Win-Win-Win: Managed Grazing
Improves Profits, Soil, Water Quality
When Ray Meismer took stock of his central
Illinois crop and livestock farm, characterized
by steep slopes along the Illinois River,
he thought he could improve his profitability
and lessen his impact on the watershed. He
wanted a more intensive grazing system for
his cow/calf herd to make better use of the
land, even if that meant taking crops out
of production. With a SARE grant and help
from USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation
Service (NRCS) and Illinois Extension, Meismer
designed a new grazing system reliant upon
nutritious forages and a “ram” pump
to power water to his pasture in an electricity-free
system.
Now, on some of the most challenging 56
acres of his 300-acre farm, Meismer manages
a five-year rotation of corn, soybeans, and
forage. He divides the forages into grazing
paddocks for his cattle. “Some of my
ground was rougher and not as productive
for cash cropping, but was suitable for grazing,” Meismer
said. “After I pushed the pencil, I
thought I could get more dollars per acre
grazing and selling feeder calves than on
corn and soybeans.”
His hypothesis played out as expected:
Meismer increased his stocking density from
32 cow/calf pairs to 37 because he had better
pasture, and those animals gained more weight,
bringing better returns. Meismer’s
net return in 2000 from the calves was $65
per acre compared to $59.70 an acre for soybeans
and $55.73 per acre for corn. “The
increased revenue from calf sales more than
offset the decrease in revenue from cash
crops,” he said.
Meismer worked with NRCS and Extension
to install a water-powered pump and a watering
system that reaches 1,200 feet from a spring
to the farthest paddock. He moves a storage
tank on a wagon among three steep sites,
then, using gravity, moves water to a tank
he rotates among paddocks as he shifts his
herd. By covering the soil with vegetation,
Meismer has reduced erosion. Moreover, he
set up his watering system to keep cattle
away from the spring itself, protecting water
quality.
Rotating the herd every several days is
a fine example of what Illinois agricultural
educators are trying to promote throughout
the state, said Jay Solomon, an extension
specialist who worked with Meismer. Rather
than running herds on pasture for a month
or more, farmers might mimic historical patterns. “Traditionally,
buffalo herds came to a watering hole, grazed
it all, then went to the next one—giving
the forage a chance to re-grow during the
rest period,” he said. “We’re
trying to get them to run the cattle the
same way in more of a managed situation.”
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