USARAAI SUMMIT 2023 Part 2

Part 2

Are you interested in rotational grazing with mixed species? Greg Brann and his wife Debbie had a wonderful explanation about how this works for them. Greg has been a grazing producer for many years, and a professional consultant.
Greg’s first presentation was a relaxed pictorial of forages, animals and how they all works together. He talked about range/pasture management, where is it coming up short in a comparative analysis, and how can we improve it? He says they’ve tried many different angles on the pastures; some work well and some will bite you. In the end what you’re looking for is great soil aggregate, and life in it. It’s actually managing the “underground herd”.

He had slides of a run-off and infiltration comparison from some Greene Co. pastures. There were five pieces of sod, each with different plant heights and thicknesses. Water, equal amounts, was poured into each, and what wasn’t absorbed came out into a front container. The poorest piece of sod retained almost none of the water, while the thick and taller sod retained almost all the water. The runoff from poor soil was muddy, but the one with the best cover and roots had almost no runoff and it was clear. The difference was the infiltration rate, or how much water the roots and soil can retain. 

There were many outstanding shots of his “flerd”, and he spoke about ways to control parasites and flies. Garlic has been used on his animals with great success for fly control. In the video he gives the ratios. Greg isn’t crazy about goats, but he says you need to assess the land and decide what species will do best at turning the browse into manure, and goats are amazing at eating things other animals won’t. He has some goats now. They have pigs in the mix as well. He showed several methods of fencing for efficient rotation, and ways to water all species safely.

His wife Debbie has some of her own enterprises including chickens and bees. She also no-till gardens using the lasagna method with cardboard. Debbie is the marketer for their farm, and she spoke at length about balancing production and marketing on a diversified farm. River Cottage Farm is her website and she talked about its beginning and progression. Her presentation was about how to market to consumers in a simple, efficient manner, and selling quality and connection. 

Between sessions there was a built-in 15-minute space for Q & A, and they were lively!

By Sherrie Ottinger