4 Important strategies to increase your free time

We ranchers/farmers are usually hard pressed for time to socialize, have fun, or be with family and it does not need to be that way. 

To enjoy life in the land we need to be managers and not become firemen where we are constantly putting fires out, which if planned properly do not even light up.

Being a good livestock manager requires us to observe each one of our animals every day and it is much easier to observe them correctly when they are all bunched up and we are with them 4 times a day than when they are spread over many acres.  This becomes more important the larger the ranch is.  Contrary to popular opinion cattle feel insecure when spread out and feel secure inside a tight herd. 

Cattle and sheep gain better under a Total grazing when moved four times a day, they are also more efficient at harvesting when not soiling the forage before being able to consume it.  Total grazing enhances leaf to stem ratio which improves our soil humus content fastest and is explained in our online course called Total grazing.

Sometimes we need to show up at our children’s school, festivals, games, family reunions and we sure need to have free time on the weekend.

Our lives are much more enjoyable when we have ways of dealing with the unexpected and those occasions when we need to take time off.  So, how do we manage for getting the best results and still have our free time?  How can we have the pie and eat it too?

If we consider, that to be more efficient and obtain better body condition in our animals, 4 moves a day are necessary we can trade that extra efficiency for more free time in those occasions.

Now, let me give you examples of what we can do

• The best for cattle and land is moving them under Total Grazing 4 times a day. I usually start early in the morning with the last move done at 3-4pm when I am finished for the day. Giving them the new break usually takes 10-15 minutes and setting up the paddocks for 1 full day usually takes less than one hour.
• Planning, having temporary paddocks built for the next 3 to 4 days makes it much easier and convenient in case something happens, then every day I keep building the temporary fences required for the next day so that I always have the flexibility given by having the temporary fences ready.
• For the weekend, you can give them a larger break on Saturday to last until Monday morning so that after midday Saturday we do not have to go back to move the livestock.
• Another option is to use batt latches where the battery powered mechanism opens a gate so animals can move themselves into the new paddock.

If you are feeding a minimum protein supplement you can feed double the amount on Saturday before moving them and resume feeding on Monday.

The tradeoff is less harvest efficiency those days.

Another tradeoff would be body condition, which can be addressed by having adapted genetics with correct selection so they can still maintain good body condition, having animals that are parasite/disease resistant goes a long way in reducing emergencies.  Our adapted genetics/selection online course will be launched on February 25th where all the details on how to achieve this in your herd will be taught.

We need our free time, just like in any career, to enjoy the health and money we are making.  Your health and family will be grateful.

Remember, most young kids do not want to come back to the farm/ranch due to having witnessed how demanding it was for their parents, we know how to change that, and we owe it to ourselves to do it.

We need to bring harmony to our lives, animals, and land.