Agriculture and Natural Resources
Brett Chedzoy, [email protected]
Putting Idle Land to Work With Grazing Livestock
My last submission to Better Living was titled: “Small-Scale Farming for Pleasure and Profit”. In this edition, I would like to expand on a specific area of farming that has great potential for Schuyler County and the surrounding region: Grazing.
Grazing is the practice of using herbivores - particularly ruminant herbivores such as cattle, sheep and goats- to convert free solar energy into valuable products like meat, milk and fiber. This is done by capturing sunshine with healthy pasture plants, which in turn feed the microbes in the grazing animal’s rumen that eventually become food for the host animal. In addition to sunlight, healthy soils, rainfall and skilled management by the grazier all play key roles in the success of a grazing business.
This area has strong potential for grazing businesses because there is an abundance of land suitable for grazing (about 1 million acres of grasslands in the Southern Tier, and a similar amount of brush lots and woodlots with silvopasturing potential). A second advantage is normally ample rainfall… even though we’re currently experiencing drought conditions! And a third advantage is having strong outlets and markets, thanks to several regional livestock auctions and a growing demand for locally-raised meats.
There are three basic models for grazing livestock for meat production: custom grazing (grazing someone else’s animals for a fee); breeding livestock (animals raised to produce offspring which can be sold); and growing/finishing (weight and value is added to younger, growing animals). The exact terminology depends on the type of livestock and other local customs, and each has its strengths and challenges as a grazing business.