You Bought A Farm, Cover These Items Before Putting Animals On It. Check out my books on our website greenpasturesfarm.net for more profitable grazing tips.
1. High tensile perimeter fence 2. Establish water source 3. Establish grazing paddock with poly braided electric fence 4. Setup coral for sorting, training and management 5. Spend time with animals 6. Turn grass into steaks 7. Tell your wife (or your neighbors) that you love her 8. Life happily ever after
A biblical proverb that has always stuck with me is: "build you business before you build your house". It's a beautiful thing to own the land you live on but a terrible thing to go bankrupt in order to achieve that. Greg has it figured and brings this proverb to life... establish cash flow first and foremost!
Great point. We just closed in our 40 acres and hubby says build the ranch before building a house. We can live in a trailer while setting up all the infrastructure. Meanwhile, Homesteading Family channel counselled the opposite: establish your home, including decor, first?! I mean, I get her point that we will never get around to doing that sort of thing later on, but maybe that's because animal infrastructure is more important? We will soon see! Plus, we already have a herd of rabbits and a flock of hens, so their health and safety always comes first. We have a good Dutch Shepherd dog and a fine mouser cat, too. My mom is bringing her horse and 2 dogs. We are excited to get sheep and goats next and eventually several cows. Our land in in Apache County AZ which is a big change from the suburbs of Southern California!
Just wondering if you've thought about narrating your No Risk Ranching book for Audible ... I'd LOVE to digest the info, but never have to to just sit & read anymore. Listening to eBooks while I work however, that I do have time for! Just a thought from a follower who is thrilled by what you're doing. Cheers Greg!
What we have done (so far, in this order): 1. Bought land. 2. Started improving by removing 40 year old derelict fence, pruning coniferous trees 3. Established water. 4. Harvested timber from land to pay down mortgage on land. 5. Established dwelling. (Easier to "know" and grow where we live) 6. Started farm infrastructure (roads, buildings, start fencing) 7. Raising chickens for meat & eggs the since step 5. 8 Continue fencing & improving farm infrastructure.
Helping people avoid crushing debt and common pitfalls. Might be competitors Someday but he wants to see people do well so he doesn’t care. genuinely great guy I can tell
Finally starting with no experience.... very small but starting none the less. 24 acres 1 hour away from the house. 1. Fixing old perimeter fence 2. setting up charger with a hot wire to connect Poly braid to. 3. Running poly pipe from water spigot 4. bringing Cheap bred to angus Corrientes on the property to start training to hot wire.
Just now finding Dr. Judy's videos and love it. Visuals are good, audio is good and clear, but would suggest spelling the brand names of recommendations, e.g. "polybraid," "poly ethylene pipe" and Cyclops charger. New-bees like me need "visuals" for materials and equipment. Appreciate the simple, step-by-step instructions and suggested tips. I also appreciate the encouraging pep talk and "passion!" Bravo Dr. J.
I just rehabbed and sold a mcMansion in the suburbs after 20 years. I "downsized' to an old farmhouse out in the country on 10 acres with some equity left over. More economical than a ranch on a half acre close to town. Now next steps...
A little anecdote about electrical fence for you Greg. We used electric netting for our sheep, horizontal threads was powered, vertical threads was not. One of our older ewes came up to me just before I was moving the fence, I looked down, and right before me she turned her head and bit that vertical wire. In my mind she was showing me that she was frustrated about having that fence blocking her from fresh grass.
Thank you for sharing all of that IMPORTANT information. Sincerely. And, you have a great butcher! I appreciate the amount of fat he leaves on your steaks. Thanks again for sharing your knowledge!
Great informations in all your videos! Thank you for sharing the best of your knowledge to help and encourage people to do first step in this business!
You are so inspiring. Just starting out on my farming journey with chickens and quickly learned the importance of preparation. Hoping to get a couple sheep next year....and dream of cattle one day. I really appreciate you taking the time to share your wisdom with us.
