So You Want to be a Grass Farmer
Introduction. This is the beginning of a three-part discussion about our experiences starting a cattle farming business after exiting corporate America. This part covers how we found our farm and what it took to get started. Part II talks about the purchase of our first beef animals and Part III describes adjustments to our business model and where we are today. In all, we’ll cover three years in three short articles. A whole book could be written about our trials and tribulations, but this short discussion is intended to provide insight into our decision process and experiences so that others may benefit from what we did right and perhaps avoid some of the mistakes we made along the way. Don’t worry, you’ll make your own mistakes but you’ll survive them.
Part I - The Beginning. It is something we had talked about for a long time. But in 2005, our dream, our passion – living on a working farm became a reality. The first thing I will say is that it isn’t for everyone. Like any venture, you need to be passionate about what you are doing, truly enjoy doing it. No one is going to tell you what to do and when to do it. And, you will need to become knowledgeable in so many different disciplines: animal nutrition, soil and minerals, forage types, pasture management and equipment repair, to name a few.
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Many of our friends ask us how, or even why, we ever went from corporate engineering consultants to cattle farmers. Usually, they look at us like we are crazy, and some days we feel like they’re right. “Gentleman Farmer” is the phrase they like to use. To this day, we haven’t figured out the “gentleman” part when you’re sweating in 103-degree humid Virginia summers building new fences or standing ankle deep in cow manure during breeding season. Nevertheless, we let our friends think of us as “gentlemen farmers”.
For both of us, the dream had taken hold at a very young age. Finally, after long and successful careers, we decided we’d had enough of the corporate grind and planned our escape. Our move was not as impulsive as it sounds. We had pondered the change in lifestyle for quite some time. Prior to our current farm, we had purchased open, mountain pasture farmland (no buildings) in southwest Virginia for our retirement. Our plan, at that time, was to have a few horses and maybe a few cows.
Long story short, we didn’t keep it. It was too expensive to build on so we sold that property – leveraging that into a more robust suburban investment in Northern Virginia, just outside of Washington, DC. While planning what we would do with our previous retirement farm, we spent countless hours researching cattle, horses, veterinary care, nutrition, pasture management, and many other topics relevant to that lifestyle. We also had friends and family that had working farms but were also very well educated and successful business people in other career fields. We were very fortunate that we had a fairly widespread pool of experienced folks we could talk to about what they did, how they got started, or what they would do differently. Several friends were already quite successful in the Holstein dairy business and the beef business breeding Brangus and other breeds.
We did not jump into this completely unaware of what we were getting ourselves into. Prior to purchasing our current farm, we spent our spare time studying and talking to other successful small farmers – usually with an organic focus. Meanwhile, we acquired two riding horses – another long-held dream finally come true that we boarded close to home. Our new focus on farm property would be to accommodate a minimum of two horses plus additional land for any other critters we might want. That meant pretty much looking for anything that was more than five acres.
The search. Our search for the right property took over a year. Our criteria? As much land as we could reasonably afford but no less than 20 acres, no more than two hours away from the Washington, D.C. metro area, access to good medical care, mostly pasture, and a decent house. The last criteria would prove to be the real challenge. We searched more than sixty properties between the Shenandoah Valley, central Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. If we had $1.5 million or more, there were lots of possibilities. However, most of the properties in our price range were in awful shape.
On a lark, we were searching the internet one evening and found what might be a good fit for us. The land was less than we were hoping for – only 22 acres. But is was mostly open pasture and a few sections of trees for shade. The house appeared to be in good shape with only cosmetic repairs required and some new landscaping. It was in Madison County, Virginia, about ninety minutes southwest of Washington, D.C. We made an appointment to view the property the next day and made an offer that same evening. For better and worse, our offer was accepted and we moved three months later in June 2005. We were on our way!
Reality sets in. So, lock stock and barrel, we landed at Springhaven Farm in a 205-year old house that was quaint and charming. An old poultry barn and dilapidated bank barn were the only outbuildings on the property. It also needed a lot more work than originally anticipated, in spite of numerous home inspections by electricians, plumbers, and others. We had two horses, three large dogs and no fencing. We quickly erected electric tape fencing around 3 acres for the horses. Initially, they had no shelter, which we fixed with a movable run-in shed (no barn yet). The dogs had to be walked several times per day until we were had time to put in fencing for a backyard play area. Being city dogs, we certainly didn’t trust them to be able to stay with us on a farm, not to mention the risk of them chasing someone else’s livestock! Not a way we wanted to get to know the neighbors!
