DS Family Farm
Worried about what you are "really" eating? Have peace of mind with pasture grazed meats.
Reed Canary Animal Impact Revisited
With the recent warm weather, forages are green when they are normally brown this time of year. Especially down in the swamp pasture. This wetland area is quite unique, tucked between the more common rolling hills of Lancaster County. While trudging through the muck with portable fence I was struck by a change in vegetation and open water. Why the change? Please refer back to the July 2015 post “Animal Impact – Reed Canary Grass Example“. Take a moment to look at photos from 2014 & 2015 and compare what you notice in the 2016 photos below.
The first photo shows open water with small floating algae along with a number of different broadleaf plants and some cattails. Diversity abounds in this area but what happened to the Broad Leaf Arrowhead that was thick in the 2015 photo, the first year after animal impact?
In the photo below we note that the reeds canary grass still maintains a stronghold on most of the swamp area. Reeds canary is a very productive forage, good for erosion control and our herd doesn’t mind it at all. Again, my eyes are drawn to the diversity at the bottom of the photo, only made possible by animal impact.
I recall hunting this area about 20 years ago with a wildlife biologist. I asked, what could we do to increase diversity in this swamp area for wildlife? How could we beat back the monoculture of invasive reeds canary? He thought for a moment and came up with the idea of “try a burn”. We did burn this area several times before bringing the herd to the farm. Let’s just say burning had NO impact compared to what the herd was able to do in just a few weeks. In addition the “herd effect” has now proven to have a lasting impact!
So is this good, bad or does it even matter?
- From a strictly “production” stand point, the reeds canary may give more total pounds of forage for the herd.
- From an ecosystem stand point, we prefer the DIVERSITY:
- Some species may excel during different times of the year.
- Monoculture grass results in boom or bust.
- Different plant species, different nutrient values.
- Cows can choose between plants.
- Don’t you like a salad bar of choices rather than just lettuce?
- Wildlife thrive on edges of habitat.
- The herd has created an edge in a solid stand of grass!
- Some species may excel during different times of the year.
So the next time someone tells you cattle are evil to the environment consider Alan Savory’s point that a resource cannot cause environmental degradation. Rather it is the human management of that resource that causes the impact on the environment, good, bad or does it even matter?
Give us a call if you would like to stop by and see first hand the herd in MOOOO-TION.
Peaceful
“This is peaceful.”
The phrase most spoken by a recent visitor to the cow herd here at DS Family Farm.
Who was this visitor? A young man from Omaha on a mission. He is in High School and has lived a vegan lifestyle for the past seven years. He arrived by himself on a recent Saturday evening. He did not go into details why he was abandoning the vegan lifestyle but he obviously had done some research about the benefits of Grassfed beef. I asked him what brought him to our farm in search of Grassfed beef, below are a few points from our visitor:
- Cattle allowed to live and consume a “natural” diet.
- Cattle are ruminants designed for forage consumption not grains.
- Healthy meat with a low Omega 6 to 3 fatty acid ratio.
- Conventional beef maybe as high as 27:1, highly inflammatory.
- Saturated fats found in animal meat are good for us.
- Our brains main fuel is fat.
He was happy to talk about these different topics but he was more interested in seeing first-hand what our herd was up to.
We observed the herd just before sunset. Cows were grooming their calves. Some calves were grabbing a quick nighttime snack of milk. Yearlings milling around taking in one more mouthful of grass before calling it a day. Yes, I agreed with our visitor, this is peaceful. Compared to all the options high school youth have to spend a Saturday evening in Omaha, this was more than peaceful.
So what’s up with teenagers and Grassfed beef?
Earlier this month I relayed to our Farm Update Subscribers a story that my son Jacob had with a friend at Malcolm High School about Grassfed Beef. It caught Jacob a little off guard when a friend brought up the topic of Omega 6:3 fat ratio in grassfed beef. You can read our October Farm Update for the full story.
Back to our recent visitor.
Our visitor was happy with what he saw in our herd behavior. He was very interested in how the animals were handled right up to harvest. I explained our goal was to make the trip from our pasture to the locker as low stress as possible. He then asked about how the animals were treated at the locker. Since we are an Animal Welfare Approved (AWA) beef herd, part of our certification requires us to use a certified AWA Locker. He asked what was required of the locker for certification. Since I did not exactly know the answer to that question we referred him to the AWA Slaughter Guidelines.
