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Adaptive grazing taught in southwest Missouri

A different way to graze cattle is part of the regenerative agriculture movement. Members of the Soil Health Academy held three days of classes in southwest Missouri on adaptive grazing and Brownfield Ag News was there.

Allen Williams, a partner in the Soil Health Academy, uses the practice on his farm in Mississippi by constantly observing soil microbial populations, plant species diversity and livestock performance, “And then we’re adjusting and flexing things from the size of the paddock, the timing of our daily moves, the stock density at which we’re grazing them and even the pattern at which we move them through our farms and ranches on a monthly and annual basis.”

Williams says cattle will have the best performance on plants, especially grasses, that are boot high, “That particular stage of growth of our grasses, we have the best balance between protein and energy, or carbohydrates.”

Williams says he taught as a professor that cattle should graze on early maturing pastures but adaptive grazing has turned that conventional practice on its head.

Ray Archuleta, co-founder of the Soil Health Academy, held the classes at his sheep farm near Seymour, Missouri. He says regenerative agriculture is about mimicking nature and getting back in sync with it.