowl. 

1 Kings Chapter 4 (www.biblegateway.com)

SYA FARM

You would need to be a local to this part of Nebraska to know what “SYA” stands for! The pastures where our cattle graze are right along US Highway 34 just west of Lincoln Nebraska. As you continue west on US 34 you will encounter the following County Seat Towns: Seward, York and Aurora (SYA).

DS Family Farm actually resides on SYA Farm. Sheila's Great Grandparents farm.
DS Family Farm actually resides on SYA Farm. Sheila’s Great Grandparents farm.

We are thankful to Sheila’s parents, Orell and Jane Piening for selling us part of the SYA Farm to build our home. Sheila’s dad Orell says the SYA Farm was his best Milo (sorghum) farm. How times change! One would be hard pressed to find a milo field within 50 miles of this farm now. The farms cropland was entered into the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) around 1987 and has been in permanent grass cover since.

Jane and Orell Piening. Sheila’s parents and owners of SYA Farm, where our cattle herd roams.

Cattle on SYA Farm through the years

Besides raising milo, the SYA Farm has always had some pasture that Orell grazed with a herd of Hereford cattle and where our herd grazes today. Sheila always enjoyed the Herefords growing up and was all for us starting our current cow herd. When Sheila and I first started looking for cattle, Herefords were the breed of first choice (Doug’s Grandpa also raised Herefords). Unfortunately the Hereford breed had changed enough through the years that it was difficult to find good “grass type Herefords” for our 100% grassfed program.

Orell with favorite horned Herford Bull 1972.
Orell with favorite horned Hereford bull. Photo taken in 1972 at SYA Farm. That is a great looking “grass type” Hereford. Note the ring in the bulls nose attached to a lead rope.

The Hereford, as a cattle breed, has increased in overall size through the years since these pictures were taken in 1972. Note the bulls shoulder height in these photos. This bull does not even reach Orell’s shoulder height! The compact size and depth of this bull along with the noticeable soft hide (visible rolls along the neck and over the rib) are all indications of an animal that will do excellent on a grass only diet. Doug would love to have this kind of bull in our herd today. Over the past few decades, all cattle breeds have been “bred up” for taller and larger calves that will spend a lot of time in feedlots getting fat on corn. It is very difficult to find a compact “grass type” bull like this today.

Sheila with sister Shelly and brother Scott in background.
Sheila with sister Shelly and brother Scott in background.

How to load a bull

Our boys learned to drive using the 1966 Chevy pickup truck pictured in the above photo. Orell tells how he could simply load this bull on to the truck with a lead rope (note the ring in the bulls nose and lead rope in the earlier photo). Yes, that is Sheila with her siblings in the background admiring this good looking “grass type” bull. We are grateful that Orell and Jane have allowed us the opportunity to transform SYA Farm into DS Family Farm. Even though our current herd is not made up of Herefords, with pretty white faces, we did stick with “red” colored cattle.

Two 2020 DS Family Farm (red hided) Grass Fat beef.

Annual Omega 6:3 Update

Each year after harvesting our Pasture Grazed Beef we send a sample of our beef to Midwest Labs in Omaha Nebraska for analysis. We raise our beef on pasture 24 hours a day, 7 days a week 365 days a year, with NO ADDED GRAINS. Does how we manage our herd actually make a difference in the final product our customers receive compared to conventional grocery store beef? Below is our updated chart from beef harvested last fall (2019).

2019 Omega 6:3 Ration

2019 Results

Currently we harvest Pasture Grazed Beef off of green growing forages in August – October. The meat is tested in the winter and we report our previous years findings prior to the next harvest which is just a couple months away.

A recent study on grass-finished beef

Just over a year ago “A Nutritional Survey of Commercially Available Grass-Finished Beef” was published. A large number of samples of “commercially available” grassfed beef was obtained from 12 producers. “A wide variety of finishing strategies were indicated, with some producers relying solely on perennial pastures, and others finishing cattle on annual crops or by feeding a diverse array of harvested forages. There is great variation with what is defined as ‘grass-fed’.

