Let Them Eat Grass

Northeast ‘Grasstravaganza’ Inspires Livestock Farmers

Tracy Sutton
Northern Editor

BINGHAMTON, N.Y. — “The future seems bright for you.” That’s New York City chef Dan Barber addressing “Grasstravaganza,” a group of 300 pasture-grazing farmers here last week.

As grass grazing and sustainable farming in general comes more into the mainstream and gains profitability, Barber compared graziers’ foresight to another modern Gold Rush. “You guys today are the dot-commers of Silicon Valley.”

“Today’s news is here,” Barber continued. “What you are doing is giving pleasure through eating. It will change the world.”

Changing the farming world and the pleasure of eating were clearly on display at Grasstravaganza. The conference luncheons and dinner featured chicken, pork, venison, lamb, beef, and dairy that had been donated by participants, challenging any naysayers who might deem grass-finished products inferior to corn fed.

Participants attended lectures ranging from the practical, on marketing, processing, farm management, to the more whimsical: “Livestock as Weedeaters.”

Providing inspiration was special guest Kevin Fulton of Litchfield, Nebraska who, in addition to being a successful grass-based livestock farmer, is also an award-winning weightlifter. He attributes his super strength to his diet of grass-fed meats and demonstrated his powers by ripping phonebooks and bending frying pans for assembled guests.

Local politicians, whose earthly powers were more rhetorical, were also on hand to congratulate pasture-based farmers for their commitment to sustainable practices.

Chip Pratt, N.Y. Agriculture and Markets special assistant to commissioner, shared his conversion to understanding the importance of preserving New York’s pastures and watersheds, crediting the relentless activism of Grazing Land Conservation Initiative Chairman (and Lancaster Farming columnist) Troy Bishopp. Pratt said “The economy will get more people into grazing.”

Citing hay at $9 per bale, the system he said “has got to change.” Other attendees included Binghamton Mayor Matt Ryan and New York Congressman Michael Arcuri.

“Grazing will save our country,” said speaker Kim Seeley, President of the Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture (PASA). He discussed his dairy farm’s transition back to grazing from its roots as a dairy beginning in 1928. Seeley has experimented with cross-breeding Jerseys to Holsteins for a hardier breed. His oldest cow is 15 years old. Before, when the farm was a conventional operation, “we were burning cows out.” The hybrid cows give “great quality” milk and he compared their longevity and well-being to humans. “If a high-fiber diet and lots of exercise is good for us,” why not cows? He exhorted farmers to share their grazing stories.

Keynote speaker, Troy Bishopp, aka “The Grass Whisperer,” related his journey to grass-based farming. He began on an emotional note, connecting the environmental benefits of grazing to the United State’s reliance upon foreign oil. “Every blade I graze reduces fuel and I don’t want troops dying over fuel — I want them home to make more farmers.”

Bishopp discussed his deep roots as a fifth-generation farmer in Deansboro, N.Y. “I’ve had a good family.” His great-grandfather built barns with only “a saw and a ruler,” some of which are still standing in New York.

Bishopp, an animal husbandry major from Morrisville State fully intended to farm as a career, but came of age during the 1980s farm crisis. He did conventional dairy farming, but could not make a livable wage, so he took a job as a manager at a poultry plant in Ohio. When that career, although profitable, proved disillusioning, he came back home to New York to farm again. This time, on the advice of one of his former professors, he tried grazing.

Bishopp became a convert. “It saved my family farm.” He’s now been rotational grazing successfully for 20 years.

Bishopp, his wife Corrine, and three daughters custom graze finished beef, stocker calves, and dairy heifers on 500 acres of owned and leased land.
Graziers “all have stories,” said Bishopp. “Get out and tell your stories.”

Pioneer Grazier Award Winners:
Kathie Arnold - grass-based organic dairy farmer from Truxton, N.Y.
Troy Bishopp - chairman of the Grazing Land Conservation Initiative Steering Committee
John Dickerson - retired USDA-NRCS plant materials specialist
Jim Hayes - grass-based livestock farmer from Warnerville, N.Y. and retired Cobleskill College professor of Animal Science
John Kiechle - grass-based livestock farmer from Philadelphia, N.Y.
Tom Ormond - grass-based dairy farmer from Kennedy, N.Y.
Dan Vredenburgh - Broome County SWCD
James Walsh - N.Y. Congressman
Don Wild - USDA-NRCS Western N.Y. Grazing Specialist