Part 1: Setting up a successful grazing operation on your 5-acre farm.

Part 1: Setting up a successful grazing operation on your 5-acre farm. There are many steps to getting your new farm off to the right start. I am going to have a 4-part series on each step to take and how to implement then economically on your new farm. If you follow the instructions on my 4-part series, you can enjoy your own successful grazing operation without breaking the bank on input costs.

[MuricaFyea]

I left NYC with dreams of living far from any city on 100 acres because of your videos. My wife was having none of that though so I settled on 4 acres right outside of Chattanooga TN. Had dreams of owning cattle but settling on st. Croix sheep ( hopefully 4 or 5) because of your videos. Just wanted to say thank you.

[tannerfarmstead]

So glad you did a video on this at a homestead scale

[rosalieroku]

Lean toward trusting a farmer who YouTubes
Before trusting a YouTuber who farms.

[LisaMarieSamples-py]

I have been farming since 2012; attended workshops and have read books, listened to podcasts and spent good money after bad attending paid seminars. Your no nonsense approach to farming is SPOT ON!!! THANK YOU for sharing your knowledge and plethora of information. Just added cattle to the mix and your videos have been amazingly simple and so helpful!

[rosalieroku]

Greg Judy at the whiteboard is the best! I know I'm gonna learn something important.

[ramyswar]

I have 20 ewes on 5 acres. I rotate between 5 one-acre paddocks. I have a small paddock with hay that I put the animals in when I need more grass recovery time. I learned from you. Thanks Greg.

[lisakelley]

Thank you so much Greg! My sister and I are retired widows... We have 10 acres in East Texas... mostly in trees (pine/hardwood mix) and VERY odly shaped (Imagine a profile of Winne the Pooh!). I ran dairy goats for about 7 years very successfully... they LOVE that yaupon!!! They have been gone for almost 2 years and the place has gotten really overgrown! We're have an order placed with a local hair sheep breeder for 4 lambs upon weaning (within the month, I think). I've been watching and re-watching your videos but for some reason I was having trouble making the conversion back to smaller acreage. This video is SO helpful! I'm excited to see the balance of the series as you get them made & posted. Blessings...

[georgeheller]

Thank you Greg, you're ability to show people what works, has helped countless graziers get started. Your practical advice and showing us what it looks like has been the primary driver in getting my farm set up. Not sure what I would be doing if I hadn't found you on YouTube. Thank you again for everything and have a wonderful day.

[aethulwulfvonstopphen]

Awesome video series. As a 25 year old man, my goal is to one day achieve an operation of your quality and size, or at least enough to raise my future family, god willing, solely off on-farm revenue. My first step in that is buying a 5-10 acre piece to live on and learn the ways of the pastoralist hands on. Your knowledge is invaluable Sir, and I thank you for it.

[KaboodleBri]

I already know I'm going to LOVE this video series. We're in the 1st stages of clearing trees to reclaim silvopasture next to the house. This is the exact set of videos that'll answer most, if not all, of my questions! Thanks for your great content and wealth of knowledge!

[adamelliott]

I've purchased my house on 4 acres, half of which is a fen that I'm rewilding with native plants. Eventually I'll talk my neighbor into selling me 8 acres on my backside. It's played out pasture ground with played out fences. You've been a great source of knowledge for my future "if/when" acquisition of this land and being able to run some animals. I'm looking forward to all the hard work and effort that it'll take to get things safe, healthy and productive again.

[johndavies]

Looking forward to seeing these. I always thought I would never do anything like raise livestock because I was taught that you needed tons of land and staff. The only ranchers I have met had huge herds and multiple staff houses and bunk houses etc. Discovering your channel has been a real eye opener for me.
Thank you😊

[intentionalhomesteadingmi]

This was encouraging to watch. We have 5 acres and successfully grazed two cows for 6 months in less than 2.5 of that last year by rotating them intensively (even though it looked silly to many neighbors!)

We also raised over 300 meat chickens on that same pasture. You can do a lot with little if you do it right!

[CriaAndKiddFW]

Perfect video! I've got an offer in on 16 acres, 10 are pasture... thank you! Looking for fiber animals, I'm a spinner, weaver, and knitter. Plus, there would be a few extra to process and have milk for the family.

[cindyprickett]

Greg I love your matter of fact teaching method. Thank you so much for your time and for making these videos!

[brianfreeman]

I love the step by step basic approach. I would guess these will be some of your most watched videos. Thanks Greg

[marcus]

Very practical and informative. I am really looking forward to these. Thank you very much.

[elbiemostert]

Greg, thank you for making time for these videos and sharing your knowledge. We appreciate it. Greetings from South Africa

[wadepatton]

Six and a half is what I'm starting on. Still gathering supplies for the perimeter fence. I had no plans for a permanent division, but will consider it. My 6.5 is more like 5 because my home/yard/outbuildings and also a swampy spot down in the middle of the woods and a not-so-good pond in the pasture. It's also quite likely that I can lease back the 5 acres I sold-which is all pasture (once the neighbor sees how I manage the grass). Will be using well water. Am thinning the woods down to silvo-pasture, it's dominated by white oaks. The GRASS looks great (in places without sedge) out there now because I stopped mowing it short 2 years ago. But I have only deer for grazers at this point-and they use it more now that it's taller. Once I get this place set up I'll start on my rugged 73 acres just two miles away (the homestead yet to be). It's going to be logged and have ponds made, then fenced. Sheep and LGD's are huge in my "retirement" plan.

[galenhaugh]

I have 1.8 acres of pasture and rotate between 4 permanent paddocks I've established with just two Black Angus steers, moving them into a paddock when the grass is a foot tall and letting them stay about a week until they have eaten off the top 6". (Studies show most of the nutrients in forage are in the top 6" and mature plants are the LAST things cows like to eat, and the least nutritious, too!)
Last year my two steers gained 420 pounds (on the hoof), which is about 105 lbs of meat per acre! I always mow my pasture once in June so the grass doesn't get out of control by using a large mulching lawnmower; that mulch protects the pasture from the hot sun in July and August, which quickly dries out the plants if bare ground is exposed! (I NEVER graze to the point where any dirt is showing!!)
I grain my cows every day with 1 lb of 4-way to start, increasing it to 1.5 lbs per day half way through the season. Although these were large steers (1, 230 lbs each in the beginning) the daily grain ration produced choice beef in one and nearly prime beef in the other, a noticeable upgrade for hay-fed steers! (I grazed 7 months, from May to October. My perimeter fence is six-strand barbed wire augmented with one electric strand of 170 kips 12.5 gauge wire set at 30" high. My barbed wire is 4-point for the bottom and third strands up, and 2-point barbed for the other 4 strands, all clipped to t-posts and interwoven with wire stays. The fence corners are made of braced triplets of old railroad ties using 8' treated 4x4s for the bracing while tension throughout is established with roll-up "strainers" (actually "tensioners").