At five o’clock Saturday afternoon I was kneeling in Dennis McDonald’s pasture looking for, and at, earthworm castings.  This was just part of a farm walk sponsored by the Green Hills Farm Project.  Interesting stuff really.  Dennis started by giving an overview of his grazing and cattle management program then he lead the group through his pastures so we could see the results.

Dennis’s pastures look super both above the surface and in the soil.  As I mentioned, we looked for earthworm activity, which there was, however he also brought out his refractometer.  The Reed canarygrass and fescue had brix readings of 21 and 11 respectively.  Twenty-one is impressive.  Don said, “You can taste the sweetness.”  Sure enough, I looked behind me and he was chewing a blade of Reed canarygrass like gum.  I can’t take him anywhere.

We moved on to the cows.  I didn’t specifically ask Dennis, however I think his herd is Red Angus and Herford cross.  These girls and their calves looked good and were very uniform in size; however what I found most interesting was their relationship to each other and their necks.  Dennis started his herd many, many years ago and held back heifers and bulls.  Every animal is related to the others in some way and Dennis raises his own bulls.  As for the cow’s necks, they had many fine wrinkles on them.  I’m a follower of Gerald Fry and Jan Bonsma and believe that those wrinkles indicate tender meat.  Someone pulled out some pH paper and tested the urine of two cows.  Both read 8.  Dennis, like everyone else, is shooting for 7.

I also found Dennis’s permaculture idea interesting.  Some of his grazing lots have no shade so he is planting Chinese chestnut trees.  Apparently these trees are ideal for Missouri’s rolling-pasture land.  The trees have been planted within the grazing layout in such a way as to provide shade and allow the cattle to graze right up next to the trees, yet not be able to rub against them or trample seedlings.  The cattle will also eat the nuts when they pop out of the burr-type shell and drop to the ground.

Of course this is just a brief overview of what was seen and discussed.  More topics included spraying milk on pastures and using a yeoman plow for improving topsoil and funneling water across pastures as opposed to letting it run into waterways.  Wild burdock was found in one of the grazing lots and some Amish folks in attendance shared about how to use it for burns and pain relief.  More interesting stuff.   I like to gather with other grazers, see their programs and hear about what they’re implementing and why.  As for Don foraging on Reed canarygrass with the cattle, I’m teasing him.  I like it when we go places together.  We each pick up on different ideas and put it all together during the ride home.  Some of the ideas we have already implemented ourselves and some are new.  One thing I plan on doing is selecting a pasture we’re trying to build up and monitor it for earthworm poo.