How important can monitoring your grass be to your success in a grazing operation?

We know that grass's rate of growth is continually changing in response to growing conditions.

We also need to know how much grass we have on hand and we do not know how much will grow in a given year as every year is different.

We know that we must observe, plan, monitor, adjust and re-plan, right? Well, yes, but we must do it and not just talk or write about it!

Today we are going to consider desirable plants per square yard, leaf-to-stem ratio, bare ground as a percentage, green leaves size and vigor, root depth and vigor, are the roots fat and deep or skinny and short?

¿Por qué algunos ganaderos no tienen ni idea de la salud de sus animales? 

Tiene que ver con la falta de experiencia observando animales sanos y creyendo lo que les dicen los vendedores de medicamentos químicos.

En el podcast anterior hablé sobre la importancia de una rutina estable y un manejo de bajo estrés para maximizar el rendimiento de sus animales y la eficiencia de conversión.

Ahora, hablemos de los diferentes aspectos que debemos considerar en nuestra observación diaria de nuestro ganado.

Why is it that some livestock handlers do not have a clue about the health of their animals?

It has to do with lack of experience observing healthy animals and believing what they are told by chemical medicine salesmen.

We need to be better, we need to go back to the time when such chemical medicines were not available and good husbandry was essential.

In the previous podcast, I talked about the importance of a stable routine and low-stress handling to maximize your animals' performance and conversion efficiency. 

Now, let’s talk about the different aspects we need to consider in our daily observation of our livestock.

Have you ever seen your livestock stressed when you arrived late to feed them or give them a new grass break?

This has to do with low-stress stockmanship or better, building a relationship with our livestock that respond to our position, movements, attitude, and a stable routine.

We all are regulated by different rhythms: circadian rhythm which has to do with daylight and night time, lunar cycles, seasonality, etc.

Livestock is also affected by different cycles.

If we do not maintain a stable routine in their management, they simply will not perform at their best and we will pay the price.

What do I mean by a stable routine?

¿Alguna vez has visto a tu ganado estresado cuando llegaste tarde a darles de comer o darles un nuevo pasto?

Esto tiene que ver con una ganadería de bajo estrés o mejor, construyendo una relación con nuestro ganado que responda a nuestra posición, movimientos, actitud y una rutina estable.

Todos estamos regulados por diferentes ritmos: el ritmo circadiano que tiene que ver con el día y la noche, los ciclos lunares, la estacionalidad, etc.

El ganado también se ve afectado por diferentes ciclos.

Si no mantenemos una rutina estable en su manejo, simplemente no rendirán al máximo y pagaremos el precio.

¿Qué quiero decir con una rutina estable?

Today, I will talk about the difference between the Total Grazing Program and other grazing programs out there.

I have been studying and implementing different types of grazing programs all my life. And ever since I can remember, this has been the topic in my family. My grandfather, father, aunt, and uncles were all cattlemen and cattlewomen.

I love to observe nature and how plants, soil, and wildlife respond to different ways of grazing. And after teaching the Total Grazing Program and traveling to teach courses and consult over many countries in different parts of the world, I can attest that the major problem is overgrazing. Where overgrazing is regrazing a plant before it has fully recovered.

Find out why in this week’s podcast episode.

¡Espero que tus vacaciones hayan sido geniales y que esta víspera de año nuevo traiga paz y resolución para ser mejores en todos los aspectos de nuestras vidas!

Hoy hablaré sobre la diferencia entre el Programa de pastoreo total y otros programas de pastoreo que existen.

He estado estudiando e implementando diferentes tipos de programas de pastoreo toda mi vida, desde que tengo memoria, este ha sido el tema en mi familia. Mi abuelo, padre, tía y tíos eran todos ganaderos y ganaderas.

Me encanta observar la naturaleza y cómo las plantas, el suelo y la vida silvestre responden a las diferentes formas de pastoreo y después de enseñar el Programa de Pastoreo Total y viajar para dictar cursos y dar asesoría en muchos países en diferentes partes del mundo, puedo dar fe de que el principal problema a nivel mundial, es el sobrepastoreo. El sobrepastoreo se da por repastorear una planta antes de su recuperación total.

In many parts of the world different pest insects attack our forages, this can have dire consequences as the grass that we were counting on to go into the Fall and Winter can be decimated by insect pests consuming it or destroying it.

Today, I am going to go over what has worked for me for many years now!

There are many factors that influence when an insect pest will create problems with your forage: temperature, day length, moisture, ambient humidity, growing conditions, etcetera.

If we study insect pests we will learn that they have a very simple digestive system, which means they need a simple molecule, in their food, to be able to digest it. If the molecule is complex, like a very complex amino acid or carbohydrate, the pest insect will not be able to digest it and will go find food suited to their simple digestive system.

Sounds easy right?

In practice it is easy, all we need is to stop using chemicals in our land and forages and to make sure our plants are fed like nature intended: slowly, on demand, from humus and not from synthetic fertilizers or non-composted manure. Listen to the podcast to learn how to do this while your soil humus content improves by applying or implementing the Total Grazing Program in your land.

Common sense is learned or acquired in life by us learning from experience and has to do more with emotional intelligence than with being intelligent.

So, how do you avoid not having common sense? We all need common sense to avoid outdated paradigms. 

How do you know if you lack common sense?

A person may be considered to be lacking in common sense if they continue to believe or do something when there is evidence to suggest they would be better off thinking/acting differently. We often say that such a person is “set in their ways” and unable to change.

The first thing to note is that common sense comes from experience in the school of life, not formal education

This brings to mind how the way ranchers and farmers graze their animals has not changed much from a time ago.

Today I am going to talk about a saying, “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.”

How does this apply to our lives in ranching/farming?

Never give up, and be confident in what you do. There may be tough times, but the difficulties which you face will make you more determined to achieve your objectives and to win against all the odds.

This is good advice, as perseverance, a strong will, patience, courage, and determination are good traits to have and will take us far.

Is your livestock like that? Do they have the determination to live, produce and reproduce?  Are they hardy and hearty? Are they able to survive and produce with less than optimum inputs? Can they successfully wean a calf every year without pampering? Can they do this at the very high stocking rate required for maximum productivity and land regeneration?

If we want to achieve harmony in our land, we need to play the part of the good steward of the land, and to improve our land we need genetically adapted livestock that can improve the grass and land on which they graze.