The numbers are impressive : 200 Akka , three metal money of farm animal , 14,000 ft of goat fence and 23 gates . It ’s all for a sustainable grazing technique manage by two consecrated and well-read farmers , exploit a rotational grazing formula that makes for an innovative and successful livestock speculation .
BF Farmin Huggins , Missouri , is possess and manoeuver by Mark Bengston and Jodey Fulcher . They are top - mountain pass breeders of Black Hereford cattle , Kiko goats and Kunekune pigs . All three metal money relish rotational grazing through pastures at BF Farm .
Mark and Jodey have found an overture that maximize nutrient availability , reduces parasite risk and promotes health for each animal while in effect managing the natural resourcefulness of the land .
While Mark produce up in New Jersey and had never farmed before , Jodey grew up in Georgia and spent summers find out and work on his grandparent ’ farm . An uncle pass on Jodey his first Capricorn the Goat — a Saanen buck that had been bring home the bacon in a poker game — and his grandfather set out him start with wimp .
Jodey ’s early land experiencesinfluenced the choices he made starting a modest farm with Mark .
Read about one family heal their Din Land through regenerative USDA .
Jodey Fulcher
From Garden to Farm
Together since 2006 , Mark and Jodey first lived on a Georgia belongings that they enjoy . An avid gardener , Mark sky-high institute their full K .
finally , he longed for more space to garden . Jodey suggested theylook for a little farm . Intrigued by the idea , they find andbought a 35 - Akka farm in Cave Spring , Georgia , in 2013 .
When Mark and Jodey moved to the farm , they started with a low mixed - strain herd of goats . slow , Jodey redefined the makeup of the herd . He nail down his focus and dedication to Kiko Capricorn .
Jodey Fulcher
Jodey begin to get a name for himself and the farm with the quality of Kiko Goat he produced .
presently they were researching other livestock species . This led them to see more about Kunekune pig bed and Black Hereford cows .
Both species would eventually take up mansion on their farm . Mark and Jodey realized they would need more land to focus on the kinds of livestock they want to negociate and the rotational grazing organisation they admired . With a commitment to lift registered livestock and a imagination of quality over amount , they begin abrade the country for the right farming location .
Jodey Fulcher
After a nationwide search , Missouri test to offer the most economical option in terminus of lineament grazing land and handiness .
BF Farm comprises 200 acres with 50 landed estate surround to create the 12 grazing land for goats and pigs . The remaining 150 land provides rotational grazing for the kine .
take this outer space is consistent with the mission of BF Farm . Through advanced research , meticulous record book holding and a dedication to excellency in care , nurture and maintenance , the pair raised animals that are financially rich . Jodey Fulcher
Pasture Practices
“ When we corrupt this farm , Jodey had about 30 Capricorn and we had a dozen head of oxen , ” Mark says . “ We are in our third year here and have spring up to over 50 read/write head of cattle , 40 goats with the anticipation of 80 offspring this yr . And we have five reproducing sows . ”
The move to Missouri has allow for improved animal health while supporting the sustainable rotational grazing practices Mark and Jodey wanted to follow up .
The farm is laid out like the face of a clock . About 50 acres are destine for the Capricorn and pigs with fencing and gates to let animal to be moved from pasture to pasture . During the summer months , animals are move on a weekly foundation through pastures range in size from 2 to 10 land .
The lea rotation maximise food resource for each species without overgrazing the solid ground , promote animal health .
“ Each animate being has sponger specific to their coinage , ” Jodey says . “ One of the large expense when promote caprine animal commercially is deworming . Rather than pouring chemicals into the animals , we move them through the ley and get healthier somebody . ”
Mark say they ’ve create an environment that does n’t contain enough animals for the parasites to fill out their aliveness hertz .
Goat parasite do n’t strike the pigs , cattle parasites do n’t affect the goats . Each species arrives in a pasture and vacuums up the parasites get out behind by the previous grazers . The low-down stage of parasites also mean the animals do n’t involve medicament to keep them sizeable .
Rotation Model
The animals move in a clockwise rotational grazing system from pasturage to pasture . The way the farm is laid out — with the summation of gates and fencing — allows the animals to be move from one lea to another each calendar week .
Not only are the animals protect from parasites this way , but rotational graze check the land is never overgrazed as each specie take in something unlike while in a single pasture .
The cow also move through their own pastures in a low - tension migration — not a feverish Bos taurus drive . Movement of the stock consequence in build - in rest full point for each pasture .
No radical is back in the same pasture for 12 weeks , and no species is back in the same pasture for six weeks .
Seeding Systems
The eatage are a intermixture of native grasses and forbs and have been overseeded with fescue , orchard sens , timothy , Bermuda , clover and other types of Gunter Wilhelm Grass over the years . There are also small wooded areas in each eatage that provide a smorgasbord of scrubby plant such as buck bush , blackberry , multiflora rose and sapling .
“ The animals issue forth in , eat , fertilise . And then after they leave , the pasture recovers , grows and is quick for them when they render , ” Jodey says .
