A4O-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, February 17,2001
Graziers Learn
(continued from Page A 1)
fours and 15-gallon barrels.
The boards are spliced and
bolted to the barrel, then the
fence is pulled along on barrels
twice a day. Ropes hook to the
corners, middle, and back in
four places to allow movement
in all directions.
“The calves line up at the
front and walk along because
they know they’re moving on to
fresh grass and grain,” ex
plained Strite. A lead wire at
tached to the fence makes the
polywire hot and keeps the
calves in check. “It’s all very
portable,” he said.
Laneway construc
tion consists of geo
textile fabric with a
layer of stones or lime,
spread with a manure
spreader, over top.
Shingle tabs are ideal,
he said, but are also
hard to purchase be
cause of high demand.
The Strites milk 90
cows and work two
farms with a total of
300 acres. Approxi
mately 170 of the acres
are in grass, with the
rest in woods.
The Forgey Farm
Dave Forgey milks
130 New Zealand Hol
stein-Friesan cross
cattle on his seasonal
grazing operation in
Logansport, Ind. An
experienced grazier,
Forgey’s land has been
in grass for ten years.
After hearing about
rotational grazing, his
interest was piqued
and he went on to
learn about putting
the land into grass. He
attributes grass farm
ing as the factor that
saved his operation
from debt and kept
Forgey in the dairy
business.
“This kind of a
system, if you’ve been
at it at all, takes a
mindset change. It
can’t be done from the
seat of a tractor or
from the office,” he
said.
Watching costs is
key, emphasized
Forgey. “You need to
know the cost of pro
duction to realize the
advantages of grazing.
Cost control is the
easiest way to profit.
“Get out of the old
mode of spending
money you don’t have
to,” he said.
“Question every ex
pense; make sure it’s a
justifiable cost. Most
of our inputs are lime
and seed. Beyond that
there’s not much
added to the farm.
“People are willing
to look at new technol
ogy rather than a new
system,” he said.
“Step outside the box.
Put profit per unit
over production per
unit.”
In conclusion,
Forgey said, “the
dairy industry is rap
idly changing. Pasture
systems provide a way
to stay competitive
today.”
‘Maximum Management’
Techniques At Conference
Hertzler’s Moo-Echo Farm
Duane Hertzler, Loysville,
owns 300 acres and rents 300
acres for Moo-Echo farm, with
270 acres in grass. The rented
acreage yields corn silage and
alfalfa haylage for the operation.
Hertzler purchased his Perry
County farm in 1978 and built
an 80-cow freestall barn. In
1993, the Hertzler family started
looking at opportunities to
become more profitable.
By then they were farming
1,000 acres, putting in 16-hour
days, dealing with herd health
problems, high somatic cell
counts, and considering equip
ment replacement.
After they visited a grazing
operation in December of 1993,
the Hertzlers were convinced of
the potential of farming on a
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grass-based operation. They
began implementing their own
grassland operation almost im
mediately and were ready to
graze by April.
Since then, they have met
goals such as buying less pro
tein, feeding less grain, lowering
the somatic cell count, improv
ing herd health and reproduc
tion, identifying heat detection
more easily, decreasing cull rate,
and enjoying a less stressful
workday.
“We found that farming was
less of a science and more of an
art,” said Hertzler.
Ken King, Kansas
Kenneth King, Hutchinson,
Kansas, milks 75 head of cattle
and owns 300 acres, 300 of
which are in grass. Erosion
808 ZOOK
problems on the Kansas plain
helped to lead to the grassland
operation.
“Have you ever told your
kids, ‘stop dreaming and get to
work?”’ he asked. “Have you
ever spent a day helping your
kids fulfill their dreams?
“I propose that when we de
velop our children’s hands
which develop on their own
anyway instead of developing
their minds which takes cre
ative attention to develop
then we lose out on a wonderful
opportunity and resource.
“For too long in my life I’ve
used my hands, scooping feed. It
was when I spent time on the
fence posts, observing my cows,
that my life changed.
“I’m not downplaying or crit
icizing working with your
hands,” he said. But working
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with your hands comes natu
rally, and you have got to cul
tivate your mind, whether yours,
or your childrens’, or your em
ployees’.
“You don’t need to produce
more than your neighbor to be
competitive, you just have to
produce more efficiently, or
have a better marketing strat
egy.”
Spend time trying to optimize,
he said, and consider your re
sources, such as land, cattle, or
customers. Even problems can
be resources, as problems can be
turned into assets. “The only
limiting factor to resources is
our minds,” he said.
Look for a full report of the
Southeast Pennsylvania Grazing
Confemce in the next issue of
Lancaster Farming's “Foraging
Around” supplement.
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