I would like to see you talk about running some numbers and do what if scenarios with costs and profits, I think that would be helpful. Thanks for the videos.
I think fencing is the most important thing to work on before getting animals, because my neighbor had an accident occur with a heifer. He raises Ankole-Watusi cattle and one night one of his cows got out and wandered into the road, the cow was struck by a drunk driver and when he hit the cow the impact caused the cow’s horns to go threw the windshield and her left horn went threw his neck a killed him instantly. And his family tried to file a lawsuit against my neighbor, but luckily he won.
I agree with all that was said. I would just add to a part mention when it comes to rotational grazing. It ok not to be able to do it as good as others in the beginning. Would love to move my cattle 2x a day but with a 9m,3year,and 5year old kids I just can’t make it work. Our mountain cover land it just not safe to do at this point. We started our farm not the the way this video is saying to do and I wish we would have done it just like Greg is saying. I try to put up all the fences,fixing the barn,water,and working pen up myself and it was taking so long we jump the gun and bought cattle sooner than we should have.i had only fence part of the land instead of just doing the perimeter fence. Wish I would have just done the perimeter fence first ended up having to buy a lot of hay to make up for the lack of fence in pasture. What is sad is when the farm is fully fenced in we have lots of grass. Out of the 145acs we have only 20 was fence when we got the cattle. It hard to build all new fence by yourself and even more so if you only have the weekend to do it.
I greatly enjoy listening to your thoughts...thanks. You speak often of these plastic line posts. My farm is in KS and the culture is to burn every spring. How do these posts handle that kind of fire?
cant wait for your next lesson on video, i wish you were around way back when the whole family would tell i could`nt make a farm it was to much work they said, the equipment or the animals cost to much,, now that every one is passed on i`m hitting the ground running,, i finally learned two this about them nay sayers 1 they quiet after one try and 2 they never started to begin with, so all them negative can stay behind me in the DUST!, there is a way i just have to keep trying things till i find out what works for me and what don`t,, GREAT VIDEO
Greg, I’ve been bale grazing during the winter. My question is, there are large patches of hay on the ground that the cows wasted. Do I need to be worried that the grass underneath it won’t grow? Should I spread that wasted hay around? The grass underneath is basically brand new. I’m worried it won’t catch sun under the hay.
Look at one of Christine Jone's videos. She is Australian and plants 16 different seeds on a pasture to grow better soil and forage. You will have healthier animals with fewer vet bills.
You don't need to spend all that money on seed. Plant animal hooves and let them do the seeding for you. There are millions of seeds already in the soil, their just waiting on good grazing management to express themselves.
Hey I like the thought of improving our 3 strand barbwire fence with electric strands like you use then maybe working sheep onto our land but I’m wondering how the electric fence works in the winter with snow because we will get up to 2 feet of snow where I live in places so I’m wondering from your experience what you think about that and if that would short the wires or anything?
If your electric wire is buried in two feet of snow, you may have trouble keeping livestock in. You need your top wire to be taller than your snow and you will be fine.
Hi Greg, I had suggested you show the meat from your cattle, and you showed some today. I am not saying you did it because of my suggestion, but I want to talk about it. You won't want to show a frozen hunk in a vacuum bag. You will want to choose the cut chosen for it's symmetry and photogenics, ideal marbling, well proportioned in the screen, correctly lit, filters to give the ideal lighting that will convey how it looks in person. That is my recommendation, do what you will.
As a meat cutter of 40 years I cringe at the cuts of meat I see these slaughterhouses give there farmers. Total hacks. The local grass fed up here in New England are at the mercy of a very few processors and they are expensive.
Then that is a niche for a regenerative butcher, who honors the animal, honors the customer. So many in business have such greed, they have no compunction to charge multiples of hundreds of percent for their labor. Unscrupulous people will call themselves qualified in an industry, and just start doing it. My desire is to learn to butcher my own animals.
