Our Land
The great prairies in the Midwest, with their deep soils and seemingly limitless fertility, can be points of envy to a grazier east of the Mississippi. Still, we believe their bounty is not necessarily out of reach. The issue lies in proper management. The climate and soils of East Tennessee are not as forgiving and require vigilance and patience to produce long-lasting fertility.
The soils of the great prairies were built by the vast roaming herds of ruminants - bison, buffalo, and the like. These herds took a bite of grass as they came through and, well, left a little something behind. The key is that they were constantly on the move. They grazed their way across the plains, never staying in one spot, never eating more than just the tops of the forage.
The core of our process is caring for the land through rotational grazing, which mimics the effects these great herds had on the lands of the prairies. Without getting too far into the weeds with it (pun intended), the animals eating grasses stimulate the grasses to grow deeper roots and, therefore, become stronger as a result. The plant roots bring nutrients up from deep in the soil as well as feed microbes within the soil itself. Deeper roots develop richer soils and stronger stands of forage for ruminants to graze in a cycle as old as time itself.
In other words, our animals get fresh grass every day. Just as importantly, once a paddock has been grazed, the animals are moved, and the forage is allowed to rest and recover before animals are reintroduced for another grazing cycle, just like bison and buffalo roaming through the prairies in days past. This resting cycle promotes root growth and carbohydrate stores within the plant, capturing CO2 from the air and storing it in root structures and feeding microbes in the ground.
It goes without saying, but our pastures never see chemicals of any kind. Commercial fertilizers, herbicides, or pesticides never touch our soils. The forages we grow on our farm are all natural and, as a result, so are our animals.