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Jim Chamberlin

The Great Verndale Grazing School

On September 27th and 28th, around fifty farmers, ranchers, resource professionals and interested citizens joined together for the second annual Grazing School. Proclaimed the Great Verndale Grazing School by member Steve Flanagan, this year's grazing school brought back Isaac Tappenden, and also featured his boss, Greg Judy, owner of Green Pastures Farm in Clark, Missouri. Other speakers included Jonathan Kilpatrick, farmer and education coordinator with the Sustainable Farming Association, and Jordan Meyer, owner of Wholesome Family Farm in Caledonia, MN.

Crowd of about 15 people listening to a person speaking in a field
Greg Judy shares his experiences with leasing grazing land.

Friday started with an overview of Green Pastures Farm and their work to build soil health with ruminants. Greg explained how he went to strictly grass-based production for one reason: profitability.  While working a day job and trying to farm, he realized the most important thing he could do is keep overhead and expenses down. Grass seemed the best way to do that. 


He explained how they built Green Pastures Farm largely on leased land. Securing leases that work for the producer and landowner was one of the topics covered. Greg explained the importance of building trust, that it often would take three to five years to secure a lease after first contacting the landowner. When one of the participants suggested bribing them with steak, Greg quickly answered, “No. Bring them a pound of burger, but not until the second visit. Steak comes much later.”  With 22 current leases, several of which are free, he shared valuable advice and tips on successful leasing.     


Greg also spoke to the importance of diversifying profit centers by stacking farm enterprises. Much of the land they lease is overgrown, and thinning is needed for good grass growth.  With the small diameter wood that comes from the forest thinnings they grow shiitake mushrooms. They’ve diversified the livestock they raise to help better manage the land, and now they market hogs, chickens and sheep. Sale of genetics, bale unrollers, and yes, speaker fees, are some of the ways they stack enterprises for a more profitable farm.


Isaac, Greg’s farm manager, spoke about the importance of building a grass-genetic cow herd for the basis of a healthy herd and cattle performance. He also spoke about the importance of preparing for drought during the good times, and steps to take when in a drought situation, one of which was to never call it a drought. He prefers “a dry spell” as a way to reduce mental stress. He discussed how to create a positive feedback loop of healthy soil through grazing, similar to this blog from September 2023.


A Minnesota state map with shades of yellow and orange indicating drought.
Moderate to severe drought affected most of Minnesota this fall.

Afternoons were held at West 80 South Polls farm north of Verndale, owned by George and Krystal Heller, where folks broke into smaller groups. Jonathan and Jordan spoke to their experiences managing small ruminants, specifically fencing techniques and genetics for grazing goats and sheep.  


Greg and Isaac covered the importance of stockmanship and low-stress cattle handling, showing how to separate cattle with a strand of polywire and three people. They also talked about fence and paddock design for easier herd management and better grazing outcomes. 

A man speaking into a microphone along side a screen with a slide of cow patties.
Isaac Tappendan discusses monitoring cattle performance by observation of body condition and dung pat consistency.

Participants searched dug pats for living organisms under the guidance of Dr. Roger Moon.  Roger explained the role of insects in the dung pat ecosystem and how to minimize impact to beneficial insects, like dung beetles, when treating livestock for parasites.


A hearty lunch was served both days by the Wadena Smokehouse BBQ.  Friday evening included table topic discussions and a delicious, local foods smorgasbord, served by Chef Joel London.


Greg Judy and the other presenters shared valuable knowledge and mistakes. As usual, networking scored high on evaluations. Many people in attendance were new to grazing, but grazers with over twenty years experience were also in attendance. These farmer-led events are invaluable for peer- to- peer sharing and learning, regardless of your experience or background. The conversations were many at this year's great Forage Council Grazing School.  


Happy Dancing Turtle’s Cows for Clean Water (CFCW) initiative has roots that go beyond its beginning in 2014. In the early 2000’s Jack Wallschlaeger, a lakeshore owner and water quality advocate, reached out to upstream farmers and ranchers with the understanding that lasting change comes through building relationships and trust. Out of this was born the Crow Wing River Basin Forage Council, first led by the Leader Lions Club, and now under the wing of the Sustainable Farming Association as a networking group. Since the inception of the CFCW, Happy Dancing Turtle has supported the work of the Forage Council through labor, grant writing, and financial assistance. 

    

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