Friday, January 3, 2020

Greg Judy restorative agriculture and Startup




I share this because it is an excellent example of the technology along with mob grazing and way more important he shows us in his video series how to establish it all without tying up farmland ownership right away.

There are plenty of farms available for lease, particularly for an operator preparing to do restoritive agriculture.  Because most renters are actually land  miners and most of the farms themselves have been mined, this approach is likely the only way for it to work out for both the owner and the renter.

Obviously as you build out your herd, the natural profit of his system makes him the natural land buyer afrter a few years and this resolves the whole situation.

Any couple who has at least one member actually working with a decent salary can allow the spouse to take care of the day to day duties of such an operation as it pertsistently builds value.  That way you can start with a mere five animals to learn the ropes.  In a couple of years, the bank will let you buy say fifty animals and you master that part of it.  In time it is even your money at work

This is how it will be in the future anyway.
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Greg Judy  No-till Producer, Rucker, MO


http://notill.org/greg-judy

Greg and Jan Judy operate Green Pastures Farm near Rucker, MO, which is 24 miles northwest of Columbia. They raise cattle, sheep, horses, goats, pigs and chickens on grass pasture in balance with nature. They use no antibiotics, no hormone implants and no grain. The livestock graze rich pasture 100% of their lives.

The Judys use rotational grazing on their farm, constantly moving the livestock to fresh rested pasture to graze and letting the previous grazed pasture rest so that it can grow back undisturbed. Their pastures are rich in clovers and many species of natural grasses. They use no chemical fertilizers or herbicides. Large populations of birds, ants, worms, butterflies, spiders & bees build the soils and control pests.

Their animals have clean fresh water every day. They fence around ponds to keep livestock out. The fish, frogs, and surrounding water animals thrive in this atmosphere. The Judys value their wildlife, including deer, bobcat, squirrel, fox, coyote, rabbit, turkey, quail, dove, hawks, owls, cranes, geese and many species of songbirds.

"Our grass is our most precious natural resource," the Judys say. "The grass leaf is actually a solar collector that stores energy from the sun. Livestock possess the unique ability to convert this green blade of grass into healthy meat without the use of fossil fuel. Our livestock are happy to harvest their own forage year round. We have hair sheep that are quite different then your standard wool sheep. They are strictly a meat sheep, no wool. The meat is very mild and extremely tender. We have developed a parasite resistant hair sheep, they get no medicine shots of any kind. Lambs are naturally weaned by their mother. The horses, sheep, goats, and pigs love eating weeds & sprouts."

The farm's Southpole cows produce tender tasty meat on grass only, no grain. 


"A cow is a herbivore, they are designed to eat grass, not grain," they say. "Compared with grain-fed meat, grass-fed meats have 5 times more cancer-fighting CLA {conjugated linoleic acid}, four times more vitamin E, three times more heart-friendly omega-3s and twice as much beta carotene. It’s lower in total fat, saturated fat and calories as well. Fatty acids are essential (fats) in our diets and are required for a healthy body, but they must be in the correct proportion. That natural proportion has been seriously changed in this country due to the extensive grain feeding of livestock in the last 50 years. We are what we eat and we need balance in that consumption. Only way to get the correct proportions is to choose grass-fed animal products.

"It is amazing how everything falls into place once you mimic Mother Nature. Come have a pasture walk with us. We love showing people how happy our animals are in their natural environment. We feel green pasture is absolutely the best for our environment and our animals!"





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