In this episode of The Grazing Grass Podcast, Cal talks with Alex Bates of Chapel Ford Farm. We discuss brooding chicks for others, pastured poultry, pastured turkeys and wool sheep. For the Overgrazing Section, we discuss how his off-the-farm job makes him a better farmer.
- [02:11] -About Alex, his operation. and background
- [04:23] – What got him interested in rotational grazing
- [09:33] – About his poultry
- [12:03] – About his chicken breeder setup
- [15:56] – About his self-built chicken tractors
- [18:49] – About his turkeys
- [20:29] – The breeder he is using for turkeys
- [21:05] – How he processes the turkey
- [26:27] – His lambing strategy
- [29:28] – What is he using for fencing
- [30:39] – The amount of power he runs on the fence
- [33:23] – The kind of pasture he is grazing the lambs
- [37:13] – Challenges he faces while farming
- [39:26] – His future plans for the farm
- [42:26] – The Overgrazing Section
- [43:55] – The changes he made in his farming technique
- [46:48] – The benefit he gets for working at the processing location
- [48:03] – His favorite grazing grass related book
- [50:28] – His favorite tool on the farm
- [52:00] – His advice to new farmers
MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION:
- [22:02] – The Turkeys are way low maintenance than the chicken.
- [22:38] – There is more risk in Turkey because you keep them for 4-6 months.
NOTABLE QUOTES:
- [05:35] – “Sometimes luck has to get us there. There’s a path to follow and luck or divine intervention gets us there.”
- [52:23] – “Working on the business and working in the business is not the same thing.”
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Your information could be here. Email Cal at GrazingGrass.com for more information.
Products Mentioned:
Books/Resources Mentioned:
- Kick the Hay Habit by Jim Gerrish (Amazon*)
- Southern Forages
Links from the Episode:
- Chapel Ford Farm
- Chapel Ford Farm on Instagram
- Chapel Ford Farm on Facebook
