I appreciate your videos! As a nearly 70-year old (now retired) beef producer, I would respectfully encourage you to either dehorn or at least tip the horns on that young bull (and the females as well). The rule here in Plains is, "Never trust a bull, boar or buck!" No matter how docile he may be, those horns present a risk of injury, not only to you and your family, but also to the other cattle. Keep up the good work!

@birchfieldfarming

3 ай бұрын

Great advice here, thank you!

God bless you, brother

@birchfieldfarming

3 ай бұрын

Thanks 🤠

Agree with your Intro

Jason I always love watching your videos and updates brother. keep it up. Herding sheep with the drone was awesome! I never would have guessed you could do that.

@birchfieldfarming

4 ай бұрын

Thanks Marcus! I hope the content is valuable to aspiring small farmers who want to genuinely care for their land and families. Appreciate your encouragement!

Gabe Brown in ND expects his cattle to carry a calf in utero and have a calf nursing. He has a brief calving season in spring when the forages will support the need best.

@birchfieldfarming

4 ай бұрын

Yes, this is the best way to do it I’m now convinced. That green grass is so valuable to us!

Hi Jason, it was interesting seeing your Sheep know exactly what they need in the Greener more nutritional grass. Also it was fascinating to see the Sheep being herded by the drone behind them. Drones are so amazing in enhancing video quality and getting footage flying above as well. Hopefully you can find a way to get more of your Calves born in May instead of being born earlier in the year.

@birchfieldfarming

4 ай бұрын

Thanks for following along, Ben! Always something to improve on the farm. Yeah, Sam sure does enjoy flying the drone around, and thankfully the sheep are still horrified of it!🤣 Hope you are well, friend.

That's true about farming

@birchfieldfarming

4 ай бұрын

…just never know out here🤠

I've wondered if you could use a couple of traffic cones to help your animals know where to go. Perhaps with those set on each side of the gate you want them to go through, perhaps they would learn over time that you are directing them through those? Doesn't need to be cones of course, but something cheap, light, easy to move, and durable.

@birchfieldfarming

4 ай бұрын

Interesting idea, and one that I bet would work! They’re such communal creatures of habit - When we separated the bulls from cows this past time, it was incredibly difficult. They did not want to be apart, and it occurred to me we don’t split them up often. It made the move much more difficult. Any repeatable action with them is training and I’m now convinced they notice everything!

New to your channel. One question after overlooking the videos. Why did it go from 5 acres to 4.75 to 4 acres grazing in the videos over time?

@birchfieldfarming

4 ай бұрын

Welcome to the channel. Good question, it varies. So we ran quantity of 11 paddocks at 1/4 acre each last season, kind of used the wooded excess as an overflow depending on grass growth. We own just under 60 acres and rent ground, but I pull off what I think I need each season to rotationally (AMP) graze.

@big-d7756

4 ай бұрын

@birchfieldfarming ok, thanks for the reply. We are starting our own little homestead, and I like to look for information where I can. We also live in ohio. We got a 3 acre pasture I'm dividing up and getting Dexter's to try.

@birchfieldfarming

4 ай бұрын

@@big-d7756Sounds like a great start! 12 quarter acre paddocks rotationally grazed in my area can raise a lot of beef, and I’ve heard great things about Dexters!

All animals benefit from a natural multi-species "plate". Gabe Brown grazes highly diverse multi-species paddocks in Bismark, ND. His flock/herd grazes through some snow. Feeds a little hay during ice events.

@birchfieldfarming

4 ай бұрын

Absolutely possible as long as nobody’s lactating.

@user-kv2pt4lu9y

4 ай бұрын

@@birchfieldfarming he has a STRICT short calving interval. He continued to raise the standard for his herd/flock. He did no start out that strict. Hopefully, you will be encouraged by his history. His book is interesting, however, recent videos are more current.

@birchfieldfarming

4 ай бұрын

@@user-kv2pt4lu9y Definitely an inspiration to so many wanting to healthfully steward their land and animals. A short Spring calving interval sounds intense, but exactly what needs to happen to limit inputs in a grass-fed operation.

How soon can you get calving shifted to May calving/August breeding?

@birchfieldfarming

4 ай бұрын

Great question - I need to set aside some more land for bulls.

Could you put all female sheep and cattle together and all your herd sires together to minimize paddocks and increase recovery times? Could you shrink down your paddock sizes slightly to have longer recovery?

@birchfieldfarming

4 ай бұрын

Interesting idea, I’ll have to think it thru. I like the sound of longer recovery periods.

@user-kv2pt4lu9y

4 ай бұрын

@@birchfieldfarming Ian Mitchel Innes is who Greg Judy quotes on minimizing number of groups to maximize recovery.

You need to decrease your stocking density in this paddock,…. Or…. You need to increase your paddock size,….. Or…. Move them more frequently,…. And,…. Introduce chickens, sheep and pigs

@birchfieldfarming

4 ай бұрын

Yeah, lots to think about.👍