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A Sense of Where You Are: Red Dresses & Magic Management

Part 2 in a Series

By Brian DeVore
January 20, 2025

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Note: This is the 2nd installment in the 12-part “A Sense of Where You Are” series. 

“Our biggest thing is to be adaptive,” said pasture-based livestock producer Rachelle Meyer.

One of the ways Rachelle and Jordan Meyer keep things in context is to avoid being distracted by what they call “the woman in the red dress.” Is a new enterprise a good fit for the farm, or is its flashiness overshadowing the downsides of adding it to the mix? The Meyers are in their early 30s and have six children. That means any business decisions they make on the farm must be balanced against the needs of the family, first and foremost. That became particularly clear in the spring of 2024, when they experienced the heartbreaking tragedy of having their 2-year-old daughter, April, taken from them in a farm accident.

They keep their balance utilizing the “three-legged stool” strategy: the farm family perches on top of this metaphorical stool, and each leg represents a key ingredient to overall success: profitability, soil health, and quality of life. Such a strategy helped the family not only determine recently that adding an enterprise like sheep worked for them, the land, and their family, but also led them to decide that the cow-calf and turkey businesses they formerly had were not a good fit. Besides raising the ewes and running a conventional dairy, they have pasture-based enterprises that involve rotationally grazing goats, beef cattle, hogs, and poultry. They direct-market meat to consumers, as well as lease out their goats to people hoping to rehabilitate worn-out land that’s been taken over by invasive plants.

 In late June, the couple explained how they utilize this management strategy while hosting a Land Stewardship Project grazing school on the hilly acres they farm in southeastern Minnesota’s Houston County. Over a two-day period, farmers and other experts led discussions on everything from setting up fencing and watering systems on a budget to monitoring soil health, assessing pasture quality, utilizing government conservation programs, and crunching the numbers on farm profitability.

To the mix of aspiring, new, and established graziers present, the Meyers recommended “learning your farm first” before putting in more permanent infrastructure such as perimeter fencing. Fortunately, innovations such as light-weight, portable electric fencing make it possible to try out grazing techniques in different areas before settling on a more permanent system.

“Our biggest thing is to be adaptive,” said Rachelle.

On the second day of the school, the couple led participants to a 15-acre field on rented ground that, before they started farming it, had suffered the environmental and agronomic consequences of years of row-cropping and heavy tillage. The recent addition of the ewes has helped the Meyers add economic value to the perennials and annuals that are now building soil and crowding out the weeds.

“This whole field as far as you can see was giant ragweed,” Jordan said, pointing beyond their flock of hair sheep at a diverse stand of forages growing along the contour of the hill. With the assistance of Skipper, a massive, white Maremma guard dog, he and Rachelle then moved the flock to a new paddock. Rotational grazing is often associated with squared off, grid-like paddocks, but on this Driftless Area topography, the Meyers often utilize portable fencing to create long, narrow foraging channels. These linear paddocks hug the contours of the rugged landscape and force animals like sheep into smaller areas for a shorter period of time, creating a “mob” effect. Again, it’s all about context — the sheep have a lighter impact on the soil compared to cattle, meaning they needed to be crowded more to get the same effect of trampling manure and biomass into the soil while knocking back weeds; it’s the epitome of an adaptive, rather than a cookie-cutter, rote approach to raising livestock.

There’s adapting to the landscape, and then there’s adapting to the state of the soil and the limiting factor of climate, as well as one’s access to that most valuable of resources: time. For example, one of the other grazing school instructors was George Heller, who’s launched a livestock operation on sandy, drought-prone soil in northern Minnesota’s Wadena County. Before Heller started farming it, the land was impoverished by years of continuous hay production. He’s also dealing with a 120-day growing season; in contrast, the growing season in southeastern Minnesota can be 150 days or more. As Heller put it during a discussion about soil biology in one of the Meyers’ pastures, “I’m always planning for winter.”

“That’s his context,” quipped Jordan Meyer at one point. The point being that if Heller attempted to stock his paddocks at the same rate the Meyers do on their comparatively rich soil, it would be an economic and ecological disaster.

