Following Dirt Rich's previous episode, 57: Fundamentals of Adaptive Grazing with Jonathan Kilpatrick, we thought it would be a great time to revisit our conversation on Adaptive Multi-Paddock grazing with Jared Luhman and Doug Voss.
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Over the years of establishing and fine-tuning their management systems, grazing has become absolutely key in both Luhman’s and Voss’ cattle and dairy operations. Beyond rotational grazing, Adaptive Multi-Paddock grazing (or AMP) has improved the ecology of their farms--not to mention saved the time, energy, and expense of hauling around feed and other off-farm inputs--by modeling their grazing systems after the natural movement of wildlife across landscapes. “There’s no substitute for what comes out the back of a cow or small ruminant,” Doug jokes.
Doug hasn’t used any off-farm inputs for years, and yet his yields continue to increase. The adaptive part of AMP is quintessential: not only is a successful grazing plan going to be unique and flexible to the context of a piece of land, but to the conditions that may come to pass during the season, be it a change in rainfall or a family wedding you need a couple days to travel to.
The number of variables to consider may be daunting, but as Doug reminds us, creating an adaptive grazing plan is more of a journey than a destination. In the interview, he shares some advice for those looking to start to graze as well as those looking to improve their management, covering fencing, watering systems, rest periods, and examples from Voss Farms.
The payoff is worth it. AMP grazing has brought Doug great peace of mind and more predictable income: “I have far fewer challenges where I’m not going to be productive or profitable on an acre of ground than I’ve ever had before.”
Whether you own a herd or land, there are a lot of good resources to help you get livestock applied appropriately to your land:
Doug Voss, Grazing Lead, Sustainable Farming Association, doug@sfa-mn.org
Jared Luhman, Soil Health Lead, Sustainable Farming Association, jared@sfa-mn.org
Originally released March 17, 2021
The viewpoints of the speakers expressed within or outside of this episode do not necessarily reflect the goals and mission of SFA.
Dirt Rich is produced by the Sustainable Farming Association of Minnesota.
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Revisited: Designing Cover Crops for Late Season Grazing
54: REKO Rings
53: Endorsed for Water Quality
52: We’re on YouTube (and in the field)
Revisited: Restoring Oak Savanna
51: Framing Succession Planning
50: Transferring a Land Ethic Legacy Farm
49: Family Farm Succession Planning
48: Grazing Cattle to Restore Oak Savanna in the Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge
Revisited: Managing Spring Grazing
47: Four DIY Soil Health Tests
46: Managing Land with Solar Grazing
45: Local Meats and Processing in Southeast Minnesota
44: Scaling Up Soy- and Corn-Free Pastured Chickens
43: Heirloom Apples & Craft Cider
42: Conventional to Kernza®: A Soil Health Journey
Revisited: Pastured Turkeys
41: Studying Soil Health
40: Field Notes
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