Shaylee Wallace

FROM THE GROUND UP:

HOW GRAZING PROTOCOLS CAN BENEFIT ARKANSAS RANCHERS

Farmers and ranchers across Arkansas continue to look for innovative ways to steward the land. In recent years, many have started working towards raising more livestock with less inputs. For some, this has led to implementing grazing programs on their operations.

Many Arkansas ranchers are familiar with the 300-day grazing program, a management effort to reduce the number of days a producer must feed hay and lower their input costs. The 300-day grazing program from University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture includes eight different practices to help ranchers achieve this goal. For some cattle producers in the state, the desire to lower production costs and utilize a variety of forage resources has led them to rotational grazing.

Rotational grazing is the containment and rotation of livestock through pasture to reduce inputs while improving soil, animal and forage health. Only one portion of pasture is used at a time. Cattle with access to full pastures will only consume one-third of the forage available to them, returning to the more palatable forage and leaving other nutritious plants behind.

Not only does free grazing use only a third of a pasture, but it also means higher input costs through more grain or more hay needed to maximize nutrition. Rotational grazing can increase forage consumption up to two-thirds, reducing feed and hay costs and improving soil and forage health.

Rotational grazing typically includes temporary electrical fencing. This fencing is used to create smaller sections within a pasture. As cattle graze a section down, they also help reduce weeds and overgrowth through trampling and recycle nutrients back into the soil from urine and manure. A heavier stocking density helps assure there is little to no forage waste and aids in weed reduction and nutrient recycling. It is important for each rancher to find the right stocking number for their land based

By Shaylee Wallace

on available forage, quality of the pasture and animal nutrition needs.

Rotational grazing is an adjustment for many producers. It requires a small up-front investment for fencing supplies, as well as some added labor in moving cattle and resetting temporary fencing.

For one Arkansas rancher, rotational grazing was an answer he didn’t realize he was looking for.

Daniel Keisler from Ozark is a first-generation farmer. He says his cattle operation began with him wanting to raise livestock for his own source of quality meats. Family and friends then became interested and within two years Keisler was raising beef for everyone within his circle of influence.

As an entrepreneur, Keisler saw an opportunity to raise more cattle with the same resources he was already using. After his wife battled two rounds of breast cancer, they began to look at different ways to raise their cattle.

“We began looking at alternative ways,” said Keisler. “There are some management practices that we implement to try to produce a high-quality beef, while at the same time regenerate our soils and be good stewards of this creation.”

Keisler uses electric wire to create proper paddock sizing, allowing his cattle to keep forage in rapid growth and utilizing all nutrients available. Keisler also includes pasture cropping in his rotational grazing. He implements annuals and works to build diversity in pasture forage. He also uses cover cropping to keep a living root in the ground year-round.

Electric wire is the most commonly used fence in rotational grazing. Electric wire can be put up and taken down on a spool and placed using step-in posts to create proper paddock size and allow for easy movement of cattle.

“We’re doing it for several reasons. We want to feed animals well. We want to finish beef that will marble and fatten,” said Keisler. “But the life blood of our whole operation is the soil. We’re realizing our organic matter is increasing, our topsoil is no longer clay, we’re getting minerals and vitamins back in the ground, we’re seeing it in our animal performance, in our collection of water, we’re not having erosion. We’re solving many problems.”

Keisler also credits their success to their selection of cattle. Keisler raises Angus cattle, choosing specific genetics and traits to produce smaller cattle. This allows him to avoid using supplemental feed and continue his program as low input and forage based.

“We can put them on forages, and they can fully sustain and reach their physiological size. They can put intermuscular fat into the marbling of the meat and do it all on forage. Of course, our business model is to produce proteins that people can purchase that are not only regenerative to creation, but also beneficial and nutritious to them.”

Keisler says the soil is the “life blood” of their operation and replenishing the soil and preventing erosion has played a role in improving their herd.