But over the past five years, Heller has built up an adaptive rotational grazing operation on 290 owned and rented acres that supports his cattle and sheep, as well regenerates the depleted soil. He is building this enterprise literally from the ground-up — beyond fencing and watering systems, as well as a four-wheeler, his infrastructure is minimal, and he estimates that not counting the land costs, he has just a few thousand dollars invested in the whole operation.

Heller’s day job is running a concrete business, so he has limited time to spend managing the farm. One way he buys a few precious hours is to run cattle and sheep together in the same paddocks as a “flerd.”

In the end, the grazing school wasn’t just about stocking rates, or what kind of grass to plant on former corn ground, or which fencing reel works best (even though plenty of talk focused on such nuts and bolts topics) — it was about how to make the kinds of observations and calculations that put daily decisions in context.

As a grazing specialist for the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), Jeff Duchene has set up rotational grazing plans for farmers in at least 50 of Minnesota’s 87 counties. Not surprisingly, farmers frequently ask him for advice on what type of forage to plant. What is the ultimate species that will withstand drought, flooding, and disease, while producing a nutritious feed for decades?

“Not to disappoint anyone, but that grass doesn’t exist,” said Duchene while leading a plant identification session in one of the Meyers’ hilltop pastures. “There is no magic grass — the magic is in the management.”

Clifford Johnson, a central Minnesota crop and livestock farmer, explained to the participants that regenerative management often involves compromises — sometimes one may have to turn to tillage or chemical applications, which can set soil health back temporarily. It’s all about keeping the big picture in perspective and not allowing a few backward steps stop a farm’s overall trajectory forward. It also helps to have a sense of humor.

“I call myself the HRH — Honest Regenerative Hypocrite,” Johnson joked.

Brian DeVore edits the Land Stewardship Letter and produces the Ear to the Ground podcast.

Give it a Listen

  • Ear to the Ground 342: Ignoring the Red Dress (Rachelle Meyer)
  • Ear to the Ground 343: Healthy Soil Vs. Plastic Worms (Clifford Johnson)
  • Ear to the Ground 344: Flerd is the Word (George Heller)
  • Ear to the Ground 346: Pasture Pixie Dust (Jeff Duchene)

Installments in the ‘A Sense of Where You Are’ Series:

  1. Introduction to the Series: A Sense of Where You Are
  2. Red Dresses & Magic Management
  3. In the Blood
  4. Seeking Signs of Life
  5. Forest for the Trees
  6. The Quickening
  7. Food Bank Booster
  8. First Things First
  9. The Big Picture
  10. The Snowball Effect
  11. 7 Years Later
  12. Against the Grain

 

Category: Blog
Tags: A Sense of Where You Are • beginning farmers • managed rotational grazing • pasture walks • pasture-based livestock • soil health

Upcoming Events

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May 2025

Thursday May 29

9:00 am – 12:30 pm
Storytelling for Sales: Digital Marketing for Sustainable Farmers
Thursday May 29
9:00 am – 12:30 pm
Storytelling for Sales: Digital Marketing for Sustainable Farmers
Zoom Online

Storytelling for Sales: Digital Marketing Best Practices to Get Your Farm’s Next Customer is designed to help farmers grow their customer base by sharpening their storytelling and digital marketing skills—whether they’re selling through farmers’ markets, CSAs, or direct-to-retail. This Greener Pastures and Meet the Minnesota Makers workshop will cover how websites and social media can actually convert viewers into buyers to creating content that builds community loyalty.

This workshop is also designed for ag educators, professionals, and partner organizational staff who support farmers directly and want to be well-versed on the marketing best practices to support direct-to-consumer farms. 

For details and to register, click here.

Saturday May 31

10:00 am – 12:30 pm
Multi-species Pasture Walk
Saturday May 31
10:00 am – 12:30 pm
Multi-species Pasture Walk
872 320th Ave, Frederic, WI 54837, USA

The NW Wisconsin Graziers Network, River Country RC&Dand UW-Madison Extension invite you to a multi-species pasture walk hosted by JohnsonFamily Pastures LLC. The farm is located five miles east of Frederic in PolkCounty. This educational event willemphasize direct marketing, multi-species grazing, part-time family agricultureand silvopasture development. Light snacks and refreshments will be provided.