Back at the house we showed our visitor where we store beef for sale in health department approved freezers. We discussed different cut options that he could start with. In the end, we sent our new friend home with some ground beef.
A peaceful evening? For this young man who has lived a vegan lifestyle for seven years, walking out to his car with Grassfed beef in his possession, I would call this “courageous“.
Portable fence through six foot tall grass?
Recently we shared the photo below of a white poly wire portable fence disappearing into a paddock full of 6 foot tall stockpile. If you were wondering how in the world we get that done, we give some more info here.
It is actually fairly simple, we drive our ATV through the grass to push it down and the poly wire unrolls behind the ATV in the wheel track. The tough part is walking back through the grass to put in our posts. Watch this process in action, video below:
So how do the cows know the fence is there or even find it? With 5,000+ volts surging through this wire, our herd takes good care in knowing where this wire is at all times. This little white wire is not a physical barrier but a mental barrier. This simple technology (portable poly wire) allows us to:
- Easily move cattle
- Maintain frequent moves to fresh forage, cattle are calm
- Manage forages to very precise areas
- Time of graze is highly regulated for proper forage recovery
We moved 20 head of cattle into this patch. The patch was only about 30 feet wide from fence to fence.
The results of this paddock move is shown below. The goal was to stomp most of this grass to the ground as it was next to one of our permanent fence lines. The permanent fence is along the left side of the photo below.
As you can see, the portable poly wire fence did it’s job in keeping the herd exactly where we wanted. The standing stockpile that remains in this paddock will be grazed later this winter. The herd was on this patch for just under two days and we were glad we had the forage we did as two inches of rain came before and during this move.
Feel free to stop by any time to see the herd in MOO-tion!
Water Snow and Stockpiled Grass
Grassfed beef requires grass, we are grass farmers first. For grass to grow we need water and we will take it in any form; rain, dew, ice and snow. This time of year we start to think about a few things:
- What is our current soil moisture levels?
- Are we ready for snow?
In a previous post from 2014 we wrote about how important soil moisture is at this time of the year. Soil moisture now, has a big impact on the grass (and beef) we grow next year. We are going into the 2017 “water year” in good shape.
Are we ready for snow? This summer we have been “stockpiling” grass in our pastures for the approaching non-growing season. Do you see a problem in the photo below?
Grass looks good in the photo. Pasture soils are covered to protect the stored moisture and ready to capture more moisture through the coming months. The problem? The photo shows one of our few permanent fence lines (red arrow) that is all grown up in grass. We construct daily paddocks using electrical poly wire and we count on these few permanent fence lines to supply the power. The stockpiled grass will accumulate snow and bury this fence line making it unusable.
Cows to the rescue.
The photo above shows how we are currently going around all of our permanent fence lines concentrating the herd to stomp down and eat the grass along our fence lines. The cattle love their work of preparing the fence lines that protect them year round.
Once the cows complete the job, if we do get that big snow storm, our fences will not be buried. The fence lines will continue to function, keeping cattle where we plan to move them.
What about the cows and the stockpiled grass if we get lots of snow? We do have some hay in the barn as “insurance” and to supplement as needed. In addition, take a look at our previousl post about cattle grazing snow. Our cows live in our pastures 24/7/365, snow is something they have no problem dealing with.
Feel free to contact us if you would like to see our cattle in motion. Cattle properly grazing grass is the best way to grow more grass!
Animal impact while farming grass
Year round grazing on pasture presents some interesting situations for us grass farmers. In this past post from July 2015 we demonstrated the results of planned animal impact on a wetland site heavily used through the non-growing season. Below we show what we had to deal with this past spring when Mother Nature gave us a wet spell. Here we show the results we see in our pasture now.
Background information for sites shown below:
- We know April – early May can be wet, we planned to be here!
- This site had about a year of rest since the last graze.
- This site needed some animal impact!
The red arrows identify the same objects in the photos from different dates.
- After moving them into this patch we obviously had a significant rain event.
- Before moving into the next patch, we achieved significant animal impact.
- Cattle are happily grazing on fresh/clean pasture.
What this site looks like now. You can barely see the nearest rock!
- Our future plan for this site is to avoid the next wet season.
- Will graze this fall or winter and feed some hay on the site most likely.
- We will utilize the cattle to lay the large grass stems on the ground.
