Lands less than suitable for cropping may be ideal for custom grazing, according to two presenters at the recent 10th annual conference of the Ecological Farmers Association of Ontario.
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Ken Laing of Sparta and Ann Clark of Warkworth, both known for leading research in the province’s organic farming community, spoke to conference attendees about contract grazing another farmer’s cattle on their farms.
Why it matters: Government-supported climate action programs include funding for the installation of rotational grazing infrastructure as a way to mitigate agriculture’s environmental impact.
Both financed the establishment of pasture species and the construction of grazing infrastructure and did the daily work of pasture management from May to October, and the herds returned to their home farms for the winter.
“Getting a client to pay enough to cover the costs of fencing and water and everything else can be difficult,” Laing says. However, he advised there are creative ways to structure payment for the services.
After several years of his custom grazing arrangement with a Drumbo-area cattle producer, the livestock owner is happy with the results. Laing noted the owner tracked pounds of gain per day for the first two summers but stopped in subsequent years; he joked that maybe the owner was worried Laing would raise the price.
Laing is happy with the relatively gentle impact on soil on that part of his farm, compared to the annual cropping that might take place under a more conventional share-cropping agreement.
A crop and vegetable producer, Laing is known in the organic community for using draft horsepower for part of his tillage program as a way to decrease soil compaction and carbon emissions. He also participates in research projects targeting no-till strategies for vegetable production. As he moved into what he described to the audience as “semi-retirement,” the custom grazing arrangement fit perfectly into continued care for the farm’s soil.
“Permanent pasture really is the best kind of no-till,” he says. He quickly learned that the sloping land on his farm “grows good grass, that’s for sure.”
Clark, a retired University of Guelph faculty member who spearheaded the institution’s early organic agriculture programming, agrees the environmental benefits of permanent pasture can make custom grazing worthwhile even before considering the financials.
“Permanent pasture is just a couple of steps down from nature,” she says. She sees managing pasture in terms of “directing ecological succession,” in which the land isn’t allowed to go through a full ecological succession.
“It’s not like nature because we’re directing things to make it go a certain direction.”
Clark has moved approximately 30 Angus cow-calf pairs, plus a bull, between 150 and 200 times per pasture season for 13 years. It’s beneficial to have the same farmer bring their herd to her property every year.
“There’s a built-in memory. Virtually every one of those cattle grew up spending its summer on my farm.”
Rocks on the farm have never been picked, she says, so conventional cropping would be a costly and resource-heavy option. Instead, she broadcast pasture species from an ATV or on foot; on five occasions since she started, a portion of the farm has required reseeding.
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If there is encroachment from non-sown species that lowers productivity in the grazing animals, remember that those undesirable species will return if management doesn’t change. Their encroachment has been allowed by management, Clark says.
She started with 12 paddocks and put up additional internal fencing over the years. She now has 35 paddocks. She hires in all the fencing work and water installation.
Laing first set up a custom grazing arrangement on a relative’s farm, where he hired in all the work. On his own farm, he rented equipment and put up the fence himself.
Both presenters said a good perimeter fence is vital. Both opted for four-strand, high-tensile wire. Clark explained that, after 13 years, some of the cedar posts are showing wear and may soon need replacement.
“It lets you sleep at night,” Laing said of the perimeter. “You really don’t want somebody else’s cows getting out on the highway from your land.”
If putting up a fence, be aware that high-tensile wire is difficult to deal with, but modern post-pounding technology has been a game-changer, allowing for much quicker fence construction.
Contracting out the perimeter fence around eight acres for his in-laws worked out to just over $1,500 per acre. When Laing rented equipment and put up the fence himself, it cost $650 per acre.
He uses a lot of Kiwi technology both for perimeter and interior fencing, including a fencer with a remote shut-off.
“I guess New Zealand’s gift to the farming community was this type of fencing equipment,” he says.
A corral is required, especially if the person who owns the cattle is bringing them from the west. Even with Ontario cattle, it’s good practice to keep them contained for a few hours on the property to calm down before letting them onto the pasture.
Laing has a written contract but it was not done by a lawyer. He does advise having a written agreement because “you’ll forget what you said” when something irregular comes up like a vet visit or refilling the salt and mineral feeder. Laing supplies the salt and minerals but he doesn’t cover veterinary care.
“You have to remember, if these guys are from far enough away, they might only show up once per summer.”
Make it known in the agreement who manages supplemental feed. Decide ahead of time how many animals the pasture can sustain, and this varies depending on weather. A summer slump is almost always a possibility.
Laing’s first year offered a learning experience. He took on 15 cow-calf pairs on 15 acres. He was accustomed to sheep and horses but the truck arrived with the newcomers and “these were the biggest cows I had ever seen. They were bigger than my draft horses.”
The calves had been born in January and were already eating a lot by the time they arrived.
He now estimates a budget of one acre per yearling or 1.5 to two acres per cow-calf pair, for a grazing season from May 1 to Oct. 1, though it depends on the productivity of the pasture.
Laing is working on strategies to extend the grazing season and/or manage through the summer slump, including expanding the rotation on the parts of his farm still in crop production so the cattle might be able to graze cover crops.
Asked about importing nutrients to support the pasture, Clark said the cattle and large round bales brought in from off-farm are great for that.
“These animals are remarkably inefficient at consuming the nutrients they eat,” so they put nutrients back onto the pasture. She moves bale feeders to areas she wants to see fertilized and the cattle do the rest.
Stew Slater operates a small dairy farm on 150 acres near St. Marys, Ont., and has been writing about rural and agricultural issues since 1999.
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