What did the study find when looking at Omega 6:3 ratios? “The results of the current study are consistent with reports that beef from cattle finished on fresh forages had greater n-3 (omega 3) and a lower n-6:n-3 (omega 6:3) ratio than beef from cattle fed harvested grass silage… the results of the current study indicate that cattle finished on fresh forages yield beef with lower n-6:n-3 ratio than those supplemented with harvested forages.

Remember, this study was looking at commercially available “grass-fed” beef. The study points out that even if the product is labeled “grass-fed” only the cattle finished on fresh forages result in the highly desirable low omega 6:3 ratio end product. Beef finished on mechanically harvested forages such as hay and silage do not result in the lower omega 6:3 ratios. In some cases it was found some “grass-fed” producers “had significantly greater n-6:n-3 ratios… higher than previously reported values for beef from feedlot finished cattle.”

The study reports, in conclusion, omega 6:3 “ratio was numerically lower in beef from producers who indicated finishing cattle solely on fresh forages compared to beef from producers who finished cattle on harvested feeds.”

Not all “grass-fed” is created equal.

With no real current labeling guidelines for “grass-fed” or “grass-finished” beef you really do need to know your farmer to know your food (beef). Is the “grass-fed” beef you are purchasing harvested from fresh forages or from a feed yard where they were eating stored forages?

Let us just add this, we would gladly purchase a “grass-fed” beef finished on stored forages. With all the management considerations that go into raising beef without grains, sometimes the only option may be to harvest off stored forages. Considerations include balancing product demand with processing opportunities along with overall herd health and grassland availability.

2020 Pasture Grazed Beef
A DS Family Farm “pasture grazed” beef that will be harvested late summer 2020 off of fresh forages.

So for now, with our small herd, we will continue to harvest once a year from fresh forages. What we call “pasture grazed” beef. We may try widening the window of harvest earlier in the summer and possibly extending into early winter since both of these times we have some green fresh forages. One other major factor that has recently come into play is processing availability. If you haven’t heard, there is a major bottle neck in processing locally raised beef for direct to consumer sales. Stay tuned, if we do harvest earlier or later, we will continue to test the meat to see what changes do occur in the product we are delivering.

Rx (prescribed) burn

In a previous post we described the battle we are in against the native eastern red cedar tree. Keeping cedar trees in check one-by-one is a challenge. Two alternatives to mechanical cutting cedars includes grazing goats (eat brush/trees) and using fire. Obviously fire has some risk involved and grazing goats takes a new level of management. Below we describe the very basic principles of a prescribed burn recently completed. (Rather not read about the burn? Just watch the video on our YouTube channel.)

Burn Objectives

For the recent burn completed our objectives were to remove accumulated dead grass vegetation over the past 10 years. The grass thatch was not beneficial for our target wildlife species of prairie birds and game birds. In addition cedar trees were invading the site. Finally the burn will prepare the site for a future pollinator seeding and grazing alternatives.

Years of dead grass build up with cedar encroachment. Utilizing fire is an appropriate option.

The Burn Prescription

  • Weather
    • Obviously wind direction/speed must be considered along with air temperature and relative humidity. No major shifts in weather should be in the forecast while conducting a burn. Weather parameters can vary depending on the ignition technique, i.e. back fire versus head fire.
  • Fuel type
    • Vegetation type and amount will dictate the flame height and intensity.
  • Topography
    • Fire will RUN FAST UP HILL and slow down traveling down a hill.
  • Site preparation
    • Fire guards/breaks are developed prior to the burn. Mowing, removing fuel (grazing) and constructing a bare soil or green fire break are all options.
  • Ignition techniques
    • Fire behavior can be managed by using back fires, flank fires, strip fires and head fires. Knowing the characteristics of each are important.
  • Smoke management
    • Smoke can be dangerous when placed over roads!
  • Personnel
    • One person, a fire boss must be assigned. All people involved need to know the site and be familiar with escape routes and equipment being used.

Burn Plan Map

Two Team Burn Plan Map. Team A locations versus Team Be locations as the burn progresses.
Two Team Burn Plan Map. “Team A” locations versus “Team B” locations as the burn progresses.

As you review the Burn Plan Map can you pick out these variables? Must have a south wind to keep smoke off a busy U.S. Highway. Our house, located east of the burn site, will be an access point as well as a water source. Based on elevation change, fire will run fast from west to east (up hill) and travel slower from east to west (down hill). With a south wind, fire will travel quickly from the the south (bottom of the map) to north (top of map). The red dotted perimeter of the burn has been mowed and a mineral soil (tilled) fire break has been installed.