Below are two more photos of a site nearby. More severe impact as a result of the prolonged wet period we experienced this spring.
- Almost looks like a tilled field!
- “Cow Tilled”
- Site absorbed a significant amount of kinetic energy.
- Hooves and Raindrop energy impact.
- Remember, this site had heavy sod from brome and native grasses.
Energy into the site released a significant amount of energy through grass growth over the past four and a half months!
- The reason for the selfie?
- I am six feet tall, some big bluestem seed heads are over my head!
- This tall rank (lignified) grass will not make good cow food.
- We will use cows to pick out what they want and;
- Stomp the grass stems to the ground
- This is how we add CARBON to the soil.
- Grass stems stomped on the soil feeds our soil livestock (microbes).
- We should grow even more grass here next year.
What a wonderful cycle. Are you worried about too much carbon dioxide in the atmosphere? This is how we use cattle to cycle carbon from the atmosphere into grass. Some carbon is quickly returned to the air, but a significant amount of carbon is transferred into the soil. Once in the soil we have a great chance of getting the carbon into a stable form (humus). The more carbon we can extract from the air and put into our soil the more grass we can grow to extract even more carbon!
The best part about this cycle is that cows produce calves while they are doing this work. Every once and awhile we take a grown calf (steer or heifer) to the butcher. This gives you the opportunity to participate in the healing of our environment. Just eat some grassfed beef and support our work and other grass farmers like us.
2016 Pasture Grazed Steers
Here is our line up for 2016 Pasture Grazed Steers. These are mature pasture grazed beef!
The steers pictured below:
- Are over two years old (older animals mean more flavor).
- Have never stood on concrete.
- Spent everyday of their life in pasture.
- Never confined to a dirt/mud/manure lot.
- Never grazed in cropland or crop residue.
- Have been in the same herd and at their mothers side since birth.
- Only consumed forages, never fed grains.
- Never given an antibiotic or artificial growth hormones.
- Lived under the sun by day and stars by night, never in a building.
- Will be harvested off actively growing green forage.
- All forages consumed are Non-GMO.
- Are Animal Welfare Approved
- Certified Grassfed.
Contact us if you would like to try some real beef!
Notice the horizontal lines along the belly in some of the above photos. These lines are called “Happy Lines”. Happy lines indicate good fat cover and Happy Beef! Based on last years harvested steers, the meat from these steers should have an excellent fatty acid profile! The Omega 6 to 3 Ratio should be excellent. The CLA content of beef is a result of consuming actively growing green forages at the time of harvest. The forages in our pasture this year are excellent.
We are blessed to have had the opportunity to raise these animals. Please pray that the harvest and processing of these animals will go well and that they will provide health to those who consume their meat.
Certified Grassfed
Maybe you have heard of the “Know your farmer, know your food” movement. In the consumer – farmer connection YOU are the best inspector to find out how your food is raised. We have an “open door” policy here at the farm. Visitors are always welcome to contact us for a visit. Come see first hand how animals can be successfully raised on pasture alone to the benefit of all.
- YOU are WHY we do what we do!
- YOU are the one making change.
- YOU deserve to see how your food is raised.
- YOU are on a mission and we are glad to help.
We have added another layer of inspection at DS Family Farm for YOU the consumer. For those who may not understand animal husbandry and exactly what it takes to be grassfed, you can now feel confident of DS Family Farm products. We have completed the process to be certified by the folks at Animal Welfare Approved.
This certification program insures YOU:
- Animals raised and cared for based on science and timeless husbandry methods.
- Tracking animal welfare from birth to harvest.
- The term “Grassfed” is defined, Certified Grassfed by AGW means something.
We will continue to promote the term “Pasture Grazed” since our animals live their entire lives on pasture. Now YOU can rest assured that we do meet a certification standard for grassfed. Do you want to see what we are talking about? Please contact us for a farm visit. Here are some families that have recently visited the farm (photo page):
- The Spangler Family from Seward
- The Derbish Family from Omaha
- The Jay Family from Gretna
Feel free to stop by anytime. Contacting us ahead of time will ensure someone is around to answer your questions.
(note – links to AWA and Certified Grassfed within this post were updated 2/20/17)
Cow – Icon of nutrient cycles – we need the poop!
