CE 9.19.11 by Lee Publications

Section B - Page 6 September 19, 2011 • Let Them Know You Read COUNTRY FOLKS •

Minimizing from B5 than the “super cow” that produced those two “great” calves before she had to get shipped for not breeding back. Very few of us can afford to keep our herds or flocks as pets. These animals must work for a living, for our living. They need to breed back reliably every year and do so for years on end to help us be profitable. How many breedings to conception does it take to get that milk cow in calf? I’m guessing the fewer the better. What does that cow that needs regular foot trimming cost vs. another cow that needs little or no foot trimming? By identifying those most reliable, but maybe not the most outstanding, cattle or ewes or does on the farm and then selecting ONLY those females for breeding to off-farm bulls, rams, etc. we can maybe move our home raised herds or flocks ahead better by using home raised offspring out of those “best” females. Yes, I’m advocating keeping some male progeny around out of your cows/ewes/does and using them to infuse the best of the off-farm genetics along with the best of the onfarm genetics across your entire herd or flock. In this way you or I can achieve something that has been forgotten about; uniformity and consistency within our own farm management paradigm and the microclimate in which it runs. A bull raised in a hothouse environment in Wisconsin may produce daughters that read well on test, but will they necessarily do that well in a different environment in Florida? What about range cattle from the Coastal Plain of Mississippi in Upstate New York? Undoubtedly some good has been identified in those herds from those sires, but how can we most efficiently get those traits infused in our

own herds or flocks? To answer that question Bill Hodge will be conducting two pasture walks in Upstate New York during the third week in September. Bill is a co-founder and president of Sustainable Genetics, LLC and has over 40 years experience in the livestock industry. After completing undergraduate work at Virginia Tech he had the unique experience of serving as herd manager for Wye Plantation, Queenstown, MD under the tutelage of the late Jim Lingle, a master breeder of both dairy and beef cattle. Bill completed graduate studies at the University of Georgia and has worked for University of Georgia Cooperative Extension for the last 26 years. He is a past Chairman of the Carroll County Chamber of Commerce, serves as chairman of Carroll County’s Agricultural Preservation Advisory Board and the Georgia Agricultural Land Trust. Bill has made over 100 presentations throughout the U.S. and Canada speaking on behalf of sustainable agriculture and meat animal/forage systems. Bill and his wife Di maintain a minimal input Angus herd (Hodge Ranch, LLC) that utilizes year round grazing with no supplemental feed. They also direct market grass finished beef, pastured pork, and free range eggs in the metro Atlanta area. The first pasture walk to be led by Bill will be at the Crosby Farm owned by Tim Lippert in Berne, NY, Albany County on Sept. 21 from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. The second pasture walk will be at Rita Partee’s Fleur-de-Lis Farm in Seneca Falls, NY, Seneca County, on Sept. 24, from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Lunch for the Sept. 21 event in Berne is a potluck dish to pass affair with burgers and drinks supplied by the Hudson Mohawk RCD Council.

Lunch will be provided at the Sept. 24 event by the New York Angus Association. Additional support for these two events comes from NE SARE, Albany County Cooperative Extension, the Albany County SWCD, Seneca County Extension, the Seneca County SWCD, the Finger Lakes RCD Council, the Hudson Mohawk RCD Council, NY GLCI, the Finger Lakes Graziers Group and the NY Angus Association. All of these groups have come together in support of these two pasture walk/talks to make them free of charge

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to the public. For more information and to register for the Albany County event please contact Donna Murray of the Hudson Mohawk RCD Council at 518-2702668 or dmurray@rensco.com For more information and to register for the Seneca County event please contact Robert Groom at 315-5732569 or robert@angus.us. Or as a point of contact for either event, please contact Morgan Hartman at blackqueenangus@yahoo.com or 413-358-8435.

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