In this episode of The Grazing Grass Podcast, Cal talks with Loyd Borntrager of Borntrager Dairy about transitioning from a conventional dairy to a grass-fed dairy, utilizing Dutch Belted cows and pastured rabbits. He is a second-generation dairy farmer and has his farm located in Yoder, South Central Kansas.
Listen to this episode to learn more!
- [01:11] – About Loyd and his operation
- [03:31] – His backstory
- [06:11] – “If you want to be an organic farmer, you need to be grass farmer first.”
- [09:50] – Keeping the cows out longer by doing less tillage
- [10:25] – Why did he switch to Dutch Belted Cows from Holstein cow
- [12:40] – Crossing purebred bull to Holstein cow
- [14:39] – Milking the cows
- [16:25] – The problem on milking the cows once a day
- [18:28] – The amount of milk production he is getting
- [19:19] – The number of cows he milk
- [20:15] – Marketing the milk
- [21:09] – Other dairy products that he sells
- [23:46] – The kind of parlor he has
- [25:01] – Feeding the cows when they are in the parlor
- [26:04] – About sprouted fodder
- [27:26] – Feeding the cows when the paddocks are growing
- [29:13] – Moving the cows to new pasture daily
- [30:16] – Annual rainfall in Yoder
- [32:26] – Kind of pasture he has
- [35:34] – The kind of fencing he has
- [37:03] – Other livestock he has
- [39:43] – Marketing the rabbits
- [42:00] – The breed of chickens he has
- [43:04] – His favorite grazing grass related book
- [45:45] – Advice to new farmers
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Book(s)/Resource(s)
- Grass, the Forgiveness of Nature by Charles Walters (*Amazon)
