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Cattle on the Move
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By Janet Warford-Perry
Grayson Cattle Company takes a regenerative approach to cattle and forage management Jarrod Grayson’s unique, The ultimate goal is to profitably non-traditional method of rais- raise genetically-superior cattle that ing quality cattle has been are happy, healthy and leave no carviewed by some of his peers as a bon footprint on the environment. laughing stock. “I want my cattle to have only one With a full-time job on the railroad, bad day in their entire lifetime,” Jarin addition to being a one-man oper- rod explained. ation caring for registered Herefords It’s a method Jarrod said he feels is and Black Herefords, Jarrod doesn’t a lot easier than traditional farming, have time to dwell on the mockery of where he doesn’t feel enslaved to it. naysayers. He first began regenerative agriculInstead, Jarrod focuses on reading vol- ture on 80 acres he owned in Bourumes about regenerative cattle farming. bon. In this process, greenhouse gases are First, he chose Hereford because naturally absorbed into the the breed tended to be docile, good land without damaging air mothers, and their carcass traits quality. He’s visited farms turn forage into pounds easily. that use the process and atAs a young man, Jarrod tended seminars/workshops worked cattle with friends hosted by experts in the field, and always wanted to raise never discounting a new or Newburg, Mo. cattle. He got the opportubetter way to improve Grayson nity when he and his wife Cattle Company. Krista flipped a house and
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With off-the-farm jobs, Grayson Cattle Company owners Jarrod and Krista Garyson have implemented a rotational grazing system that not only is convenient, but improves the forages and soil conditions.
turned the profit into the purchase of a farm in Bourbon in 2015. The couple bought the current 143acre tract of land in 2019, and Jarrod worked for hours setting up the grid system of 12 paddocks. It enables him to rotate upward of 30 cow/calf pairs into an 11- to 14-acre paddock daily. In long, hot summer days of drought, the herd is moved twice a day to a new paddock. An electric fence system surrounds the farm, with a 30-feet strip of land between paddocks that provides access to each, with a centrally located barn and working pens. Nosy by nature, cattle automatically respond and hurry to greet Jarrod’s arrival on the ATV. Moving the cattle from one paddock to another is a matter of unrolling one section of staked wire, letting the cows naturally walk through the adjoining section, then closing them in by rolling wire onto plastic stakes behind the cows. The process takes eight to 15 minutes. The continual grazing movement is beneficial in several ways. Cattle never stand in one spot long enough to chew down to the bare ground; therefore, the soil doesn’t get barren in hot weather or muddy in
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wet conditions. In wintertime, when the brown tops are pulled back, clover and green grass are still seen. Very little hay is needed during the winter months. About 4 to 6 inches of natural forage and grass remain even during harsh weather. New grass growth, the primary food source, generates much faster. No fertilizer is needed because the cattle waste naturally provides it. Jarrod worries for traditional farmers because of the current shortage of fertilizer available for purchase this year to rejuvenate the barren land. If fertilizer can be found, the cost has inflated about 200 percent. Cattle aren’t watered from a pond. Well water is pumped into a large implement tire containing water, permanently placed halfway between two paddocks, underneath the electric fencing, allowing watering from each side. The absence of a pond keeps the hair on the cattle from getting muddy and wet. Cattle with clean coats are healthier, Jarrod explained, because they aren’t exposed to bacteria that cause illness. A dry coat also keeps them warmer or cooler, and gives the natural ability to insulate during changing temperatures. A matted, muddy coat prevents the APRIL 11, 2022