Ten years from the start of his journey, Keisler is still using rotational grazing and pasture cropping to his advantage, like many other farmers and ranchers in Arkansas. For those interested in rotational grazing, the Cooperative Extension Service says there are five steps to truly lengthen grazing seasons: 1. Inventory the forage base to find what forages are available for grazing during each season. 2. Improve forage management practices to extend the grazing season with the existing forages (do this before adding any other forages). 3. Add complementary forages to fill in seasonal gaps if needed. Plan short-term and long-term options. 4. Plan forage and grazing practices ahead for the year and get the schedule on the calendar. 5. Monitor and adjust forages and livestock as needed by keeping records of each practice.

It does not take long for cattle to adjust to a rotational grazing protocol. Many producers find that once cattle learn moving paddocks means fresh forage, rotation becomes easy. Often cattle will begin to call out when they think they are ready to be moved. But it is recommended to wait until a paddock has been fully grazed by cattle before rotating. Many producers implement heavier stocking per paddock as they adjust and learn how many cattle it takes to clear a paddock on their land.

With some time and investment, rotational grazing is a feasible option for any rancher. More information about 300-day grazing and rotational grazing protocols can be found through the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture via their local Extension offices or online at https://bit.ly/GrazingInfo. *

The selection of smaller cattle and improved genetics has allowed Keisler to reduce input costs and the use of supplemental feed. This effort has kept his operation low input and forage-based.

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For over 70 years Farm Bureau® Insurance’s commitment to our customers has never wavered. In that time, local agents and adjusters have served communities all over Arkansas with home and auto insurance, and more. We believe that your family is part of our family. And protecting families has always been our pledge. Talk with your local agent to learn more about the Farm Bureau Promise.

Highlights from the

87th Annual ArFB Convention

Farmers, ranchers and agricultural leaders from across the state came together for Arkansas Farm Bureau’s 87th annual convention Dec. 1-3 at the Statehouse Convention Center in Little Rock.

The convention’s theme, “Past, Present, Future,” was reinforced with workshops that included topics such as broadband connectivity, succession planning, tax planning, marketing to consumers, new technology in timber production and brand development.

Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, ArFB President Rich Hillman and Kris “Tanto” Paronto, former Army Ranger, were keynote speakers for the event. Farm Bureau’s annual business session, where voting delegates define the organization’s policy positions on items of importance to Farm Bureau members, concluded the event.

Awards were presented to county Farm Bureaus for their work in support of the organization’s agricultural advocacy and membership efforts. In addition, Young Farmers & Ranchers competition winners were recognized, as were recipients of Arkansas Farm Bureau’s statewide Ag Education awards, the Women’s Leadership Award and the Stanley E. Reed Leadership Award, given annually to an active Farm Bureau member, 36 to 45 years old, for outstanding leadership within their county Farm Bureau and community.

The various honorees are: • Josh Cureton of Cash is the 2021 recipient of the Stanley E. Reed Leadership Award.

Cureton has been on the Craighead County board for 16 years, serving as an officer for eight years and on the executive board for 12.

He served as county board president from 2014-2016, and during his term, in 2015, the county received the state President’s Award. • Kristyn Sheets of Magnet Cove High School in Hot Spring County as its Outstanding Ag

Educator • Harrisburg High School’s Levi Jones earned the Outstanding New Ag Educator Award • Carlisle High School earned the Outstanding

Ag Education Program • Stone County received the President’s

Award as the state’s top county Farm Bureau organization. Counties competing for the

President’s Award must earn a Gold Star designation in each of 10 measurement categories and be a top scorer in their respective membership category. The 10 Gold Star categories are membership acquisition, organization, public relations, commodity services, governmental affairs, women’s activities, Young Farmers &

Ranchers activities, member services, safety and youth. • The Women’s Leadership Committee from Scott County was the Outstanding

County Women’s Program award winner for 2021. The award honors the county

Women’s Leadership Committee that exhibits “exemplary support of its county organization, activities and goals.” • Debbie Moreland of Pulaski County Farm

Bureau Women’s Leadership Committee received the Arkansas Farm Bureau Women’s

Diamond Award, which honors a county

Farm Bureau leader whose volunteer efforts are above and beyond the norm. Moreland currently serves as president of the Pulaski

County Farm Bureau and is program administrator for the Arkansas Association of Conservation Districts. She lives in

Natural Steps with her husband Bart.

