Since the dawn of the ranch, long before being a rancher was a whisper in my mind, an eternal war raged on the land.
Men and beasts alike have toiled against this vicious foe.
They mercilessly tear at the flesh of any who dares stray too close.
In the battle, many give up their humanity. I’ve managed to retain mine, but I don’t know how much longer I can last.
What is it, you ask?
THORNS!
For us, it’s mostly wild blackberries. Don’t get me wrong, I like blackberries alright but I’m selling beef, not blackberries. A field completely overrun by blackberries and other bushes doesn’t produce much meat.
The most common remedy for any weed growing in your pastures is something we simply don’t do.
Herbicides…
A lot of the herbicides are considered safe for cattle by mainstream agriculture. I don’t think we understand nearly enough about plants, animals, or humans to make that claim. We don’t spray any synthetic chemicals of any kind at the farm and I’m happy that’s what we do.
Herbicides also kill many plants other than the targeted plants. Some of these herbicides can last years in the soil and prevent clover and other beneficial forage species from growing.
So, for the healthiest pastures, animals, and customers we don’t do any of it.
We aren’t certified organic because of some of the less sensible requirements but to me, this is the most important part of being organic.
Our animals eat their natural diet, free from any chemicals that didn’t exist until mostly after WW2.
This presents us with some challenges at the ranch. I think it’s more than worth it. If we do things the right way the end product is a much healthier pasture and much cleaner products.
A lot of farms use very wishy-washy language to describe their operation like “family farm” “pasture-raised” and “black angus” which tell you very little about how they actually do things. We prefer people find out for themselves and come see the place.
You can look around wherever you want, you won’t find a hidden stash of roundup anywhere.
Next time I’ll get into how we approach getting rid of thorns naturally with the help of some basic tools, our pigs, and our cows.
I’d love to hear your opinion about this topic. You can email johnmichael@nextlevelranch.com and let me know what you think
Suiting up for battle,
John Michael