@Duke of Istria No, my point is that if he was trying to do what I suggested, showcase his meat, and talk marbling, quality, etc., a shrink-wrapped piece of frozen meat showcases his meat about as much as a child's drawing of a steak. Greg grows great cattle, I wish he would show people how great his beef is, and why it is superior. I watched a cook from Boston say to make sure to buy grain-fed beef because grass fed beef is not marbled. I'd be willing to bet beef from Greg's cattle has great marbling.
@Duke of Istria Duke of Istria You asked about grass finished beef. I know the different ways, grain fed, grass finished, grass fed, grain finished, etc. I will generalize and refer to grass fed beef, which is grass finished as well. The principle is to adhere to the natural world practices over millennia. I suppose cattle got into areas of grain growing, and occasionally ate it when it was fully ripe. I won't go off on that tangent. Greg's emphasis is on physically husbanding, (word used based on the term, "animal husbandry"), cattle along the lines they would graze if left alone in the wild. One thing about grass-fed beef I always hear is that you need to watch it closely when cooking, for there is less marbling, and it can become tough or dry quickly. Greg constantly discusses how big his cattle are, how fat they are, in contrast to the public perception that grass fed cattle are less developed in size, and diminished in fat. He constantly discusses his cattle being fat, and discusses how to tell a cow that has little fat, which is a bowl-shaped area in front of the rear leg, by the flank, that when the bowled out area is present, the cow has diminished fat, when that area does not have a bowl sized area of missing tissue, the cow is adequately fattened according to it's anticipated growth curve. I admit that I don't buy a lot of grass fed beef. I can't afford the exorbitant price. Neither do I buy all organic, I want to, but I need to save. This is why I want a garden and cattle, to feed myself. It would be great if I had surplus, and had extra that I could market. The flavor of grass fed beef is said to have differences from grain fed beef. I am not as discerning as some people are, or maybe it is that I am not thinking about comparisons when I dine, but deriving joy from my meal. I am not a competitive sort. I would bypass football, and engage in meditation out of my dislike for competition, I compete with myself, for my own ends, and self-aggrandizement through being called the winner is of no interest to me. Some people will even bring competition to meditation, which to me would be missing the point. That is to say that I don't direct my perceptions toward trying to understand all the nuances of my life experience and translate it into a mental perception, but instead, I take my experiences on many levels, some non-verbal, and derive a wholistic experience, that is to say my experience is with my whole being, not just focused on deriving a mental experience that I can communicate through a mental process, and use that communication in a competitive or non-competitive fashion. I went overboard with this. I don't think I did the topic justice, but I did the best I could in the time-frame I have to write. I recall some of your comments before, and I liked what you had to say.
Another consideration, grass-fed, grain-fed have to do with eating healthy. Most grain-fed beef eat GMO grain, which is developed to be resistant to Roundup, which is glyphosate. Glyphosate is an endocrine disruptor, and can play havoc on our bodies, causing fat-gain and retension, ill functioning organs, and susceptibility to cancer, arteriosclerosis, poor cholesterol numbers, and high blood pressure to name a few. There is a commercial focus on soy and corn grain production. Soy mimics estrogen, which is not good for people, but especially males, who have adequate testosterone when healthy. Many grains have lectins, which are substances produced by plants that is essentially chemical warfare, mostly geared towards insects, but they affect people too. If the animal eats lectins, we eat the animal, we eat lectins too. Ruminant animal's systems are geared toward digesting leafy greens and brown vegetation, not grain, (or chicken shit, ground up dried cattle, or a host of other awful things that commercial cattle are fed).
Greg I have learned a lot from you since I watched you on your channel. What do you think about the Dexter breed cattle and would they be a better choice for a farm under 10 acres??
I appreciate the heart thing Mr Judy. I'm learning so much from you. I thought my dream of ranching for a living was never gonna happen. But you've made it really seem tangible again.
Greg says you want a sheep in there with teeth in him and the predators will leave the flock alone. If you think a donkey will protect from your predator pressure, go for it. Does seem easier than the dogs.