Burn Narrative

Fire ignition begins in the top right corner of the planned site. Both teams are located as “A1” and “B1” near the ignition site to observe fire behavior before allowing the burn to proceed. The ignited fire will travel slowly to the south (into the wind) and slowly to the west (down the hill). Team A then progresses from location A1 location A2 while Team B stays near the ignition location moving slowly to position B2. Team A is lighting the back fire, a low flame fire burning slowly into the wind, creating a safe black area along the north side of the site. As Team A approaches the far north west corner of the site (A3), Team B should be approaching the far south east corner (B3). At this point there should be a wide burned/black area along the north edge of the site. Both crews should stop and ensure that the back fire along the north edge of the burn is safely “wide” before proceeding. As Team B moves from location B3 to B4 the head fire will be ignited and the wind will carry the flames into the slowly approaching back fire. Both teams end up in the south west corner of the site as the fire puts itself out (fire runs into fire).

Basic fire ignition techniques. The back fire and flank fire is set first. Once safe, an optional head fire is ignited to complete the burn.
Basic fire ignition techniques. The back fire and flank fire are set first. Once safe, an optional head fire is ignited to complete the burn (fire extinguishes fire).

Burn video

We have posted a little under 8 minute video that further describes this burn plan along with photos and video from the actual burn. Watch or advance to the end of the video to view a 30 second time lapse recording of the entire burn.

Burn Results

The overall objectives of the burn were met! Dead vegetation thatch was removed and cedar trees were controlled. Most importantly, everyone stayed safe. Compare the photo below to the photo near the begging of this blog post (Before Burn versus After Burn).

A month following the burn.
A month following the burn.

For more information on conducting a prescribed burn visit a local USDA NRCS Office and check out the following link from UN-L:

http://extensionpublications.unl.edu/assets/pdf/ec121.pdf

Invasion of the ‘ERC’

NO, not a new virus… ERC = Eastern Red Cedar trees, actually part of our native ecosystem. These trees provide benefits to wildlife, livestock, humans and the overall landscape. Then why would we associate a beneficial tree with the word “invasion”?

Eastern Red Cedar
Eastern Red Cedar, invader of grasslands.

Is it a weed?

Most people have heard the word ‘weed’ defined as “a plant growing where it is not wanted.” When the same plant has the ability to spread fast, then I guess the plant changes from being a ‘weed’ to being an ‘invasive species!’ This is all kind of comical because usually ‘invasive’ is attached to novel plants that arrive into an ecosystem for the first time, but I digress.

Growing up in a “kill the weed culture,” it is often hard to recognize the benefits of a plant growing where “we don’t want it.” In a number of past posts we have pointed out that our cattle herd loves to munch on what other people call weeds! (Pollinators like weeds, Weeds heal land, Cows graze weeds)

What are the benefits of Eastern Red Cedars?

  • Make excellent windbreaks!
  • Cedar needles contain tannin, the cattle rub on cedars to help repel flies.
  • Wildlife use the trees for cover and eat the berries.
  • Berries and needles are used as essential oils.
  • Beautiful wood products, chests etc.
  • Probably others… when the tree is in the right place!
fence line cedars
Birds sit on fence and rain (poop) cedar berries. Fence lines are a good place to find cedars growing!

ERC Downside

The main problem with cedars is their ability to over take grasslands if left unchecked. Actually solid forest or cedars is not beneficial to wildlife or humans. Diversity is the key to ecosystem health. We are always striving for diversity in our pastures, so a few cedar trees along with other trees, brush, forbs and different grasses seems to be appropriate for our land and climate. A forest of cedar trees is not so good.

Keeping cedars in check

In the tall-grass prairie region, historically cedars were kept in check with fire. With windbreak cedar plantings in this region, humans introduced a large source of seeds that were previously confined to areas along streams and oak forests. With a reduction in fire and an explosion in seeds, birds literally began to “rain cedar berries” over the prairie.

