Chester County Angus
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“the other eight days,” on the
farm, where he admits his heart
“He says he feels more tired
from a day in the office than
from working around on the
farm,” said son Steve.
A Pasture Operation
A purebred Angus operation
of 40 registered brood cows,
Glen Oak Farm consists of 275
acres 70 acres in permanent
pasture parceled into 15 pad
docks. The animals are on the
paddocks for one week before
the area gets three weeks of rest
in Heim’s grazing system.
The cows are bred mostly
with natural breeding and the
A purebred Angus operation of 40 registered brood
cows, Glen Oak Farm consists of 275 acres 70 acres in
permanent pasture parceled into 15 paddocks. The ani
i mals are on the paddocks for one week before the area
gets three weeks of rest in Heim’s grazing system.
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heifers with AI. Heim is working
to breed easy-calving cows that
produce calves with strong
weaning and yearling weights
on their grass-based system. He
relies on AHIR Performance
Records as a breeding manag
ment tool.
When the calves are weaned
in the fall, Heim selects calves to
be used as registered breeding
stock and sends the remainder
to Lancaster County feedlots.
One challenge is the 60 acres
located one side and the remain
der of the land on the other side
of a road. Clover and perennials
are broadcast in the spring, as
the seeds “hoofed in” by cows
churning the soil with their
hooves. The extremely rocky
acres- are no-tißed with alfalfa
and ordunedgpiss.
Heim offered suggestions in
tilling methods, seedstock, and
his ideas about a variety of
grasses for differing conditions.
On the farm, for example, he
deals with shallow soils on the
hillsides which may dry in the
hot summer.
Although the area is ideal for
cow/calf pairs, the surrounding
woods makes deer pressure a
problem, according to Heim.
The woods do, however, provide
shade in every pasture.
Reclaiming Land
Recently Heim expanded the
operation by purchasing 185
acres of pastures, cropland, and
cattle barns of land formerly
owned by the Devereux founda
tion.
He was able to show visitors
the results of the family’s work
at reclaiming the land back into
production after IS years of ne
glect.
After acquiring the land,
Heim went to work clearing the
overgrown bittersweet, multi
flora rose, and other weeds. He
maintains the fencelines with a
grass to ensure the grass takes
over the vacant soil.
“If the grass takes over, I
don’t have to spray every year,”
said Heim.
After taking dumpsters of
barbed wire off of the land,
Heim fenced the perimeter of
the area with high tensile fenc
ing.
Additionally, cutting a road
through the woods created a
way to move into the new pas
tureland and avoid the road.
On the former Devereaux
land, the Heims cleared the
rocks to the side of the pasture,
added an animal handling facil
ity, and put in 800 tons of slag
stone, 18 inches thick, in the
The overgrown areas of the newly-acquired land, ne
glected for 15 years, will be cleared, subdivided, and
grazed. The animals will finish clearing brush, as evi
denced by the work the cattle have already done on the
pasture on the left.
cattle bam area where he plans
to winter the heifers.
Underground water was al
ready in place, so Heim replaced
a few parts, flushed the lines,
and began to use the equipi
ment.
The “bush” areas, as Heim
dubbed them, will be cleared,
subdivided, and grazed. The an
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imals will finish the work to
keep the area clear and create a
new pasture for the operation.
“It’s amazing what they (the
cows) eat. They’ll eat the weeds
or underneath rose bushes,” he
said.
He hopes to expand to 80-90
head.