Grass-Fed Cattle

Part ONE: The Fundamentals of Grass-Based Beef

The Great Herds and Their Grasslands
The Ticking of Geologic Time • The Great Herds • Lessons from the Herd

Genetics and Breeding: Selecting the Right Animals for Your Herd
The Pitfalls of Single-Trait Selection • Environment and Climate • Characteristics of the Ideal Breeding Animal • Culling Animals: Training Your Predatory Eye• Breeding for Your Target Market

The Cattle Year on Grass
The Calving Season and Predator Exposure • The Calf: Birth to Sexual Development • The Heifer Calf: Sexual Development to Calving • Photoperiod: Sunlight and Fertility • The Bull Calf: Sexual Development to Breeding • Cattle Processing: The Human Role in the Cattle Year • Marketing Grass-Fed Cattle • Moving the Calving Season

Grass and Grazing
The Rumen: The Forge that Turns Grass into Beef • Root Reserves and the Ideal Grazing Interval • A Recipe for Healthy Soil • Grass Varieties • Rejuvenating Old Pastures

Part TWO: Infrastructure and Management

Electric Fences and Rotational Grazing
Factors to Consider • Energizers • Permanent Wires • Posts and Braces • Insulators • Permanent Gates • Portable Electric Fencing • Training Cattle to Respect Electric Fences • Understanding the Goals of Pasture Rotation • Pasture Rotation: Herd Migration in Your Own Backyard • Training the Herd for Pasture Moves • Managing the Calving Season on Pasture

Livestock Water
How Much Water Do Cattle Need to Drink? • Peak Water Supply • Water Quality • Direct Access to Open Water • Pumping Water • Water Storage • Piping Water • Cattle Behavior at the Water Trough • Rotational Grazing Patterns and Water • Laying Pipe • Winter-Grazing Patterns and Water • Watershed Conservation: Managing Riparian Areas

Planning for Winter Grazing
Winter Grazing: The Twelve-Month Plan • Supplementation and Forage Analyses • Low-Cost Winter Feed for the Transition to Winter Grazing

Planning for Drought
A History Lesson • Preparing a Drought Plan

Managing Your Herd
Integrated Herd Management • Low-Stress Handling

Pests, Parasites, and Diseases
The Mechanisms of Disease • Preventing Disease • Specific Diseases, Pests, and Parasites • Making Healthy Soil for Healthy Animals • Complementary Grazing Species

Soil Fertility
The Importance of Soil Analyses • What Does the Cow Think of Soil Fertility? • How Healthy Soil and Grass Work • Calcium and Magnesium Revisited: Proper Ratios Are Critical • Organic Matter, Humus, and Nitrogen • The Scoop on Macronutrients • And a Pinch of Micronutrients

Weeds
What Is a Weed? • Variety Is All • When and Why Certain Plants Emerge • Quick Fixes Versus Long-Term Solutions • Educate Yourself, Then Put Your Cattle to Work • Weeds to Remedy Nutrient Deficiencies

Soil Moisture and Irrigation
Decreasing Evaporation • Reducing Runoff • Increasing Water Infiltration • Take Responsibility for Water • The Disadvantages of Irrigation • Calculating Your Irrigation Needs

Part THREE: Business Planning and Marketing

Land and Equipment
Acquiring Land for your Natural, Grass-Based Cattle Enterprise • Equipment

Market Options
Commodity-Market Opportunities • Niche-Market Opportunities • Determining Your Target Market • Three Case Studies

Stocker Cattle
The Cattle Cycle • Sell/Buy Economics • Stocker Logistics

Grass-Finished Beef
The Art of Grass Finishing • The Health Benefits of Grass-Fed Beef • Lessons from the Slaughterhouse • Cutting and Wrapping • Inspections • Pricing Your Meat • Pickup and Delivery • Cooking Grass-Fed Beef

Organic Certification
Seeking Certification After the Transition • Headaches of the Certification Process • Choosing the Best • Solving the Most Common Challenges

Dynamic Marketing
Developing a Profile of Your Target Customers • Demystifying Product Labels • Your Advertising Strategy and Label • Market Exposure

Helpful Business-Management Tools
Importance and Urgency • Getting the Biggest Bang for Your Buck • Weighing Decisions, Solving Problems, and Handling Crises• 10 Percent Chance, 90 Percent Work • Your Unfair Advantage

Part FOUR: Your Business Plan: Putting Principles into Practice

Your Goals and Market Opportunities
Your Business Plan • Starting with Goals • Your Goals • Assessing Your Market Environment

Your Financial Plans
Determining the Focus of Your Business • Conscious Profit Planning • Determining the Price of Your Direct-Marketed Beef

Your Cattle Year on Grass
Planning the Ideal Cattle Year on Grass

Your Grazing Infrastructure
Planning for Your Herd’s Water Requirements • Preparing Your Farm Map • Piping Water

Your Grazing Plan
Your Summer-Grazing Plan • Your Winter-Grazing Plan: Managing the Grass Reserve • The Winter Grazing Map

Your Herd Nutrition Plan
Developing Your Herd Nutrition Program • Procuring Samples for Forage Analyses • What the Livestock Nutritionist Needs to Know • Locating a Livestock Nutritionist • Formulating Supplements and Monitoring BCS

Your Grass-Finishing Plan
Grass-Finishing Essentials • Slaughterhouse Considerations

Your Marketing Plan
Developing Profiles of Your Target Customers • Designing Your Product Label • Formulating an Advertising Strategy

Planning for Adversity
Drought • Financial Preparedness • Crisis Management

Planning for Change
Committing to the Change • Plan Thoroughly • Moving the Calving Season • Turning on Your Herd’s Migration • Switching to Winter Grazing • Making Additional Changes