Synopses & Reviews
Join the movement toward safe, healthy, sustainable grass-fed cattle farming. Take advantage of the naturally efficient relationship between cattle and pasture to create a profitable, financially stable enterprise, regardless of the size of your farm, the climate where you live, or your current farming practices.
Cattle are wonderfully adept at converting grass into meat, fat, and milk. Here, Julius Ruechel gives you the management and marketing tools you need to meet your personal, financial, and farming goals. Whether you are beginning a new enterprise or changing from a more conventional feeding and management system, Grass-Fed Cattle offers complete information on running a profitable, environmentally sustainable farm based on the efficiency of cattle and grass.
Learn how to:
*Make the transition from a conventional, grain-fed program to grass-fed production
*Manage grazing practices and soil and grass conditions to maximize cattle health and your time and resources
*Successfully market your grass-fed beef
*Use the step-by-step workbook provided for detailed, customized business planning
Review
“For people starting out in raising grass-fed beef, this book is essential. For the experienced grass farmer, this book is an important addition to the library.” – Temple, Grandin, designer of humane livestock facilities; author of Animals in Translation
Review
“This book walks the reader through every phase of grass-fed beef production, often detailing aspects found wanting in textbooks on the subject. Its lessons are international and conquer the environmental differences under which grass is grown and fed. Outstanding!” – Charles Walters, Executive Editor of Acres, USA
Review
“An excellent how-to book for grass-based natural cattle production…one you will want to read and re-read many times.” – from the foreword by Allan Nation, Editor of The Stockman Grass Farmer
Synopsis
Successfully raise grass-fed cattle and enjoy the benefits of great-tasting beef and a financially stable enterprise. In this comprehensive guide, Julius Ruechel covers every aspect of raising healthy and thriving grass-fed cattle, offering advice on herd selection, pasture management, medical care, necessary equipment, winter grazing, slaughtering procedures, and more. With tips on creating a viable business plan and identifying niche markets for your beef, Ruechel provides everything you need to know to develop a profitable and environmentally sustainable grass-fed cattle operation.
Synopsis
Julius Ruechel covers every aspect of raising grass-fed cattle, including herd selection, breeding, yearly cycles, cultivating and maintaining healthy soil and grass, fencing and pasture rotation, winter grazing, pests and diseases, and necessary equipment. He also provides everything you need to know about marketing your product, from niche market opportunities to scheduling the selling and buying of cattle for the greatest profit, finishing the beef and arranging for slaughter, labeling, marketing, and financial planning and record keeping. He even includes chapters for conventional farmers who are transitioning to natural production, farmers who are considering leasing or buying land, and farmers who want to pursue organic certification. Whether you're running a small backyard hobby farm or a large commercial ranch, this is the information you need to successfully raise and market grass-fed beef.
About the Author
Julius Ruechel spent three years converting his familys beef cattle ranch in British Columbia into a certified organic farm with grass-fed cattle and organic field crops. He then established his own grass-fed beef farm in Canadas Yukon Territory. He is the author of Grass-Fed Cattle and currently lives in British Columbia.
Table of Contents
Part ONE: The Fundamentals of Grass-Based Beef
The Great Herds and Their Grasslands The Ticking of Geologic Time • The Great Herds • Lessons from the Herd
Genetics and Breeding: Selecting the Right Animals for Your Herd The Pitfalls of Single-Trait Selection • Environment and Climate • Characteristics of the Ideal Breeding Animal • Culling Animals: Training Your Predatory Eye • Breeding for Your Target Market
The Cattle Year on GrassThe Calving Season and Predator Exposure • The Calf: Birth to Sexual Development • The Heifer Calf: Sexual Development to Calving • Photoperiod: Sunlight and Fertility • The Bull Calf: Sexual Development to Breeding • Cattle Processing: The Human Role in the Cattle Year • Marketing Grass-Fed Cattle • Moving the Calving Season