TheJohnson Family Pastures farm is home to Chris and Tamara Johnson and their twochildren. They raise grass-fed beef, silvopastured goats, and recently raised anumber of other species. The farm consists of about 160 acres of gently rollingpastures, silvopasture, and forest. Use of both temporary polybraid fencing andhigh tensile permanent fences allow for rotational grazing of small ruminants andout-wintering of beef cattle. Use of long-term farm transition strategies, cost-shareprograms, silvopasture development with goats, regenerative grazing, cattlehandling facility and bale grazing will be discussed along with answering anyand all questions from pasture walk participants.

An extensive and diversified direct marketing programhas been developed by Tamara and Chris that has included farmer markets, e-maillists, newsletters, website ordering, on-farm freezer storage, and other strategiesand tools to support direct sales and services for their customers.  Come and learn all about their successfulapproach.

For more information,contact Chris Johnson at 920-960-4475 or Lynn Johnson 715-225-9882 at NW Graziers.

June 2025

Wednesday June 25

2:00 pm – 5:00 pm
LSP-PFI Grazing Field Day at Hoosier Ridge Ranch
Wednesday June 25
2:00 pm – 5:00 pm
LSP-PFI Grazing Field Day at Hoosier Ridge Ranch
Hoosier Ridge Ranch, 15998 Wabasha County Rd 26, Altura, MN 55910, USA

Over the last 50 years, livestock have left many farms. Eric Heins is doing the reverse: bringing cattle – and their poop, pee and hooves – back to his land. Come see how Eric is using his Normande-shorthorn crosses in a variety of grazing situations. During this Land Stewardship Project-Practical Farmers of Iowa field day, you can view permanent pasture, where Eric (like everyone) is battling the cool-season grass takeover. You’ll also learn how Eric is using his cattle in cover crop mixes, prairie and woodlands.

Since purchasing the farm in 2020, Eric has converted the cropland to pasture. He also custom-farms a diverse rotation of crops, covers and small grains on neighboring farms, including an established prairie on Iowa Department of Natural Resources land. A possible bonus: Eric is hoping to have virtual fence collars by the time of the field day, but no guarantees!

A meal featuring Hoosier Ridge Ranch burgers will follow the field day.

See & Discuss

  • Cash-flowing the conversion to pasture on owned versus rented cropland
  • Stockpiling pasture for winter grazing
  • Mechanical buckthorn clearing for silvopasture
  • Grazing agreements on DNR prairie and neighboring cropland
  • A sudangrass mix after a canning pea crop
  • An extended rotation with oats, barley and Kernza

For details and to register, click here.

Saturday June 28

4:00 pm – 8:00 pm
LSP's Boots & Roots: A Celebration of Land & People
Saturday June 28
4:00 pm – 8:00 pm
LSP's Boots & Roots: A Celebration of Land & People
Dream Acres, Co Hwy 8, Spring Valley, MN 55975, USA

Join Land Stewardship Project members and supporters to kick-start the Driftless summer with an evening of good food, good music, and good times. We’ll have activities for all ages that will get you out in nature, exploring the connection between our region’s farms and your community’s food, land, and water. Bring a side or dessert to share for dinner, and the Dream Acres wood-fired oven will provide locally-sourced pizzas and flat breads. Dinner will be followed by live music and contra dancing by the Crater City String Band.  

To reserve a spot, click here.

Camping sites are available at nearby Masonic Park and Forestville Mystery Cave and Lake Louise State Parks. Camping at Masonic is rustic,first-come-first-serve, free, and does not require a reservation. Fillmore County, who manages the park, only asks that you call the dispatchers at507-765-3874 when you arrive with your vehicle information and phone number in case of emergency. State Park reservations cost $25 a night and can be made online.

July 2025

Tuesday July 15

5:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Organic Fruit & Vegetable Field Day
Tuesday July 15
5:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Organic Fruit & Vegetable Field Day
1805 Dudley Ave, Falcon Heights, MN 55113, USA

Join U of M researchers and Extension for updates on organic fruit and vegetable research and tour the Student Organic Farm and the Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station in Saint Paul. Topics include: organic insect management, integrating livestock into vegetable farms, new crops for Minnesota, irrigation strategies, and more. Free to the public.
 
For details and to register, click here.

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