The first question we ask about our 100% grassfed cattle

As we approach the middle of another grazing season, people often ask me, “How are the cattle doing?”

It is a fair question, and I appreciate that people care. But I usually offer a gentle correction.

The better question is: How is the forage doing?

On a 100% grassfed farm, forage is not just one part of the system. It is the foundation. The cattle depend on what the pasture can provide, so the condition of the forage usually tells us where the herd is headed.

When forage is abundant, varied, and at the right stage of growth, the cattle have what they need. When growth begins to slow or plants are grazed before they have recovered, the cattle may not show the effects immediately. The pasture often tells us first.

Sixteen Years of Building Pasture

We have spent 16 years building and restoring these pastures. I am proud of what is growing here now.

The fields are dense. Clover is flowering. Grasses and broadleaf plants are growing at different heights. There is plant material close to the soil, taller growth above it, and roots working at different depths below the surface.

That did not happen in one season. It has taken years of grazing, observation, adjustment, and recovery.

I know these pastures better than I did when we started, but I am still learning from them every year. Weather changes. Rain comes early or late. Summer heat arrives differently. One field may recover quickly while another needs more time.

The work is never finished because the pasture is never standing still.

The Pasture Changes With the Season

The forage we see in the middle of the grazing season is not the same forage the cattle entered in early spring.

Spring often begins with quick growth from cool-season grasses. As the days lengthen and temperatures rise, the pasture changes. Grasses become taller and more mature. Clover begins to flower. Other plants fill the spaces between them.

Some plants do most of their growing early. Others become more noticeable later. Some stay low to the ground, while others rise above the rest of the pasture.

A field that recovered quickly in May may need considerably more time in the heat of summer. Rainfall, temperature, soil moisture, and plant maturity all affect how quickly a paddock is ready to be grazed again.

That is why a fixed calendar cannot manage a pasture for us.

A Pasture Works at Different Levels

I recently read a book about native prairie that gave me better language for something we have observed here for years: a healthy plant community works in layers.

Taller plants meet the strongest sunlight, wind, and rainfall first. Plants beneath them use the light that filters through. Lower growth and older plant material help cover the soil, keeping it cooler and slowing the loss of moisture.

The same thing happens below the ground.

Some roots are concentrated near the soil surface. Others reach farther down for water and nutrients. Different plants occupy different parts of the pasture and carry different parts of the growing season.

You can see those layers in the photograph with this post. Flowering red clover rises above a thick stand of grasses and other forage plants. Lower growth fills the spaces underneath. It is not one uniform crop. It is a working community of plants.

Those layers help the pasture make better use of the sun and rain this place receives.

The Grazier Has to Read the Pasture

Our job is to understand what is happening before the cattle enter a paddock.

We look at the amount of forage, its maturity, its variety, and the amount of moisture available. We look at how fully the plants have recovered from the previous grazing. We consider the season and the weather that is likely to follow.

We also look at the cattle’s ability to take a full bite. A field may look green from a distance but still lack enough usable forage. Another may appear rough or mature while holding a large amount of feed throughout several levels of growth.

Those decisions cannot be made from a desk. They have to be made in the field.

How Total Grazing Fits the Forage

At Tyner Pond Farm, we practice Total Grazing.

We bring the cattle into a limited area for a brief, concentrated grazing period. We are not working from a simple “take half and leave half” formula. We want the herd to use the stand broadly rather than repeatedly selecting only its favorite plants.

Then we move the cattle and give the paddock the recovery time it needs before they return.

The length of that recovery period changes through the year. During fast spring growth, the pasture may rebuild quickly. During hot or dry weather, recovery takes longer.

We allow the plants to tell us when they are ready rather than returning because a certain number of days has passed.

That recovery is where much of the work happens. Plants rebuild leaves, restore roots, and prepare for the next grazing. Given enough time, the pasture can return with the volume and variety needed to support the herd again.

Right Now, the Forage Is Doing Well

At this point in the season, the forage is doing very well.

The pasture is dense and varied. Clover is flowering above a thick lower layer of grasses and other plants. There is enough height and volume for the cattle to take a good bite, and there is enough variety for the herd to graze through a real plant community rather than one uniform stand.

That is the result of 16 years of work, but it is also the result of this particular season, this rainfall, and the recovery time each field has received.

So when someone asks me how the cattle are doing, I certainly look across the herd.

But first, I look down.

I look at the plants, the soil cover, the moisture, the growth, and the recovery. When the forage is doing well, the cattle have a strong foundation to do well too.

That is where grassfed beef begins.

Good food begins with a place.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does forage matter so much for grassfed beef?

On a 100% grassfed farm, the cattle depend on forage throughout their lives. The amount, maturity, variety, and condition of that forage shape what the cattle have available to eat.

How does pasture change during the grazing season?

Spring often brings quick growth from cool-season grasses. As the season moves forward, plants mature, clover flowers, temperatures rise, and growth rates change. A grazier has to adjust cattle movement and recovery time as those conditions change.

What is Total Grazing at Tyner Pond Farm?

Total Grazing is our practice of bringing cattle into a limited area for a short, concentrated grazing period, then moving them and allowing the paddock a substantial recovery before the herd returns.

How do you know when a pasture is ready to graze again?

We look at the plants rather than relying on a fixed calendar. We consider forage volume, maturity, variety, soil moisture, weather, and how completely the pasture has recovered from the last grazing.