Does Greg have a video where he talks about where to look for farmland if you are from the city? I am in Florida and would like farmland in the southeast. How do I narrow my search?
joe vdenne We are going through this right now, for over two years. I don’t know if Greg has a video on it, but I haven’t seen one after following for quite a while. Every state has farmland available. If you are completely new to farming, I suggest you buy and study books on what you think you want to grow. There are lists of supplies in some books, others you can glean what’s needed as infrastructure. Each state has their own butchering laws. Assuming you’re growing meat, how do you want to sell it? As a commodity gets the lowest price. Direct selling gets much higher price but you have to get it from the hoof to somebody’s fridge. There are so many variables: are you single or with family, your age, housing needs, off farm job or not, $$$ you have to build infrastructure after purchase, $$$ to buy livestock, vet in the area?, well water and ponds? Every piece of land has its challenges. The things we found important in every case: outside city limits, well water, electricity, living barriers to diminish chemical drift from adjacent farms, a habitable house. Read some books, study the weather, learn to read soil survey maps. Make your educated dream list of what you want and start looking.
Hi. You look for land, or a home with some land the same way you look for a house in the city. Realtor, google. Pick an area call an agent. I hope this helps
Great video, would love to see a video with some different corral designs, sizes , materials , etc. Also I've noticed that all the videos are one take, you might look into having a young person or an intern, or Mrs.Judy to look into editing. That way you can have white board shots, and out on the land shots too, or include pictures with voice overs , and the things you have in your slide shows. I only make the suggestion because I've noticed a huge improvement in your videos I've the past 6-12 months, and I can tell you're investing more time and energy into making them, so I figured edited videos is the next step up. I know a lot of the pro RU-vidr's have featured you in their videos, I'm sure they would be happy to give you lessons or help out. Also I know you don't like to waste money, but I also know you value quality and a tool that has some purpose. I think you might look into getting a drone at some point. It's a great way to really show the difference between the paddocks and recovery periods. It can also be used as a tool to check cattle or find calves, or map areas, etc as a tool for its own use. Keep up the great work and thank you for all your help.
Give us a break what Greg is doing is top notch. The content is great and the delivery is interesting and to the point. If only everyone could accomplish that.
@@davej7458 I guess you can't read very well. I complimented Mr.Judy several times in my comment. I love his videos and have been watching them for years even before he had his own channel . And read both his books and have had many correspondence with him. I come and watch his videos to become a better grazer, comments should help him become a better video maker. You might be someone who is happy with good enough, but people like myself and Mr. Judy are always trying to improve in what we are doing. I am a young person and watch a lot of RU-vid. I don't think Mr. Judy is so prideful that he wouldn't want any suggestions. Look at the fact that recently he got a mic, and a gimbal , he is really putting in a lot of effort to make these videos great. I'm just offering a few ideas on what he could do next to continue his improvement. This is a community that helps each other by sharing ideas (exactly what he does in his videos) . So maybe re read before you make snide comments trying to disparage me for helping out .
Hi Greg! Thanks for the great information! I’m a property investor and I need a video on how to attract apprentices or graduates from programs like yours. How do I set up a lease that’s win-win for both of us? How do I help offset a young farmer’s startup costs and what’s a fair percentage of profit for me? Should that percentage change annually? A lot of property investors think rural property can only make money at sale, and you’re proving that wrong! A lot of property owners think livestock operations will destroy their hunting camps. You’re proving that wrong as well! A lot of property owners are investing with a self directed IRA and can’t touch the property until they’re 59 1/2, and have to use a property manager to collect rent, make improvements, etc. As far as I know, there aren’t any property management companies that put farmers on investment properties and I intend to fill that gap. No... I’ve never done this before but getting the right farmer and the right investors into a few prototype projects can prove that this works. Please put up some content for property owners and maybe shoot me an email at jeanne.whitaker@gmail.com Thanks for all you do!