One good thing about a cedar tree, once it is cut below the lowest branch, it will not re-sprout. But can you keep up with just cutting? Fire can control a large number of cedars over many acres in a short time. But the downside to fire, in our opinion is the loss of carbon. We feel the best way to control heavy grass/thatch build up is to let the cattle chew and stomp that carbon into the soil rather than use fire. When it comes to cedar control, fire is hard to beat.

Cutting (pulling) Option

With the right soil moisture, it is quite easy to pull a small cedar. Clipping a small cedar is also easy and good exercise. The challenge is taking the time to do it and spotting these smaller trees in the grass. It is easy to walk by a small cedar and think to yourself, “I’ll get that next time.” Then before you know it the cedars take over! Let’s just say over the past few years Doug has pulled and clipped his fair share of cedar trees. HOW MANY? Doug was curious how many he was actually pulling/clipping so he started keeping track. You can guess how many and try to find the baby cedar trees in the three photos below. Keep reading to find the answer to how many Doug pulled over the past year and where the cedars are in the photos.

find the cedars
Can you find the baby cedar trees in the grass?

Prescribed Fire Option

Personally Doug likes this option… but Sheila not so much. Again the downside is loss of soil cover/carbon and the risks involved. There isn’t much doubt that fire plays a significant roll in natural prairie ecosystems. We see fire as another tool in our toolbox to manage grasslands. We just completed a burn on a piece of land that has not had any management for 10 years with a number of small cedars encroaching.

April 2020 burn, when done safely, these are a lot of fun! Notice the carbon going into the air?

In our next blog post we will go into more detail about our recent burn.

Preventing invasion is key

When it comes to ERC control, preventing the cedars from over taking our grasslands is priority one. Once an area becomes a cedar forest, there are massive inputs required to restore the land to a grassland. Below is a nice three minute video from RFD/UN-L that does a great job in summarizing the Eastern Red Cedar issue:

Doug first saw a presentation on the real concerns with ERC by Dirac a few years ago. His take home message was that large portions of Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas are already lost to invasion of ERC and Nebraska is next. Learn more at the UN-L Eastern Red cedar Science Literacy Project.

Did you spot the baby cedars?

Did you find the cedars? This size is easy to pull if you can spot them.
pulled cedar tree
With the right soil moisture, time of year, even these larger trees can be pulled.

With our herd on the move across the pastures through the year, Doug has ample opportunity to spot and pull/clip cedars on about 150 acres of grassland. How many cedars do you think Doug has clipped/pulled over the past year?

Let’s just say he lost count after the first 750 in short order. His estimate for the year is at least 5,000 little cedar trees. That is just on 150 acres, sounds like an invasion to us.

Invisible Microbiome

Should we be at war with invisible microbes OR should we be living in sync with these little critters?

Do you choose to be pro-biotic or anti-biotic?

Since WE are a biotic organism, I most certainly hope you answered that last question with a resounding “I am PRO-biotic“. Then why do we as a culture dump tons of anti-biotics (posions/toxins/pesticides) into our ecosystem every year? Yes, I get it…the fear of a few bad bugs often overcomes common sense to balance risk and to rejoice in the multitude of good bugs that make us who we are.

The microbiome we interact with is a building block to our health, immunity (co-existence), with the world around us.
The microbiome we interact with is a building block to our health, immunity (co-existence), with the world around us.

According to Dr. Zach Bush, almost half of the information (micro-rna/dna/genes/code) that makes me Doug Garrison, comes from microbes living around, on and in me… (that goes for you also). The rest of the information comes from my past living environment and the genes inherited from our parents (who were also greatly influenced by their environment and the information from the environment of their parents, etc.). We are constantly influenced by the world around us.

Probably best that you hear directly from Dr. Bush. The video link below starts 38 minutes in to his presentation and the key point is covered in 6 minutes (38:00 – 44:00). SPOILER ALERT: Listening to this may make you rethink eating grocery store chicken. How microbes and the food we eat influence us (with an interesting take on viruses), Dr. Zach Bush:

“Pest-centric Society”

Let’s look at an agriculture example of pro-biotic versus anti-biotic. Current thinking is that for every “bad” insect that affects agriculture production there are 3,500 “beneficial” insects. When we apply a pesticide to “take out” a bad bug we end up taking out a large number of the good bugs. Overall result is simplification of the ecosystem. When diversity is lost, the bad bugs do not have the natural check from the beneficial bugs and the problem can become worse.

