Our Summer "Lawn Mowers"

Our Summer “Lawn Mowers”

“Spring Flush” is upon BDA. It’s one of the most beautiful times on the farm; lush green grass, bright forbs, and brilliant flowers are everywhere! Even more exciting - the livestock are giddy, jumping and running through the luscious vegetation and calling to each other in muffled noises with their mouths full of grass. They just love to graze the spring pastures.

However, with 6,000 acres of fast-growing pasture, you’ll see that the happy animals of our permanent herd are not nearly enough to effectively graze all of the land anymore. Why?

In the colder months, most plant species rest from growth and our cold-season species are slower to grow as well. But once spring arrives in our region, it’s as if a switch is flipped on our plants from “Dormant” to “Super Growth.” As part of our livestock management, we base our permanent herd quantity on the number of animals we can feed on pasture during the winter. Then, when the spring flush rolls around, we buy some “lawn mowers,” smaller herds to help us graze the land more effectively. Once autumn arrives, we sell the “extra” herds back into the market in preparation for winter, so we are just left with our permanent herd again, and repeat the cycle every year.

If you’re wondering why we don’t just harvest the extra herds for our products instead of selling them again, it’s important to remember: At BDA we want to produce truly Grass-Fed (not just Grass-Finished) products that we can confidently promote knowing that they were raised within our specific parameters. The extra herds don’t provide us with information on how an animal was raised (if it was conventionally treated with hormones and antibiotics, if they were grain fed, etc.) So we don’t even consider the extra herds as an option for our products. They are simply on our farm as temporary grazers that will enjoy delicious organic pasture.

Having the ability to increase and decrease animals provides us the opportunity to mimic the great herd migrations of the past - Working with Nature in our own context. And what an experience to feel the vibrations in your chest as thousands of hooves come thundering by!