Jeanne Whitaker there are models for this in farmland conservation trusts. It is a good way for a newby to get experience. Problem is that few new farmers want to put $$$ into a short term lease or rental.
April Leithleiter I’ve thought about that...a lot of people investing in rural property aren’t looking for quick turnaround so in some cases this could work out well. Every deal should be win win!
As far as getting good property care takers Greg's apprentices of course and Polyface farm Joel salatin has good apprentices. I'm working on my prototype farm lol in Mass. Hoping to get some leases once I can show land owners what can be.
I have 4 acres I want to bring some cattle. I have 2 concerns... towards the rear of the property there is a creek with a 6ft drop. Plus in the middle of the property I have a large pond, that is 8ft deep. I'm wondering if I should be concerned? Should I fence these?
Hello Greg, hope the day finds y'all well. Recently found your channel and subscribed. I'm like many of the 30 somethings age group that dont have the family farm to fall back on but are extremely driven to the farm/ ranch lifestyle. See that recently you have been running sheep on your properties, what do you do with them? Sell for meat? Shear for wool? Or both? Keep up the good info and I'll keep planning on escaping Connecticut. Haha God bless thanks again
His sheep are hair sheep no wool. Meat only huge market especially in the North East. I would love to do sheep here in Massachusetts. I have very small property and need a way to protect them. Not sure where you live in Conn great market here. You just need land. There Is a guy in Northfield mass that has hair sheep.
Hey there, I'm a reseller for Timeless Fence in Canada and I believe that they have resellers in New Zealand and maybe Australia, so they do ship overseas but I don't think there are any resellers in Europe as of yet...maybe a good opportunity for yourself. Call the number on the Timeless website and you will likely talk to Brad Moore and he handles international sales.
@@Ptitnain2 I'm in BC. I believe there are a couple of Timeless resellers in Ontario. Just check out the roster on timelessfence.com it gives you the contacts and locations of every reseller. If you think you will want a large order, and there are no reselers in your area, you could probably just order directly from the company. Just phone the number, they are all awesome folks to talk and work with. Best of luck!
I’ve been preaching about the 12ga high tensile wire for 30 years as a superior product. You can build it for 1/3rd the cost of barbed wire. Sadly, it’s hard to change folks’ mind from barbed wire. However, it’s easier to change their mind if they actually see a properly built one in person AND if it’s built by the book. Too many folks want to skimp on the construction methods, rather than building it properly. Concrete in the 3 powerpole size corner posts and you’ll never have a problem with the pull posts. Too many still think they HAVE to have a line post every 10-20’.
Greg - watched most your films - but trying to understand how best to implement here in late winter and spring - particularly whether you hold em for longer in final weeks before wit grows again - effectively sacrificing a parcel of land to let the restaurant get growing... have I understood this right? Do you then let that harder grazed bit have longer to recover?
We have six months sometimes with cold wet ground and no growth - then it kicks in and we have amazing grass for six months The winter tests us - this winter we sacrificed two fields and left the other thirty fields alone - the two fields were a little poached but have recovered fast in spring - and the rest of the farm has gotten away growing nicely - but wonder whether I’ve done right? If we had moved then over the whole dark the growth is so slow in winter that it would all be bare grazed
I think it depends on your particular farm and what kind of forage you have if you have fescue you can stock pile. Is your farm hilly or flat that's going to dictate your grazing plan. Sometimes you have no choice but to sacrifice some part of the farm to get to the others side of winter. I have a guy out here with 17 cattle in a mud pit breaks my heart he's a real nice guy just a dumbass about when it comes to livestock.
@Greg Judy Regenerative Rancher yes, I've heard that said several times. What about the electric collar technology like the mobile electric livestock version of the invisible fencing for dogs, seems like that might be a good option for goats in with a mixed species livestock flock.
Here's some good news Greg. Australian scientists have found a good use for ivomectin. It seems to kill the Wuhan corona virus within 48 hours. They're doing clinical trials now. That's better than stuffing your animals full of it.
