News
Grazing livestock farmer cannot keep up with demand
As the push for regenerative agriculture continues, a Missouri farmer is struggling to keep up with demand for grass fed livestock.
Greg Judy runs Green Pastures Farms in central Missouri. He tells Brownfield they have various market opportunities and not enough cattle to fill them.
“You can do grass-fed beef. You can raise them up to 600-700 pounds and sell them to another grass finisher. There is the seedstock business, breeding bulls, bred heifers. We can’t raise enough.”
He says when managed properly, grazing livestock is beneficial to both the environment and the farmers pocketbook.
“The number one market today in meat with the highest profit margin is in grass finished beef. That’s where it is at, not feedlot. Because not very many people are doing it.”
He says the first steps for starting a grazing operation are to buy or lease land, build fence, ensure a good water source, and determine the right kind of livestock for the land.
Brownfield interviewed Judy during the Heart of America Grazing Conference Conference in Mt. Vernon, Illinois.
