Getting Started...

A new blog to track general things on the farm.. Starview Farm -- and other things of general interest..

Farm or Ranch?

Why is Starview Farm more like a ranch than a farm?

It comes down to how we feel about farming versus ranching - -on a farm, the farmer makes feed and doles it out to livestock. On a ranch, livestock get their own feed by grazing. The rancher is responsible for managing that grazing.

Here at Starview Farm, we do make some hay to get through the winter. But we've found we can graze from mid-April to December, and cut down the hay feeding to a few months. We can do this because we have cattle only in the summer. They keep the grass under control, and are usually gone by October. Our horses can then graze through the fall until the snow is too deep to graze.

To put up hay, we need:

• mower-conditioner, to cut the hay & crimp the grass stems
• hay rake, to turn over the rows
• baler, with thrower, to package the hay into 30lb bundlers
• bale throw wagons, to haul the hay off the fields
• elevators to get the hay from the wagons, into the hay mow
• at least 1 tractor to pull and power the mower & baler. We have 2.
• good weather to make the hay,
• at least 4 people available to unload & stack hay

Making hay is high-pressure! You want a high pressure weather system with clear skies and low humidity; you need the hay to be at the right stage of growth; you need to juggle people and time to get things together at the right time; and most times some piece of equipment breaks down and holds everything up.

The tractors consume diesel fuel and maintenance: new filters, oil changes, et cetera. PTOs wear out, mower teeth & guards need replacements, rake tines break, and so on.

Compare that to grazing, where we need:

• plumbing (water lines) to all the fields
• water troughs
• investment in fencing - good perimeter fencing, and internal paddocks
• a good fencer, with lightening arrester/choke/ground system

I personally find grazing so much more satisfying.. walk or ride out, shut off the fencer with a remote control, move the cattle to a new grazing spot, and re-position the water trough. It's a low pressure job that I can do in any weather.