This document summarizes Lisa McCrory's presentation on nutrient dense grazing at her 158-acre farm. Her farm utilizes rotational grazing with dairy cows, pigs, poultry and draft animals across 24 acres of pasture. She discusses improvements made to grazing infrastructure and management, including adequate paddock rest periods and water access. McCrory wanted to address issues like disease resistance and soil health through increased plant and nutrient diversity. She provided details on the specific nutrients applied to pastures, their amounts and costs totaling $2,790 to amend 13 acres of pasture.

1. Nutrient Dense Grazing
Lisa McCrory, Earthwise Farm and Forest
Beginning Women Farmer Conference
March 22 & 23, 2012

2. Landbase: 158 acres owned, 16 acres rented
Open land = 24 acres; 23 pasture, 1 acre crop land

3. Hand-squeezed Raw Milk
certified organic

4. Hand-squeezed right in the
pasture

5. Draft Animals

6. Sows and Feeder Pigs

7. Poultry: Heritage Turkeys,
Meat birds, Layers

8. Layers and Turkeys
hatched on the farm

9. Off-Grid System

10. Renewable Energy

11. Organic Vegetables, Flowers

12. Grazing Management

13. Grazing has made tremendous
improvements on our fields

14. Key Ingredients
to a good
grazing plan:
Adequate rest in between
grazings
Clipping pastures when
needed
Providing water in every
paddock
Move the animals often
(every 12-48 hours)
Appropriate size of paddocks

15. Infrastructure
Improvements
• Water to every pasture
(gravity feed), piping
• Perimeter Fencing and
other improvements
through NRCS
• Returning tree plantation
back to pasture
• Diverting water away from
a pasture & barn and
capturing it for use

16. Brontosaurus
Hired in 2010 to
chip up the debris
(tree tops, stumps,
shrubs on 4 acres
or what was white
and red pine

17. Field
Management
Clipping when
needed
Lime application
Other
amendments

18. Grazing was
making a
difference,
But we wanted to
ramp it up:
• Become more self
sufficient
• Provide a more
nutrient dense
food for our
livestock
• Increase the
biological activity
in our soil

19. What I wanted
to Address
• Increase Disease &
Pest Resistance
• Increase Plant
Species Diversity
• Increase Forage
Yields
• Reduce Livestock
Health Issues
• Have longer
growing season
(productive life of
plants)

20. Earthwise
Farm and
Forest

21. Keeping Good Grazing Records :
Forward planning and historical records

22. Important Conversions
 Important Conversion Values:
 PPM – Parts per million
 PPA = Pounds per Acre
 PPA = 2(PPM)
 There are 2 million lbs of soil in the top 6 inches of soil
 500 lbs per acre = 11.5 lbs per 1000 sq feet
 100 lbs per acre = 2.3 lbs per 1000 sq feet
 20 lbs per acre = .46 lbs per 1000 sq feet
 5 lbs per acre = 2 ounces per 1000 sq feet

23. Macro Nutrients available
in natural forms:
 Magnesium Sulfate (epsom salts) = 20% Mg, 30% S
 Gypsum = 23% Ca, 19% S
 Sul-Po-Mag = 22%S, 22% K, 11% Mg
 Soft Rock Phosphate = 22% P, 20% Ca
 Hi Cal Lime = 38-40% Ca
 Dolomitic Lime = 30% Ca, 10% Mg
 P2O5: 75 PPM x 4.6 = 350 #/a

24. Micro Nutrients
Solubor = 20% Boron
Borax = 11% Boron
Cobalt Sulfate = 27% copper
Manganese Sulfate = 32% Manganese

25. Financials and Nutrients
applied
 18 tons lime @ $52/ton delivered = $940
 2 ton SulPo Mag/Gypsum @ $550/ton = $1100
 Micronutrients: Zinc Sulfate, Manganese Sulfate,
Boron, Humates – applied at $75/acre = $750
 Total amount invested on amendments for 2011
$2,790.00

26. Nutrients applied
13 acres of pasture
- 1 ton/acre lime
10 Acres of pasture
- 200# gypsum
- 200# sulpomag
- 10# solubor, 10# zinc sulfate, 15 # Manganese
sulfate/acre, mixed with humates, (50% summer, 50%
fall application

27. Contact Info
Lisa McCrory
Earthwise Farm
and Forest
Email:
Lmccrory@hughes.net
www.earthwisefarma
ndforest.com
Phone: 802-234-5524