BoydsBeef

Porcupine out for a walk. Poor guy having to work for it in this long thick grass! More than just cows round here! #cowshavelotsafriends #biodiversity

The beautiful thing about pastures is that there are no weeds ! Just more feed ! #cowseatweeds #biodiversity #boydsbeef

Moved the first calf heifer pairs across the road this morning to a fresh paddock ! We’ve had about 5” of rain here since spring and the pastures are growing nicely ! #boydsbeef #wheredallthecalvesgo?

Long recovery periods are critical to a grazing system that is focused on #regeneration.  New seedlings are allowed to establish and root reserves of desirable plants are replenished before the next graze.  We try to graze our pastures once during the growing season. #boydsbeef

Old grazing advice was to never defoliate more than 50% of the pasture.  Cows struggle with this concept and tend to eat more of the tasty stuff!  With #TotalGrazing animals graze non selectively and plants regrow from root reserves. Diversity flourishes! #regenerativeagriculture

#Totalgrazing is a term coined by a mentor of ours Jamie Elizondo.  It describes a grazing system that utilizes severe non selective grazing.  Using this technique we move cattle daily with temporary electric fencing.  #grassfedbeef #boydsbeef

Winter is a challenge in Manitoba for a cattle operation grazing 365.  Grazing corn can be one of the most economical and practical means to winter the cow herd.  Corn is also a warm season grass that we lack in most of our pastures. #diversity #growthewindbreak #enjoysummer!

Cover crops, relay cropping, intercropping are all very cool but can be very complex to manage.  We like the good old fashioned perennial forage grazed by ruminants to #regenerate our farm! #boydsbeef #grassfedbeef

Happy #CanadaDay! We are thankful for this great country !

Paddock shift in the yearling steer pasture. Newer stand of forage that was pretty thin when established. Working hard to lay down some litter and recruit some more seedlings from the seedbank! #boydsbeef #plannedgrazing

The heat wave the end of May and beginning of June really made the grass grow! We start grazing as soon as snow recedes enough and then transition from stockpile to new growth. It is usually mid June when the new growth is abundant and everyone breathes a sigh of relief !

June is the natural time of year for babies to be born ! Came across this baby elk in the pasture a couple days ago #workwithnature #boydsbeef

In calving season there is always a bottle calf or two to keep fed. Piper has been the lead hand this year looking after calves before and after school ! #farmkid #boydsbeef

Our newer pasture stands contain lots of alfalfa.  The alfalfa grows rapidly in the spring with its large deep taproots and fixes nitrogen, eliminating the need for nitrogren fertilizer.  Over time more grasses and diversity will take over! #succession #grassfedbeef

We moved away from a low disturbance disc opener to a seed hawk.  We have learned not to be too dogmatic in our pursuit of #regenag!  A bit of soil disturbance is balanced with rapid ecosystem improvements in the perennial pastures! #mixedfarm #boydsbeef #wheat

Every year we try to plant a few trees on the farm.  This year we installed a new shelterbelt around my sister's yard.  Skyfest poplars and some blue spruce.  Now the work begins #watering! #createyourownparadise

Calving season is in full swing! We time our calving with natural cycles to match forage quality and quantity.  The deer are having their babies right now and so are our cows!  #grassfedbeef #boydsbeef

This time of year it’s almost a daily occurrence to be walking through the pasture and be startled by a duck taking flight off her nest! #nestingground #lookclosely #biodiversityforthewin #grassfedbeef

Snapped this shot last week after a nice little shower. Beautiful #rainbow right over our farm! #makingrass #boydsbeef

Ruminants are natural upcyclers of high roughage forage.  On our farm the cattle graze crop residues in the dormant season processing it into valuable fertilizer and tasty #grassfedbeef! Did I mention we have bull for sale too! #beefmakers