(Top) Farm Bureau members watch the screens during one of the General Session presentations. (Below) Farm Bureau delegates gather to finalize policy for 2022 during the Business Session on the final day of Convention.

(Above, L to R) Arkansas Farm Bureau Vice President Mike Freeze, President Rich Hillman, former Army Ranger Kris “Tanto” Paronto and Arkansas Farm Bureau Executive VP Warren Carter pose at the conclusion of Paronto’s memorable keynote presentation about his combat experiences in Benghazi. (Below) Arkansas Secretary of Agriculture Wes Ward talks to attendees at the Trade Show.

On the final day of the event, Rich Hillman of Carlisle was reelected as Arkansas Farm Bureau’s president, and Mike Freeze of Little Rock will continue as the agriculture advocacy organization’s vice president. Delegates also elected six other board members during the final day of the meeting.

A rice farmer, Hillman, 58, was first elected to as Farm Bureau’s president in 2019 and before that he served 11 years as the organization’s vice president. He first joined the organization’s board of directors in 2001. He is Arkansas Farm Bureau’s 11th president since its creation in 1935. He is a sixth-generation farmer whose main crops are rice, soybeans and wheat. He and his wife Tina have two grown children, Collin and Caroline, and one granddaughter.

Mike Freeze, 69, begins his third term as vice president. He operates the Keo Fish Farm, the largest hybrid striped bass hatchery in the world. He is a past chairman of the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission. He and his wife Betty have two grown daughters, Rachael and Kelly.

Board action later resulted in the reelection of Dan Wright of Waldron as Secretary/Treasurer. Wright, 61, raises poultry and grows hay. He and his wife, Belinda, have two grown children, Dustin and Megan. They have five grandchildren.

The voting delegates reelected six board members to new two-year terms. They are Sherry Felts, Joiner; Jon Carroll, Moro; Joe Thrash, Houston; Terry Laster, Strong; Chase Groves, Garland City; and Jack Evans of Lonoke. Also elected were two new board members, Jason Henson of Mount Judea and Bob Shofner of Centerton. Both men raise livestock. *

Arkansas Farm Bureau President Rich Hillman (far left) and Vice President Mike Freeze (far right), stand on stage with Arkansas 4-H and FFA leaders.

ArFB President Hillman and his wife, Tina, pose for a “selfie” with members of Arkansas FFA.

ArFB State Women’s Leadership Committee Chair Magen Allen, Huck Plyler of Hempstead County and former NBA and Arkansas Razorback basketball player Joe Klein chat during a live 103.7 The Buzz radio broadcast during the Trade Show.

(Left) ArfB President Hillman has a Zoom conversation with American Farm Bureau President Zippy Duvall and Craighead County Farm Bureau President Jeffrey Tubbs about the conference theme of “Past, Present, Future” at the opening of Convention. (Right) Hillman is joined onstage by Duvall and Tubbs after a surprise reveal that both men were in the building.

Kevin McKenzie, Executive Vice President – General Manager of Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Company of Arkansas, Inc.

Arkansas writer and Women’s Leadership Luncheon Speaker Talya Tate Boerner.

(Top Left, L to R) Hillman, Magen Allen, Women’s Diamond Award winner Debbie Moreland and Freeze. (Top Right) Hillman and Freeze with (middle) Magen Allen, Freeze and Regina Oliver of the Scott County Women’s Leadership Committee, winner of the Outstanding County Women’s Program. (Middle Row Left, L to R) Freeze, Stone County Farm Bureau President Larry Smith – holding the President’s Award for top county Farm Bureau organization – and Hillman. (Middle Row Right, L to R) Freeze, Outstanding New Ag Educator winner Levi Jones of Harrisburg High School and Hillman. (Left Corner Top, L to R) Outstanding Ag Educator Kristyn Sheets of Magnet Cove High School, Hillman and Freeze. (Left Corner Bottom, L to R) Freeze, Hillman, Stanley E. Reed Leadership Award-winner Josh Cureton of Craighead County and Charlene Reed.

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