Seeleys’ Milky Way Farm
(Continued from Page 1)
ment,” said Kim
When conventional farming
methods produced wear and tear on
both the animals and the operators,
the Seeleys returned to their roots
and started grazing again.
“(Grazing) works so perfectly for
a mountain farm,” Seeley said.
“Trying to farm the hillsides is both
ecologically not smart and economi
cally not smart. We were totally
centralized in the mid 70s. When
our barn burned, we moved all of
our animals into one facility.
“For 15 years all we had was
trouble. It seemed like the thing to
do, but now that we didn’t like cen
tralization, we’ve moved them all
.*'■ss/'*- -,
-
back away from the main facility.
What it does is spread the nutrients
around and, instead of hauling all
that hay over here, we try to feed the
hay right where it’s grown.”
One of the many challenges that
the Seeleys faced when developing
their rotational grazing system was
Rt. 14, a major highway that runs
right through their farm.
“We only have 40 acres of pasture
for the milking herd and the rest of
the farm is on the other side of the
road, so our young stock and dry
cows are on complete grass from the
15th of April until the first of De
cember. We can do that every year,
even in drought, because there’s so
much land, we can stockpile grass
for the summer slump. Even in a
drought year, like we’ve had for the
past three out of five years, we have
been able to maintain all of the dry
cows and young stock on full grass
every year.”
The Seeleys also try to stockpHe
grass in the winter.
“If you have an open winter and
not a lot of snow, you can actually
stockpile grass and winter feed it,
which is something we’re constantly
trying to work on,” said Seeley.
On April 15, the milking cows are
turned out to pasture to begin their
rotations. The farm will be in full
grass by the middle of May. The
cows are turned out into new pad
docks which range in size from one
third of an acre to five acres, every
12 hours.
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'■ Cahd&ter Famtinfl-Satarday,- April 21,2001, Foraging Around-3
In order to lengthen their growing
season, Seeley keeps cows on native
pastures until the summer slump
hits. Then cows dine on corn
sorghum mixtures through August.
In September and October, the cows
are back on grass.
“If we rest the pastures in
August, hopefully the fall moisture
will give us fall pasture,” said
Seeley. “The real key to make graz
ing work is to know when to quit
grazing, not just at the end of the
year but during the middle of the
year. When grass growth slows, it’s
important to let the grass have a rest
period.” There are 175
total head of cattle
on the 450-acre
farm. About 250
acres is tillable
ground or pasture
and the remainder is
in woodlot. Each
year the Seeleys
grow about 15 acres
of a corn sorghum
mixture to graze and
cut hay in conjunc
tion with their rota
tional grazing
system.
Conventional til
lage is used in plant
ing corn and
sorghum, but the
Seeleys don’t use
any herbicides on
the farm.
“We cultivate.
Wff haven't
herbicides or insecti
cides for 15 years,”
noted Seeley.
“We’ve seen the
whole farm come
back to life again as
far as soil microbe
populations. There
are challenges, too.
We have to have a
lot shorter rotation,
but we’re seeing our
soil health come
alive. There are
long-term benefits.
Too often we look at
everything on a one
year basis, but our
sustainability is not
just our lifetime, it’s
many lifetimes.”
Because of the
jugging operation,
the Seeleys need to
have year-round
production. During
the winter months,
cows are kept in the
freestall operation
and receive a diet of
dry hay, shell corn, a
protein supplement,
and a small amount
of corn silage.
“Because we’re a
direct marketer,
we’ve got to main
tain a milk flow
year-round. So we’re
trying to supply the
local market direct
marketing wise, so
we still have to do
some things in the
winter that we prob
ably wouldn’t be
doing if we were just
a grass-based farm.
It’s kind of a tight
wire that we walk to
make the transi
tion,” said Seeley.
(Turn to Page 8)