By SUSAN MYKRANTZ
Ohio Correspondent

FREDERICKSBURG, Ohio — Greg Judy no longer manages his pastures; instead, he lets his animals manage them for him.

Judy, a beef and sheep producer from Rucker, Mo., told those at the recent 2010 Family Farm Field Day in Ohio that since he has switched to a mob grazing system, he is able to graze his animals throughout the winter. In fact, last winter he only fed hay eight days and that was because there was ice on the grass and the animals couldn’t graze it.

“I think the cost of fossil fuel will go out of sight in our lifetime,” he said. “We don’t own equipment, we don’t put up hay and tractors aren’t sustainable.”

Before switching to mob-style grazing in 2006, Judy used managed intensive grazing on his farm. The downside to that system, according to Judy, was when the animals were turned out on the pasture in the spring, plants were still in the growth stage.

“You will lose 40 percent of the plant’s growth by turning animals into the forage too early,” he said. “By the time it gets dry in the summer, the plants are dormant.”

Spring grass contains too much protein and not enough energy, according to Judy; with the mob grazing system the fall stockpile adds dry matter to the forage and energy to the feed. Under the mob grazing system, by the time the animals are turned into the forage, the plants are mature.

“The cows have to be able to select a balanced diet every day,” he said. “Watch your animals’ intake. The energy is highest in the tip of the plant; when you get away from that, your pounds of gain per animal and your profit plummet.”

Judy said it is important to try to mimic what is happening in nature. “A good canopy of grass protects the soil and keeps the moisture in,” he said. “A heavy sword protects the roots so the forage can continue to grow late into the fall. If you keep the sword vegetated, it will stockpile a lot of forage over the winter.”

The system works, he said, because you are feeding the soil; with livestock in the pasture, the soil is getting fertilized everyday, building humus and holding water in the soil.

Weeds are a non-issue because Mother Nature hates bare soil, according to Judy. “When the forage is trampled, it is more responsive and produces a higher quality of forage,” he said.

As the grass in the pasture increases, the stocking rates can increase, but Judy cautions against overgrazing, as it will do more damage. “We have to change our way of thinking,” he said. “The grass doesn’t care if you make a dime, all it cares about is surviving. If the grass is not stressed, it is not putting on seed heads; it is putting on more leaves.”

When it comes to supplying water for his sheep and cattle, Judy has simply relied on the water sources already on the farm. “We don’t use tanks out in the fields,” he said. “We do have a farm pond and we use temporary posts and poly wire to allow the animals to drink from the pond; they don’t loiter because they have access to fresh feed.”

Herd instinct is important, according to Judy. He runs all ages together.

“The mature cows teach the first calf heifers about being good mothers,” he said. “We leave our calves on the cows until the cows kick them off. We don’t tag our cattle, and we don’t castrate our bull calves until they are one year of age. Our cattle are gentle, docility is a sign of tenderness in the meat.”