Cattle are key to a healthy ecosystem, that is if we manage cattle in natures image. Nature provides examples of how herds such as the bison of North America or the buffalo and wildebeest of Africa work as keystone species. An important feature of these large animals is their ability to eat grass. Much of the grass they eat, comes right back out the back end (POOP) as high quality nutrients that feed soil life and creates new grass. The process is very simple and efficient. The hard thing for us humans is to keep it simple.
In elementary school I remember when any type of nutrient cycle (carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus) was shown as a graphic, the COW was the central or a key part of the process.
Maybe you have heard the bad rap cows have received in the global warming/climate change discussions. Basically that cows are adding to much methane (green house gas) to our atmosphere. Here are a few things to think about:
- Our current cow herd size in the U.S. is about 10 million fewer animals than historic bison herd estimates. Not even counting the elk, deer and antelope that use to roam our lands.
- How can fewer animals cause problems today when larger herds of the past built deep rich soils and abundance?
- Methane from cattle on healthy pastures are quickly mitigated by soil microbes.
I think we can agree that cattle confined to dirt lots eating non-natural diets such as corn will produce more methane than grass based cattle. So it is not the cattle causing the problem, if anything it is how humans manage the cattle.
Our nutrient cycles are now broken as pointed out in this article from Nature World News “Loss Of Animals’ Poop Disrupts Nutrient Cycles…”. We need to get animals out of confined feeding areas and back out on the land. Our lands are starved for the biological active nutrients that could be naturally cycling through large herbivores such as cattle.
Prior to brining cattle to our pastures in 2011, this farm had not had a cow on it for over 30 years. We have re-established nutrient cycling in our pastures by using cattle in natures image and are starting to see excellent results in the grass we are able to grow!
Want to stay up on the most recent science of how beef can heal our environment? Check out the Defending Beef FaceBook page.
Image source: UN-L Extension Circular 155.
Keystone Cows
Have you heard the term “Keystone Species“? For example, think of the impact the American Bison had on our environment. Prior to settlement of the central tall grass prairies, most everything relied on the movement of the vast buffalo herds. Buffalo were a key species.
The buffalo herds have been gone for more than a hundred years, but the impact they left behind drives Nebraska’s agricultural economy to this day. We have literally been mining the soil/carbon/organic matter these animals created through their movement years ago.
Here at DS Family Farm we simply try to mimic the pattern nature has shown us through the bison herd movements (and other large herbivore herds around the world). The only difference is we use cattle, planning and technology. By following natures example we are rebuilding soil, regenerating prairies and restoring natural cycles within our pastures.
In a series of future posts, we will describe how we try to mimic nature with our Keystone Cows.
Paleo Experience – Guest Post
We briefly touched on the Paleo topic in a few earlier blog posts but we are excited to share this Guest Post from someone local with real world Paleo experience. We met Beth when she and her family visited the farm earlier this year to buy some of our pasture grazed beef.
By Beth Kohl
I had read about the paleo diet. I thought if you give up dairy, legumes, grains, sugar, and alcohol, what is left? Starvation? I quickly dismissed it as anything more than a gimmick. I kept looking for the “Easy Button” for my health. I’d always been told any diet that eliminates entire food groups would lack nutrients and could not last, the “goal”, is always balance. I had tried several diets, but I could not get away from strong cravings for sugar. I felt like a drug addict. When it came to candy and sweets, I would have a little and end up binging like crazy.
I needed to lose weight. I had high cholesterol, high triglycerides, low energy, acne, depression, anxiety, restless legs, border line pre-diabetes, GERD, and an autoimmune disorder. My doctor was ready to put me on medications for several of these issues. I woke up 20 plus times a night and I had the sleep study to prove it. Every morning I woke feeling like a truck hit me and I had a headache 80% of the time. A good day was no migraine. My normally good to low blood pressure had been creeping up to questionable level. I power napped every single day. On the plus side, I exercised. I worked out for over 2 years with the guidance of a trainer; I had added a lot of muscle but had not lost weight.
A few years after first hearing about Paleo, in desperation, I gave in and tried a popular diet “Whole 30”. This is an elimination diet that you stop eating dairy, legumes, grains, sugar, and alcohol. Giving up those items is the bulk of paleo rules. The first few weeks were not great, I felt tired as my body adjusted to all the changes. When I reintroduced dairy and wheat, I found (to my shock) that my body had a bad reaction. I was sick to my stomach, could not think clearly, I felt awful. I decided to follow paleo but I had no guidance and Thanksgiving and Christmas completely derailed me.
