When Garry Clements read about the 300 Days of Grazing System four years ago that was being implemented on beef cattle farms, he decided the program could work with his kids, as well as the rest of the goats browsing on his 70-acre farm. Tin Can Hill Ranch, located in Damascus, Ark., has continued to see savings and herd health benefits ever since.
Garry said that in 2008 he approached the Cooperative Extension Service that was testing the grazing system in conjunction with the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture.
“We figured out pretty quickly it would work with goats. A few years ago this whole place was brown,” said Garry, who started the whole goat ranch operation 11 years ago for grandson Stephen Pate, now 13 years old. “We started the first year with five goats for Stephen to participate in 4-H,” he said. “We are big believers in 4-H and FFA.”
Today, looking out over the 16, 1 to 1.5-acre paddocks are varying shades of green, each separated by electric fence, which Garry said acts as a psychological barrier with the herd. You do not see any brown on the plots that Garry, his wife, Esther, and grandsons (9-year-old Logan Pate has joined the project) utilize to rotate their 130, mostly, meat goats. They recently added a small dairy herd.
Garry, who retired this past January from his 34-year career as a USDA loan manager, said 300 Days Grazing is all about planning ahead to grow what the herd will eat about 300 days out of the year, instead of relying on expensive sack feed, which was his herd’s primary source of nutrition before starting the program.
“I’m planning right now what I’m going to do next fall. It’s all about trying to manage your forage and maximizing what you have,” he said. “We got about 12 bales of hay off that ryegrass field for storage after they grazed. Through the grazing system, all your herd inputs go into a formula; crops, tillage, seed cost, fertilizer cost, sheaf cost, a basis of savings overall.”
Garry said since starting 300 Days Grazing, Tin Can Hill Ranch, depending on the year, has seen anywhere from $4,000 to $8,000 per year savings.
“I’m a firm believer,” he said. “I’ve seen how much money it has saved us. The numbers don’t lie.”
The grazing system’s plan not only yields cost savings through feed savings, but through herd health.
Garry said, “We seem to have less health issues and less cost into our goat herd by growing the feed they need. Now, our herd health is pretty consistent. We were having a lot of parasite problems. Parasites are located on the plant closer to the ground. You want to leave a good 6-8 inches of forages. You get good re-growth and the herd is not eating as many parasites that are closer to the ground.
“Don’t let them eat the whole plot. Management is a lot different. You have to move the electric fences around to move the goats to different areas of the plot. To get them grazing at the 18-20 inch portion of the plant for parasite control, you need to have adequate plots for foraging to rotate. We let ours graze for four to four and a half days on a paddock before we rotate them to a different plot.”
300 Days Grazing requires planning and planting seasonal forage to allow rotation year round. Garry has to plant and grow several varieties to meet the needs of his herd: Patriot Clover, teff grass, various fescue, Marshall Ryegrass, Pearl Millet, turnips and crabgrass. When choosing and planning crop logistics, growth season, plant rotation and herd benefit have to be considered. He plans a growth period of 45-60 days, depending on the weather.
“Turnips are crops that are about 30 percent protein,” Garry said. “That’s a heck of a feed.”
According to Garry, if you plan well, the only factor that could hinder a 300 Days Grazing practitioner is dry weather, which prevents plant growth. This year Garry’s paddocks are receiving plenty of rain, which he admits can hurt goat’s hooves. The rain has allowed some natural crabgrass to overtake much growth of a spring turnip plot, however the goats have utilized the forage.
This grazing system has been worth the work and planning for Garry. His grandsons help run the ranch and they are there daily moving fences, mowing or tending to the herd to share responsibility. Both grandsons are 4-H competitors and have seen some great wins with the goats, which all have names, they have helped raise with 300 Days Grazing.
Garry has plans for more improvements on the ranch that will continue utilizing the grazing program. “We have 70 acres here. There are still 35 acres that we are not using that I want to get ready,” said Garry.
No doubt, he will incorporate that unused land in his 300 Days Grazing program that has shown him and his grandsons so much success.