I am not saying that anti-biotics (pesticides) never should be used, but one should consider the long term or unintended consequences when using these tools. Obviously we should consider alternatives to pesticides as described by the folks at Blue Dasher Farm in South Dakota. In some cases, using the anti-biotic ends up causing more harm.

I understand that considering the long-term in a decision made today is not intuitive in our culture and I struggle with it myself. We can learn and reflect on the 7th Generation principle from our Native American friends.

Coronavirus and the herd microbiome

Yes our cattle herd microbiome includes strains of the Coronavirus. Bovine coronavirus is associated with calf diarrhea, winter dysentery and respiratory infections such as shipping fever. Once and a while we will have a “weasing” individual in the herd (cows get colds just like us).

Bright eyes, ears up, clear nose discharge this individual is healthy.
Bright eyes, ears up and clear nose discharge = healthy. Any change in these three visual signs would indicate a weak individual…. note we all can have a BAD HAIR DAY!

At some point the herd microbiome will probably include the COVID-19 virus. Most likely the herd already has a strain of coronavirus that is unknown to us, maybe Bovine COVID-20A, B or C? As Dr. Bush notes in the video link above, we think there are 100,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 (10 to the 31st power) virus strains in the world… and new ones are mutating all the time. Now that is diversity!

Our personal microbiome

We have a couple past blog posts you may like to review as you ponder your microbiome:

Dr. Bush encourages us to get out into “wild areas” (swamps, forests, range) and breathe in deeply to enhance our microbiome. We invite you out to visit the pasture and the herd. There truly is a microbiome bubble around each of us and especially a herd of cattle. When you walk into our herd’s “bubble”, the feel and smell is immediately recognizable by an earthiness. Trust us, a pasture grazed herd smells somewhat pleasant and will be sure to ignite your inner microbiome.

For further information on Dr. Zach Bush:

October 2020 Update – The Virome is separate from Microbiome:

A virus is not part of the microbiome. “They are not alive, just genomic information wrapped up in a protein.” Learn more about microbes, virus and exoxomes on Dr. Bush’s “Knowledge VIROME” webpage (video). Listen to the 30 minute video for his take on Corona virus. Dr. Bush postulates the extra Carbon particles in our air at the end of the growing season and beginning of the non-growing season (bottom of the brown arrow) is why the flu virus shows up when it does each year (see image below taken from our previous blog post Soil Carbon – CO2). We appreciate his insights and his championing of regenerative agriculture.

The stair step nature of CO2 in the chart is based on the growing season.

What’s most important?

Today, Sunday March 22, 2020 – marks the first time in our life time that we can remember not having the option to meet and commune together with other believers. But His Word will not be hindered, it will go out and not return empty.

His Second Coming – Redeemer Church Lincoln

We hope you take time to participate in the many on-line options for Worship. Simply amazing how He provides. Here are a couple on-line messages from our current under-shepherd and from pastors that our congregation has sent out into the world:

Here at the farm

With all the unique things going on, Doug will be picking up over 3,000 lbs. of No-Soy & No Corn Chicken feed today from Roberts Seeds (see recent article in Midwest Messenger about Roberts Seeds). The pasture chicks will be picked up later this week.

Get out for a farm visit

Sunshine and fresh air will do us all some good.

As always, you are welcome to stop by and visit the farm. The herd always enjoys visitors and the herd is currently close by the house to make the visit quite easy. With baby chicks showing up later this week, it is a great time to visit the farm!

Please call ahead to make sure we can make your visit safe and enjoyable.

Kiss Your Soil

We are wrapping up our series on Soil Carbon. We hope you found some of the information useful. We will leave you with a short video from the folks at Kiss The Ground.

This short three and a half minute video does a pretty nice job of summarizing the current situation with atmospheric carbon dioxide. Though it is a little over simplified, it gives a good call to action on how we can use the natural carbon cycle to return CO2 to the soil.

As always you are welcome to visit our pasture and the herd, to see first hand how we are using nature in harmony with ruminants (cows) to heal soils, grasslands, customers and community.