From the Barns: The next generation

This summer seems to be moving along so quickly. I feel like that is due to the many grazing events we have been a part of this season. Presenting or planning several of these events took time away from things here at River Oak, but all seems to have been very worthwhile. I count them all successful — pasture walks, tours here at River Oak, the Illinois Forage Expo and the Heart of America Grazing Conference hosted by the Illinois Grazing Lands Coalition and the Illinois Forage and Grassland Council in Effingham.

The HOA Grazing Conference was most important for me. I hosted the Regenerative Grazing System Contest for youth along with my close partner, Judy Bingman, and several of our ILGLC board members. We had five teams registered and they all impressed with their hard work and attention to the task.

I want to especially laud Ted Krauskopf for working so well with our two high school students from Bloomington-Normal. They had limited knowledge of needed skills, but Ted pulled them through to a positive outcome. All in all, it was a successful first try by our coalition to involve youth more going forward.

That conference featured virtual grazing, and company reps were abundant. Each of the systems presented have their advantages and disadvantages, but all have success stories. I feel like the greatest advantage they all have is to indirectly promote regenerative grazing.

Very simply, if a producer is using virtual fencing correctly, and to the greatest extent, regenerative grazing best practices are being used and that leads to top production for the livestock and the land. It is obviously another step forward in our industry using advantageous technology.

The Monday after the conference, I was once again privileged to host the Illinois beef interns for a tour here at River Oak. Ten outstanding young people are completing internships here in our state as part of their college work. They included students from several out-of-state programs, as well as in-state schools. Their questions were right on and I sure appreciated the attention they gave me all through the morning.

Meanwhile, back to the grazing at hand here. Our two cow groups have been near perfect with their behavior and their grazing. Eighty percent of their time has been in our fescue and red clover paddocks. What they have left behind as they were rotated has been exceptional and their care has been really easy. Hopefully, their fall calving will follow that same pattern.

On the feeder calf side of things, we are beginning our second rotation of the sorghum-sudangrass on row crop acres today, Aug. 7. We are just a little behind last year’s schedule, but considering the dryness we began the planting with, some catching up has actually occurred. There are 212 calves in that program, compared to 250 last year. It seems a more correct number so far.

The half-dairy heifers are gone at 650 pounds to a Texas feedlot and the remaining steers may be here for a bit more in the drylot. New calves arrived last night and this morning and Carson tells me there will be some shuffling to keep numbers on the sorghum-sudangrass cropland grazing, but make some even groups to be moved out to feedlots.

All in all, a busy summer. Just thankful I can just spectate when all this is going. As the weather gets more agreeable for hard work, I will try and catch up with the brush cutting and then build 400 feet of new drylot continuous fence.

Enjoy some of the remaining fair time, family reunions, baseball games and, of course, football coming soon. And as always, stay safe and sane.