Grass and GrazingThe Rumen: The Forge that Turns Grass into Beef • Root Reserves and the Ideal Grazing Interval • A Recipe for Healthy Soil • Grass Varieties • Rejuvenating Old Pastures
Part TWO: Infrastructure and Management
Electric Fences and Rotational GrazingFactors to Consider • Energizers • Permanent Wires • Posts and Braces • Insulators • Permanent Gates • Portable Electric Fencing • Training Cattle to Respect Electric Fences • Understanding the Goals of Pasture Rotation • Pasture Rotation: Herd Migration in Your Own Backyard • Training the Herd for Pasture Moves • Managing the Calving Season on Pasture
Livestock WaterHow Much Water Do Cattle Need to Drink? • Peak Water Supply • Water Quality • Direct Access to Open Water • Pumping Water • Water Storage • Piping Water • Cattle Behavior at the Water Trough • Rotational Grazing Patterns and Water • Laying Pipe • Winter-Grazing Patterns and Water • Watershed Conservation: Managing Riparian Areas
Planning for Winter GrazingWinter Grazing: The Twelve-Month Plan • Supplementation and Forage Analyses • Low-Cost Winter Feed for the Transition to Winter Grazing
Planning for DroughtA History Lesson • Preparing a Drought Plan
Managing Your Herd Integrated Herd Management • Low-Stress Handling
Pests, Parasites, and DiseasesThe Mechanisms of Disease • Preventing Disease • Specific Diseases, Pests, and Parasites • Making Healthy Soil for Healthy Animals • Complementary Grazing Species
Soil FertilityThe Importance of Soil Analyses • What Does the Cow Think of Soil Fertility? • How Healthy Soil and Grass Work • Calcium and Magnesium Revisited: Proper Ratios Are Critical • Organic Matter, Humus, and Nitrogen • The Scoop on Macronutrients • And a Pinch of Micronutrients
WeedsWhat Is a Weed? • Variety Is All • When and Why Certain Plants Emerge • Quick Fixes Versus Long-Term Solutions • Educate Yourself, Then Put Your Cattle to Work • Weeds to Remedy Nutrient Deficiencies
Soil Moisture and IrrigationDecreasing Evaporation • Reducing Runoff • Increasing Water Infiltration • Take Responsibility for Water • The Disadvantages of Irrigation • Calculating Your Irrigation Needs
Part THREE: Business Planning and Marketing
Land and Equipment Acquiring Land for your Natural, Grass-Based Cattle Enterprise • Equipment
Market OptionsCommodity-Market Opportunities • Niche-Market Opportunities • Determining Your Target Market • Three Case Studies
Stocker Cattle The Cattle Cycle • Sell/Buy Economics • Stocker Logistics
Grass-Finished BeefThe Art of Grass Finishing • The Health Benefits of Grass-Fed Beef • Lessons from the Slaughterhouse • Cutting and Wrapping • Inspections • Pricing Your Meat • Pickup and Delivery • Cooking Grass-Fed Beef
Organic CertificationSeeking Certification After the Transition • Headaches of the Certification Process • Choosing the Best • Solving the Most Common Challenges
Dynamic MarketingDeveloping a Profile of Your Target Customers • Demystifying Product Labels • Your Advertising Strategy and Label • Market Exposure
Helpful Business-Management ToolsImportance and Urgency • Getting the Biggest Bang for Your Buck • Weighing Decisions, Solving Problems, and Handling Crises• 10 Percent Chance, 90 Percent Work • Your Unfair Advantage
Part FOUR: Your Business Plan: Putting Principles into Practice
Your Goals and Market OpportunitiesYour Business Plan • Starting with Goals • Your Goals • Assessing Your Market Environment
Your Financial Plans Determining the Focus of Your Business • Conscious Profit Planning • Determining the Price of Your Direct-Marketed Beef
Your Cattle Year on GrassPlanning the Ideal Cattle Year on Grass
Your Grazing InfrastructurePlanning for Your Herd’s Water Requirements • Preparing Your Farm Map • Piping Water
Your Grazing PlanYour Summer-Grazing Plan • Your Winter-Grazing Plan: Managing the Grass Reserve • The Winter Grazing Map
Your Herd Nutrition PlanDeveloping Your Herd Nutrition Program • Procuring Samples for Forage Analyses • What the Livestock Nutritionist Needs to Know • Locating a Livestock Nutritionist • Formulating Supplements and Monitoring BCS
Your Grass-Finishing Plan
Grass-Finishing Essentials • Slaughterhouse Considerations
Your Marketing PlanDeveloping Profiles of Your Target Customers • Designing Your Product Label • Formulating an Advertising Strategy
Planning for AdversityDrought • Financial Preparedness • Crisis Management
Planning for ChangeCommitting to the Change • Plan Thoroughly • Moving the Calving Season • Turning on Your Herd’s Migration • Switching to Winter Grazing • Making Additional Changes