Missouri has some of the lushest crop land in the country , and the area Mark and Jodey picked is some of the good in the state of matter .
They have not necessitate to intentionally oversee but recognize that the farm animal might be overseeding and reseeding in the process of displace . And , at the acme of the rise time of year , they do use tractors to prune because there is too much for the animals too consume .
In planning for the wintertime months , Mark and Jodey destine 40 of the 150 acres for stockpiling . These acres will be support back from the rotation starting in August . Allowed to produce for the remainder of the time of year , the acres allow for winter grazing for the stock .
One of the largest expenses in keep livestock is purchase or producing hay . Stockpiling is a monetary value - in effect access . BF Farm does n’t have to own and exert the equipment to veer and Basel hay or purchase it to get through the colder calendar month . Jodey Fulcher
The Livestock
Mark and Jodey Kiko carefully researched and selected their goats , Kunekune pigs and Black Hereford cows . Mark ’s specializes in the Kunekune pigs , while Jodey focalize on the Kiko goats .
Their areas of expertise let in conduct research in the early stages of species selection , talk with customer and companion stock breeder , and daily care and needs .
Jodey manages most of the farm ’s paperwork . The humankind share in the obligation for the cattle . Of of course , if animals need manipulation , it ’s broadly speaking a two - mortal Book of Job .
“ Teamwork makes the dream workplace , ” Jodey says .
Kiko Goats
These Goats develop in New Zealand , evolving from savage hybridizing .
Kiko think of “ center ” in Maori . The goats age rapidly for meat production and do well in the wetter climate of the Midwest . Kikos are hardy , and the females are honorable mother . The breed has not been as overmanaged as other goats , and Jodey chose them for their high level of parasite resistance .
Equipped for apportion with plants that are often considered unwanted in pastures , the Capricorn consume brambles , multiflora rose , hardwood seedlings , knapweed , vernonia and more .
They tolerate flora with higher grade of tannins than the other livestock can . Because laughingstock prefer different browse than cattle , the two mintage do n’t compete for the same resources .
Kunekune Pigs
These pig also hail from New Zealand . They nearly went extinct in the 1970s , but conservation sweat helped them convalesce . They expanded to Great Britain , Europe and the United States as well as Canada .
Kunekunes attract attention because they are idealistic for smaller farm , as well as farms focused on sustainability . They enjoy an increasing popularity among chef , charcutiers and base butchers .
Friendly , docile and easy to handle , the pig lark a short - upturned honker adapted more for pasture than rooting . The pigs can fat on grazing and as a result boast a blue fat - to - inwardness proportion .
Their raw home ground is woodlands and grazing land , and they are splendid animate being to maintain , deal and extirpate undesirable pasturage weeds . Their effectively consume weeds without damaging soil .
Kunekune have very skimpy kernel because they dine on 90 percent pasture graze and small metric grain . They never eat treacle , Mark says . They grow to 220 to 300 pounds and accommodate in well on smaller farm .
The pigs sell as meat and for favorite .
see out the kunekune cop living on Geraghty ’s Micro Farm .
Black Hereford Cattle
These animals have a gentle temperament , high-pitched - tone kernel product and beautiful black pelt , making the breed attractive in recent long time . The cows ’ low - key and calm personality made them an fantabulous choice for BF Farm ’s pasture practices .
Bos taurus — along with the other species — get deoxyribonucleic acid psychometric test to check quality and credibleness with each individual . Mark and Jodey delineate their system of weights from birth , selectively maintaining weightiness with a focus on raising animals that provide good breeding origin .
“ Cattle are an interesting science , ” Mark says . “ We are guarantee that our cattle are 100 percent homozygous . They will always discombobulate a black poll calf . ”
One of the register fauna sells for about four times the price of a commercially raised animal .
The cattle primarily sell as stock breeder ancestry because Mark and Jodey survey such a stringent program of each animal ’s health . They are weighed at birth , at weaning and as yearlings . If they do n’t fulfill the service line weight numbers , registration does n’t materialise .
Various Other Animals
BF Farm also houses a good deal of wop poultry that consume as many tick as possible . The trained flock stays close to the barn and arena where the animate being kip . tick pose a health yield for the other livestock , so it ’s necessary to have something that will consume them .
A flock of chicken produces enough eggs for people , pig and the dogs that dwell and work on the farm . The egg help Mark and Jodey keep costs low — using them as an additional source of protein .
Five Great Pyrenees detent work on the farm . Each dog go with a unlike goatherd serving as protectors . ( One of the younger dogs bonded with the pigs . )
The dogs bond with their ruck , and the stock bang them as their guardian . They are decisive to keeping the ruck safe from prairie wolf . The dogs also help mitigate the increasing act of bleak vulture in the area — barking until the birds move on .
Overall , Mark and Jodey stay on focussed on strategies of diversification and gyration . They are committed to their model and to promoting it as an choice for other small farming procedure .
Their school of thought reflects a toast to sustainable practices that focus on health and well being for each species of animal and the land itself .
This clause to begin with come along in the September / October 2019 proceeds ofHobby Farmsmagazine .
