REGENERATIVE GRAZING: Using Cows to Rebuild Soil After a Century of Tillage.

This episode shares the story of Stephen Brass of Walnut Grove Brass Family Farm in Stillman Valley, Illinois, and how he successfully transitioned his 160 acre farm from a chemical intensive, commodity crop operation to a regenerative 100% grass-fed beef operation. He shares the methods he is using to regenerate soil after a century of tillage and decades of chemical usage.

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[andytrommald]

My favorite way to describe this is the cows act similarly to bison back when 100s of millions roamed the plains, and moving them from pasture to pasture simulates predators that would force the great herds to keep moving

[tesha]

Man, that into got my heart warming ❤ Wish your family plenty of health and rain just when you need it the most

[johndahl]

Great video! Very informative. Love to see these stories of conversion. We need more of this in America!

[swampyankee]

I love the fact he chose the Red Devon Cattle which is finally recovering on the livestock conservancy list. Unfortunately the Milking Devon is still on the critical list.

[leonardfp]

Loved this story…way to go man and best of luck from Ireland !

[tommartin]

Great video. You explain things well. Wish all farmers had your mindset.

[RoyJemkins]

Love it I use electric fence and great post called timeless

[tylerchism]

Would love to see this go to native only grasses

[robertgulfshores]

I just picked up an order there yesterday, and had burgers today! Thank you Stephen, they were amazing! I'm happy to support this, it's better for the soil and all the things that live there (insects, nematodes, birds, frogs, etc.), and it's so much healthier for us. Next time I'll buy a 1/4 or 1/2 cow.

[TomBTerrific]

Seems we have been farming in this world for a long time. We have had renowned college professors who have spent thousands of millions researching farming techniques and soil conservation for no apparent reason. It takes a farmer without government involvement to discover regenerative farming. Joe S. was the first I remember doing this decades ago.

[AnjaliNair-nt]

Love what this rancher has done for his land and his cattle in his care. I was curious about the kinds of grasses that he use on his pasture. When he had dug it up it felt like the roots of those grasses were short in general and given that he has not tilled or used chemicals on it for 10 years I was a bit surprised, maybe it was an odd patch. The earthworms were a great sign of soil improvement. Would love to know if he uses locally native prairie grass species and if he notices a difference in quality of soil health and cattle health when using those grasses versus non local ones.

[macfun]

Great job Stephen. I eat for optimal nutrition. Just had a chuck roast from one of your bovines. It was awesome!! I would love to see you do grass fed lamb. I would be a customer for that also.

[peterclark]

Dr. Elaine Ingham (on YouTube): learn how to make compost, compost teas and use sprays to accelerate the regeneration of heavily damaged areas. Also used as a foliar spray to kick start the recovery of yesterday's paddock. Cheap, easy, in both time and money.

[asherlito]

Great video I just learned about American grass which has a deeper root system and specifically thrives with cattle/bison rotation wonder if that will catch on in the coming years.

[andrewrivera]

Excelent and well done Stephen, I wonder if you have thought in getting some hybrid Chestnuts to improve the cows diet, besides having protein they are rich in good fats and enhance the flavour of meat.
Keep on trucking, All the BEST. Greetings from PERÚ.

[leelindsay]

He's definitely improving, but he needs to try out tighter paddocks, more density and faster moves. Perhaps moving 2-3 times per day would show more improvement faster. Hopefully they are feeding hay where it was cut.

[Hy-Brasil]

I started doing this on a smaller scale to restore my overgrazed farm. When i started off i admit i didn't have a clue and my mom (who supposedly grew up on a farm) didn't either. I guess her farm was probably overcrowded and overgrazed too?!

Anyway, better late than never. It only took a year to fix years of ignorance. And all i did was go back to tried and true methods my great great grandparents used.

But first I had to clear my head of all this newfangled modern homestead garbage that was perpetuated by greed. All these so called "homesteaders" and backyard "farmers" are obsessed with turning a profit not knowing it will not happen. Not with their methods. They become animal flippers and hoarders. End up killing most of their stock and keeping others as pets, or "rescues"....
Every single one I've visited had over grown islands of weeds among huge muddy bald spots and waaaay too many animals. Oh and don't forget the LGD.... on a chain because it eats the merchandise. These people are always scrounging for money to buy feed and medicine for animals that seemed to stay sick and never flourish once they're weaned.
Most of the time these folks couldn't eat what they raised because it was too scrawny or they'd invested so much money and emotion into saving it from worms, emotionally they couldn't do it.

But they WOULD breed the crap out of it and try to sell the offspring (only to turn around and buy more feed and meds... for the animals and themselves)

Farming is a trade off. You realize why groceries go sky high when you start raising your own. There's a lot of overhead and even more work. And if you're not able or willing to do the work then DON'T buy livestock. Abd you treat it like a campfire: keep it small, keep it contained, keep an eye on it.
And learn to barter for what you need if you can't grow it yourself.

I know one person who has created a feral pig infestation by "rescuing" pot belly pigs from homesteaders who were breeding them by the dozens and selling them cheap rather than eating them. She stopped counting after 60. There were no pigs until she moved in.
Yeah the surrounding farms just love her for that.
I do too because i have so much pork in my freezer i might as well stop raising my own.
Either way it makes great free dog and cat food!!

Anyway, pardon my deviation from the subject.

It took a year to recover my grass. I sectioned off my fields and built holding pens until it all grew. Yes i had to buy feed and hay in the meantime. It was that or sell every animal. Instead i downsized. And i don't keep more than seven goats, seven sheep and four cows.
I got rid of my muscovy ducks (they're a nuisance if you're trying to feed animals in pens) they're impossible to keep penned up. They'd rather die. And they frequently would.
Now i need to downsize rabbits and chickens. Those are the only animals i want to buy feed for.

The hooves critters are now able to graze and browse all summer. The only trick will be winter. But if i butcher the offspring in fall... it's still fewer mouths to feed and my freezer is full!

[stanleyward]

Would you tell us more about your Devon cattle and how they fit in with regenerative grass farming.

[StevenWerlinger]

This is all great as long as you don't have land payments.

[sarahpozo]

How do you water in each area? And do the cows need salt? We are just starting with four head (2 cows and 2 yearlings)in Texas and trying to learn as much as we can!