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Bishopp’s StoryWritten by Jill Koehler, NRCS Grazing Land Specialist After meeting Troy Bishopp at several grazing conferences and hearing his story, I ventured up to Deansboro, NY for a closer look at his operations.
Troy believes that cattle have the self medicating abilities, that Provenza also has been researching. He observes his cattle eating Willow and other plants that are known to have digestive benefits. He is a strong believer in feeding kelp, and has it available free-choice in every pasture along with mineral.
Troy points to a hillside that he began to clip before his tractor broke down. He observes that although it looks more neat, he cannot note a change in quality. Hence, recreational mowing is not one of his favorite past times. As we move to the next farm, owned by Dick, he hands us a scrapbook of newspaper articles, photos, awards, etc that all highlight his philosophies and successes. On the top of the stack is a book. Troy advises, “If you’re going to read one book on grazing and pastures, this better be the one.” Fertility Pasture and Cover Crops, Conservation Gardening and Farming, by Newman and Turner. After a quick Amazon search back at the office, I discovered the book is out of print and will be a real challenge to add to my reference shelf! The scrapbook demonstrates his speaking abilities and lobbying efforts for grazing in NY. There are as many more pictures of Troy in farm wear than there are of him in a suit and tie! He and Dick Warner are both very active with GLCI in NY. They recognize the need for support for the grass-based farmer and the importance of grazing to keep agriculture alive in the Northeast. In the pile was also a copy of Graze (a monthly publication that is a necessity to any successful grazer) with Troy’s picture on the cover! I recommend anyone reading my article to also pick up the article in Graze.
Farm #2: The next farm is operated in quite a different manner. Dick loves his
cows and whole-heartedly believes Troy is the Pasture God! Dick also loves
wildlife and has dug many ponds for wildlife, and planted Douglas Firs for
habitat. As the vet packs up, he is stumped as to why a steer is frothing at the
mouth and cannot bit and chew. Troy explains that all vet costs are covered by
the cattle supplier, who remains the owner when the cattle are under Troy’s
care. Cattle are required to come onto the property with vaccinations already
complete. Troy doesn’t want to be bothered with handling the cattle regularly.
Occasional weight monitoring is done, but normally he monitors muscling by
looking at their rumps, not Body Conditioning Scores. Dick has about 8 head of
the finest Red Angus I’ve Land owners like Dick are great to work with since they exhibit great enthusiasm, and believe in what Troy is trying to accomplish, but they have their challenges also. Troy tells the story of his suggesting an increase in the bee population to improve pollinations of clovers and other forages. Within days, he had 30 hives smack-dab in the middle of the pasture! “That was pretty stressful for a couple of weeks,” Troy recollects. Moving on since time is quickly flying by…
“I’ve done some weird things with manure patties” Troy explains as he kicks at a decaying patty. He is very observant of earthworm populations, dung beetles, honey bees, and birds. They all add to the whole nutrient management picture, by pollinating forages and assisting decay of manure. It is not uncommon for Troy to walk his pastures during a rain. This is when he can monitor the number of Earthworms in his pastures.
The take home message I felt will benefit New Jersey farmers, is with very
minimal inputs, Troy will be visiting New Jersey on January 27th, at the Rutgers One Day Grazing Conference, to share his vision and grazing experiences. Please make arrangements to join us, you won’t be disappointed! Photo gallery of the Bishopp Farm Last Modified: January 04, 2006 |
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