Prior to moving in, one of the smartest decisions we ever made was to hire a farm consultant for a modest fee. Reid Folsum of Amissville, VA came to our farm, spent the entire day with us, walked the property, and discussed fencing types and layouts, barn placement, how to divide the pastures for effective management, pasture maintenance, and where to run water lines. We covered many details that would pay off in the end. The few hundred dollars we spent saved us many mistakes.
What kind of farm to create? By July 2005, we had a fence for the dogs and were mostly moved in. We spent a lot of time mowing fields and planting fence posts in 2005. With only two horses to eat grass, they couldn’t begin to keep up with 20 acres of pasture, nor would we want them to. We renewed our interest in cows as 4-legged lawn mowers. Before we made that decision, we briefly entertained the idea of a horse breeding enterprise. This was one instance where we did a lot of research, but failed in the one key area – not identifying our prospective market carefully. Boarding is very popular in our area due to the large horse population. But, we discovered that many horse owners are a bit quirky and decided that wasn’t for us. Hay became quite expensive due to droughts and folks were dumping horses left and right or even abandoning them. No sales potential there!
The big cattle decision. We ultimately decided to pursue the idea of cattle. We carefully researched different cattle breeds. We spoke to one local cattleman who suggested we get several stocker steers and enter the market that way. It seemed logical on the surface. Go to auction, buy a few steers at several hundred pounds, and resell them at auction when they achieved a higher weight. The only thing wrong with this business model is that you are at the mercy of the middleman who cuts into your profits.
Someone told us that, at some point, you have to stop the research and simply “dive in”. We spent two years researching cattle breeds. We spoke to many breeders and had a hard time locating quality animals anyone was willing to sell at a reasonable price. We knew by then we wanted the Devon breed of cattle. In a blind beef taste test several friends unanimously picked the Devon steaks. We made the decision to buy a handful of cows and calves. We would raise them for ourselves, initially. This would give us experience with the animals and would also enable us to enjoy the fruits of our labors. If we succeeded and liked it, great! If not, break out the grill and “steaks for everyone”!!
Equipment. One of the biggest roadblocks to starting a farm is the outlay of cash for farm equipment. Tractors, bushhogs, etc. aren’t cheap. We opted for the fewest pieces of equipment that could do the most work – one moderate sized tractor with bucket, a post hole digger, a bushhog, and a chain harrow. We were not going to be crop farmers, so that eliminated a lot of additional (depreciating) equipment. If we needed hay, we’d buy it, and we hoped we wouldn’t have to buy much hay given the amount of pasture we had.
For our cattle handling facility we first turned to Temple Grandin and her writings. We also hired a local vet, Late Kate Hussman of Louisa Veterinary Services. Again, more than worth the small cost.
Infrastructure upgrades. We had a lot of work to do regarding the infrastructure of our little farm. Much of the fencing had to be replaced and a lot of cross fencing needed to be added. We took it paddock by paddock. Another research project: which fencing was the best buy and most effective, how to string it, and where to make the fence divisions for the paddocks.
We had to ensure we had a safe water source. The house water supply had been an old springhouse. This was very “tired” and would require significant upgrades if it were to be used so we elected, instead, to drill a deep well and run water lines to each of six paddocks and the barn. That decision was actually the most cost effective – we now had clear, clean, neutral pH water with a high-pressure pump that could get water to a field hydrant in each of six paddocks around the farm. We built a horse barn on the highest point of the property to ensure good drainage.
After almost a year of infrastructure upgrades, cleaning up the debris, dealing with the issues of rescuing a 205 year old house, we were on our way!!
(Stay tuned for Part II)
Reading list:
Making Your Small Farm Profitable – Ron Macher
Hands-On Agronomy – Neal Kinsey
Weeds; Control Without Poisons – Charles Walters
Animal Health – Gearld Fry and Charles Walters
Forage Crop Pocket Guid – D.M. Ball
Forage Field Guide – Purdue Extension Service
Identification Guide of Early Season Weed Species – Extension Office
Beyond the Hay Days – Rex Ewing
The Veterinary Clinics of NA; Bovine Practice
Illustrated Atlas of Clinical Bovine Anatomy
You can contact Linda by writing Linda@northamericandevon.com