Earlier this year, I talked with my doctor and decided to restart paleo, then return to the doctor in 12 weeks and get blood work again. Curious to see what, if anything, changed. I floundered the first 4 weeks with no diet change. With 8 weeks left, I added a dietician who specializes in paleo, to give me guidance. Amy, really helped me to figure out what works and does not work for me. She has given me accountability, encouragement, and resources.
There are misconceptions and a few controversies regarding what paleo is, is not, and should be. I only know how I eat and that it is considered paleo. My breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks consist of a variety of vegetables and fruits, quality protein, and quality fat.
I say “quality” before each food group because I’ve found that what happens to my food before I eat it is very important. “You are what you eat” resonates with every paleo I’ve met, talked to, and every book I’ve read. Whenever possible, I look for vegetables that are organically grown and non-GMO. I buy grass-fed beef, pasture raised chicken, lambs, and pigs, because they produce better quality meats, fats, and eggs. Fats include animal fats from pasture raised animals, ghee (clarified, grass-fed, butter), extra virgin olive oil, virgin coconut oil, tree nuts, and avocados. I get to have a variety of meats, fats, fruits and veggies, but always REAL, minimally processed food.
It is not as hard as it sounds. Now, a few months in, I can prepare a meal ultra-fast or something if I am having guests over. The best part is, no one knows that they are eating paleo, because it is just real food. I can also go out and enjoy a meal in a restaurant. I have planned times where I eat items outside of the plan, but always avoid wheat and store-bought dairy, because they bother me, although I know many who use raw dairy with no problems. I do not prepare separate meals for my family, and I have an extremely picky son. This is a way that I believe I can live for the rest of my life.
I tried many versions of low-fat and low carb diets all have been miserable failures. Now, I am eating a diet much like my grandmother did when she was young: real, nutritious food. I am eating a nutrient rich variety and not paying attention to calories. I am not feeling deprived either.
So, after 8 weeks of eating saturated fats, beef, eggs almost daily, bacon, and other “taboo” foods, watching portions, but without counting calories, what was the outcome? These results are documented by my doctor: 16 lbs. lost, Blood pressure is low/normal, cholesterol is 30 points lower , and triglycerides cut in half, glucose and A1C (blood sugar) completely normal. I have found relief for depression and anxiety. I no longer have cystic acne, restless legs are nominal, and I sleep soundly and rarely wake up during sleeping hours. I wake up each morning before my alarm goes off and I feel prepared to start the day. Headaches are rare for me now. The daily cravings for sweets are gone. I have energy for the whole day without my daily naps.
I know if something sounds too good to be true, it usually is. This is not without price. The tradeoff of not eating certain foods may seem huge to some, but it is worth it to me. I’m convinced that the “gimmick” has been the best thing that ever happened to my health. I am not alone. My doctor had diabetic patients try this way of eating. Less than 2 months, the diabetics following the plan had normal glucose levels, that is HUGE. Guess who else started to eat this way? My doctor and his wife.
My scale is still moving in the right direction, but I’m not nearly as concerned by my weight as I one was, because I feel good. I might be paying a bit more for food these days, but I am paying WAY less in medical and pharmacy bills. I feel better than I have in years. I do not know if it is for everyone, but I would urge anyone who has questions to investigate it for themselves.
I’d be happy to answer questions where I can, but I’m still a novice. If you want expert advice, I’d recommend you follow the links below. Here is a link to my dietitian’s blog. [http://robbwolf.com/author/amy-kubal/].
[www.robbwolf.com/] [www.meljoulwan.com/] [www.whole30.com/] [www.chriskresser.com]
Wow, that is a powerful testimony! Our thanks to Beth for sharing her experience. If you would like to connect with Beth please drop us an email. In addition to the links listed above, we would note that the Weston A Price Foundation recently aired a podcast with Chris Kresser, author of “The Paleo Cure”. In the podcast Chris points out that there are people groups that have adapted to raw dairy very well through the years. I (Doug) credits raw milk as one of the foods that helped cure my chronic Acid Reflux condition. Probably the most important things we can do to achieve health is eliminate processed foods, start shopping the “edges” of grocery stores and then begin your journey to source local food from your neighborhood farmers. Thanks again Beth for sharing!
Photo Credits: http://morguefile.com/creative/CTrillo/1/all & http://morguefile.com/creative/maxkopi
