Page 14—Foraging Around, Lancaster Farming, Saturday, April 17, 1999
Frustrated With Conventional Farming, Grazier Employs New Ideas
(Continued from Pago 10)
“The paddocks are variable. Not all
of them ate the same size. This is such
a hilly farm and a wet farm that diffe
rent areas mature at different times,”
Simpson said.
To supplement the cows over the
winter months or in case of severe
weather, Simpson makes hay from the
lush spring growth. He also buys TMR
to supplement the cows, if needed.
He machine hires most of the work
that involves equipment and is able to
rent his father’s equipment for mowing
hay or hauling manure out of the hold
ing pen. He also rents additional
ground from his father to graze his 32
cows and 17 bred heifers.
“As far as equipment investment, I
have a four-wheeler and a cart,” said
Simpson.
Seasonal production can also be
tricky to maintain, often leading to
higher cull rates than Simpson would
like to have.
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-<rtip*- pi poultry. The pens are moved around
the pasture to provide plenty of feed for the chickens. Simpson raises
and butchers five groups per season.
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“The first year I had a 40 percent
cull rate and we milked 90 percent
2-year-olds that I had started two years
previously,” he said. “I’m learning.
There are lots of mistakes to be made.
That’s part of the reason I’m playing so
much with the genetics. I’m trying to
fit an animal to the environment I live
in. We need a cow to go out and harvest
in all kinds of conditions, no matter if
its hot, cold, whatever,” he said.
This year he estimates a 25 percent
cull rate on cows and plans for a 90 per
cent conception rate on heifers to be
bred for next season. He uses a herd
sire because he was having difficulty
settling the cows with artificial insemi
nation to keep them on the seasonal
schedule.
“Any cows not due by the 15th of
June are gone,” he said.
Thankfully, he notes that most of the
cows he culled went for dairy
purposes.
With grazing, Simpson also sees a
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The Simpsons also keep several layers on their farm to supply the
family with fresh eggs.
tremendous improvement in the health
of the herd, especially the feet.
“My vet bill for all of 1998 was
$675,” he said.
Cows aren’t the only livestock that
nibble grass at Simpson’s farm.
He also raises pasture poultry on his
170-acre farm, where he calls 80 acres
grazable land.
The meat chickens are in pens and
the pens are moved around the farm
either in front of or behind the cows,
depending on the height of the grass.
He processes the birds on the farm and
has developed several strong markets
in the area. Every year he raises and
butchers five batches of birds which he
markets for $1.45 per pound.
The poultry also help fertilize the
fields resulting in better grass growth.
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Things can get pretty hectic at the
farm in the spring months when all the
calves are coming, the new batch of
chickens arrives, and the hay needs to
be cut, but Simpson says he loves the
work.
“All the cows calve at once, so you
deal with that. The chickens come at
the same time into the brooder bams.
But the calves all get fed milk for a cer
tain period of time and they’re all
weaned in a 30-day period, so there’s __
no more calf feeding. They all get
dehorned, vaccinated all at the same
time because they’re all the same age,
and it makes the management of this
stuff so much easier,” he explained.” I
love spring and I feel like working in
spring.”
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