Hi again. I just posted about our farm in SW Wisc. I thought i would give a bit more information (I had already put it together) on where my wife and I are "coming from".
This is not a "business plan", just a series of interesting links that...if you follow them...will give you some background on our thoughts. Country Times and Stockmans Grass Farmer are the only two magazines I subscribe to.
Sorry to post unregistered. I will stop clutting up the board.
John
Here goes:
LAND, ENERGY AND WATER:
Item... Modern Agriculture is not sustainable due to dependence on Petrolium products.
http://dieoff.com/page136.htm
http://www.ca.uky.edu/agc/NEWS/2000/Mar/fertiliz.htm
âDespite serious soil erosion, U.S. crop yields have been maintained or increased because of the availability of cheap fossil energy for inputs like fertilizers, pesticides, and irrigation (Pimentel et al., 1987). Currently on U.S. farms, about 3 kcal of fossil energy are being spent to produce just 1 kcal of food. Our policy of supporting this 3:1 energy ratio has serious implications for the future. One cannot help but wonder how long such intensive agriculture can be maintained on U.S. croplands while our nonrenewable, fossil energy resources are being rapidly depleted.â
The Bionic Cow:
Illustration... We eat oil.
http://www.sickofdoctors.addr.com/articles/bioniccow2.htm
âAssuming No. 534 continues to eat 25 pounds of corn a day and reaches a weight of 1,250 pounds, he will have consumed in his lifetime roughly 284 gallons of oil. We have succeeded in industrializing the beef calf, transforming what was once a solar-powered ruminant into the very last thing we need: another fossil-fuel machine.â
Hybred Hazelnuts:
Strategy... A viable, permanent, low energy crop providing marketable cash product (HN oil) and a feed supplement (HN Meal) replacing corn & soy.
During HN development, most acreage available for grass silage.
Mature orchards (20â row spacing) provide permanent 10â corridors of grass for silage (and possibly grazing).
EaglesNest Farm has approximately 200 acres of cropland that will be converted to HN (20-40 acres per year)
http://www.badgersett.com/HH2.html
âOnce established, no plowing or even cultivation is necessary. No water runs off the fields because infiltration rates are dramatically improved, regardless of soil type. Tiling should not be necessary in moderately wet soils. No fertilizer escapes into groundwater, because the crop has extensive permanent root systems, at work 365 days a year. No soil is lost to wind or rain; in fact this crop builds soil. Wildlife finds cover and food all year, instead of naked soil for 8 months, and one kind of plant for 4. In the near future, harvest will be entirely mechanized. And economically, hazelnuts have a large, unsatisfied, existing world market; and processing potential even greater than soybeans. Literally.â
Health Benefits of Grass-Fed Products:
Health Issue... Not only do we âeat oilâ, it is not healthy.
http://www.eatwild.com/nutrition.html
http://www.eatwild.com/news2.html
âBecause grazing animals "harvest" their own food, grassfarmers have little need for gas-guzzling farm equipment. Typically, they have a tractor, a pick-up truck, and haying equipment. Feedlot operations require a long list of heavy equipment, including tillers, planters, crop dusters, harvesters, grain grinders, commercial trucks, feed mixers, and conveyer belts. It takes as much as ten times more fuel oil to raise cattle on grain than on grassâ
Seasonal Dairy Farming:
Livestock Strategy... supplement the cash crop (HN) production and the HN Meall livestock feed with a low impact livestock operation. Low impact defined as reduced capital costs, labor, and environmental impact.
Comment... Seasonal dairying is efficient, low cost, less labor intensive, more compatable with Family Farming, and produces a calf each year. It may be thought of as a combination of dairying and cow/calfing. It will require a âdual purposeâ breed of cow, one which excels on a grass diet (Dexter or Jersey or a cross).
http://ohioline.osu.edu/rb1190/b1190_2.html
http://grassfarmer.com/papers/studies/seasonalgrazing.html
âSeasonal dairy grazing has many economic and environmental benefits relative to conventional production systems. Seasonal dairy graziers are often able to produce high net returns simply by keeping their costs low. Because pasture is the primary feed input, less machinery is needed and crop production costs tend to be lower. Seasonal operations do not need winterized milking facilities and dry animals can be housed with minimal facilities at almost no cost. While a modest sized (100 to 200 cows) conventional dairy operation can have several million dollars invested in buildings, machinery and equipment, the investment required for a seasonal grass-based operation of similar size can easily be kept in the $350 to $500K range. All things being equal, lower capital investment results in lower debt per cow for grass-based operations. This permits greater economic flexibility, allowing for profit maximization under a wider range of cost/price conditions. And although milk production per cow tends to be lower for seasonal dairy graziers when compared to confinement operations, profit per cow (and per cwt.) is very competitive, as indicated in the following farm financial results. â
ONCE A DAY MILKING:
http://www.dexcel.co.nz/farmfacts/view_farmfact.cfm?id=1_14
Once a day milking (OAD) occurs when a herd is milked once every 24 hours. Twice a day milking (TAD) is when a herd is milked two times every 24 hours. OAD reduces stress on the cow, uses less time and labour each day for milking, and lowers milk harvesting costs. The downside of OAD is that milksolids production is lower than on TAD.
Green Grass Silage:
Grass silage can be produces easier and cheaper and is better for the animals. It is also highly compatible with HazelNut farming as it takes advantage of the 4 year plant maturity process to produce a companion crop (grass) and then produces a smaller companion crop (grass) permanently.
http://www.alphaag.com/page7.html
http://grassfarmer.com/papers/NCR SARE 1998 Grant Program II.htm
âThe objective of this project was to research a lower cost method of harvesting and storing silage in order to reduce capital investment of harvesting and feeding equipment on the family farm.* The reason behind this is that substantial capital investment is typically required for family farms with livestock operations.* Often times, a substantial percentage of the farmâs capital investment is tied up in equipment that sets idle a large percentage of the time.* For example a hay baler, forage chopper, mower/conditioner, and chopper wagons are used only a few days at a time and remain idle for the remainder of the year.* Liability is created with repairs, maintenance, depreciation, and missed opportunity costs.â
http://www.alphaag.com/page7.html
Rotational Grazing:
Strategy... Rotational Graze pastureland to increase production of grass.
EaglesNest Farm is approximately 50% pasture...all with year-round running spring water.
http://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/rotategr.html
âAbstract: Rotational grazing requires the producer to develop skill in decision-making as well as in monitoring the results of decisions. Livestock are moved to fresh paddocks periodically, providing time for pasture re-growth. Modern electric fencing and innovative water delivery devices are important tools. Feed costs decline and animal health improves when animals harvest their own feed in a well-managed rotational grazing system.â
Misc. Links:
http://www.farm.net.nz/index.cfm
Jersey Breed Advantages:
http://www.jersey.org.nz/breed.html
