Consulting & Mentorship
Creating a grazing plan for your operation takes time and effort. It can be a struggle to get it right.
With so many moving parts to unscramble on the page, hiring a grazing consultant/mentor could mean the difference between a disastrous trainwreck and successful planning and implementation reflecting your goals and objectives.
what I can do for you
Grazing Plan Pre-Assessments, Paddock Designs, and More…
Step 1: Look at the Land
When I do pasture assessments, I don’t just identify what types of plants you have: I look at how much litter cover you have, look at your soil, and look at how one area of the pasture looks like it’s being more favoured by your animals than another. I find this a great opportunity to sit down with you and talk with you more about your operation: what makes you tick, where you want to see improvements, and what your future aspirations are.
A pasture/range assessment isn’t just throwing a square-foot quadrat on the grass. It’s the staying afterwards for coffee part that makes the most out of grazing consulting and mentorship. Why? I get to know my clients and their farm/ranch better. And that’s important.
Step 2: Stocking Rate Calculations and More
Grazing plans take quite a few calculations to nail down things like time animals should spend per paddock, number of you paddocks may need, how big paddocks need to be based on your target utilization rate and how much forage you have avaialble (and how big your herd is), what your carrying capacity is, and more.
I understand how frustrating and daunting they can be, because I’ve done countless number-crunching for clients before, and I know the pressure of making sure you get the numbers right. If you’re the type that hates this part of the grazing plan, I have a solution to that quandry!
Step 3: Paddock Designs with Satellite Imagery
My favourite platform to use in creating paddock designs is Google Earth Pro. It’s free, and it has many features, like showing you how big your paddocks are before you build them, what your topographical features actually look like from space, creating multiple plans while being able to save them on your hard drive so you can go back and re-analyze them later, and so much more.
But it takes a lot of time, energy, and patience to use it to its fullest extent. That’s where I come in. I will not only help you create your virtual paddock design ideas, but I’ll also guide you on how to use one of the best grazing plan development tools (and free… did I mention it’s free, already?) out there today!
Step 4: Follow-ups During & After Plan Implementation
Once we’ve done what we could on your grazing plan, next comes the fun part: rolling out the barbed wire from the spool and pounding in those posts.
While this part is optional, I always appreciate being invited out to see how your plans have come into fruitition. It’s also ample opportunity to see if there’s something else that may need a little tweak here and there, or have a fresh pair of eyes observe how a project, like a good grazing plan, is coming along.
Besides, I’m always up for a cup of coffee and a visit!
everybody’s asking
Some Frequently Asked Questions
What types of animals do you work with on grazing plans?
I have helped producers set up plans for sheep, beef cattle, and bison, and will also do plans for dairy cattle, goats, elk, horses, llamas/alpacas. I will even help you make plans for moving pastured pigs and poultry.
How long do you like to take to create a grazing plan?
As long as necessary, depending on how much of a rush (or not) my clients are to get things done. It also depends on the land base and how much detail clients are willing to go into developing these plans. Generally, the more details related to the grazing plan we have at our disposal, the better. A good grazing plan can take anywhere from a couple of days to a month to complete.
What's involved with a "pasture assessment"?
I generally follow the guidelines and health scoring as laid out in Government of Alberta’s Rangeland Health Assessment for Grassland, Forest & Tame Pasture handbook. I like to include a little more detail when it comes to the plants that grow in your pastures because I like to know as much as possible about what you have growing—good or bad. I do a litter scrape to assess how much litter you have in different parts of your pastures, and I also conduct an overall assessment of canopy heights of different plants. I’m looking not only at which areas are more heavily grazed than others, but also at opportunities for improvement you would benefit from.
Do you have any favourite paddock designs anyone can use?
No. I appreciate all types of designs, from those with a water truck to those that use lanes. I’m not doing a grazing plan because I want to force in my ideas, but rather what works best for you in your operation and your context.
Do you also do economic analyses of grazin plans?
This might be a deal-killer, but I must be honest: no, I do not. I’m not (yet) set up with the background or expertise to help you on that aspect of the grazing plan. I would like to increase my knowledge in this area in the future, but as it stands in the present, I am unable to help you in this area.
Do you sell forage seed or any sort of fencing supplies or similar?
No. The only thing that is “sold” is advice catered to each individual farm and ranch. Other general information you may need on your own is provided on Praise the Ruminant for free.
Do you have any recommendations of who to go to when I need to buy forage seed, fencing or water supplies?
No. Since my company, Praise the Ruminant Ltd., and I are not affiliated with any of such suppliers, I cannot make any favoured recommendations for you to purchase supplies. I can give you a list of places and companies to contact, but I dissociate myself from making any favourites. All companies and suppliers have their advantages and disadvantages, plus it depends on who is local to you. I also don’t want to risk recommending a supplier that is over 100 miles away when you may have a better one only 10 or 20 miles away, or is already in your local town.
How much will it cost me to hire you to help me on my grazing plan?
This is where I am flexible. It largely depends on how many farm visits are needed, how much work you have already done on your end that I will take over from (and how much more work needs to be done) and how long it takes to develop this plan. It also depends on whether you want me to conduct a pasture assessment for you or if you prefer to stick with creating paddock designs and helping you figure out animal movement.
The first meeting is totally free to see if I’m someone you want to work with, and then after that we can negotiate on payments. Please contact me for more details.
How long have you been helping producers with their grazing plans?
Officially speaking, I have been doing this since 2016. I have been working on countless grazing plans of all types from all over Alberta, from Lethbridge to La Crete. I have also helped countless others who have not directly contacted me from other parts of the world with my newsletters and articles I’ve written on Praise the Ruminant (and when I used to work at Alberta Agriculture’s Ag-Info Centre before the government decided to shut it down in March 2020), presentations I’ve given to groups in the past, and other avenues.
What else do I need to know before I hire you?
The first and foremost thing you should know is that I like to let you do most of the talking in our first meeting. As you would have read above, a big part of the assessment process is getting to know you, your farm operation, and your context and goals. I like to ask questions to better understand what makes you and your farm or ranch tick, including past struggles and failures you’ve learned from or that still leave a little bit of a sore spot for you, even if they happened 10 years ago.
With my own farming background, I can put myself in your shoes and understand where you are coming from. I’m not available to help you just to make a buck (even though we all have to live, and nothing comes free in this world), but to see farmers and ranchers like you leave the world a better place, and help you be more profitable. That’s important to me.
on-farm climate action fund applications
Government Funding Opportunities
The Canadian Forage and Grassland Association has been providing funds to help producers create grazing plans for submission for approval. I help with creating and making suggestions on the best grazing practices for their plan, including mentoring them on animal movements, paddock design, and making grazing charts to give them the best chances at getting approved for funding.