SPRING GREEN, Wis. – More than 125 people attended a tour May 25 showcasing rotational grazing systems and conservation efforts.
Top Story
Butler Family Farm practices conservation in Wisconsin
1 of 10
Red Angus and Black Angus cattle graze a hillside at Butler Family Farm where an intensive-rotational grazing system is used.
Five trays representing soils from different farming practices are part of a rainfall-simulation demonstration. Jars below the trays collect water and soil so farm-tour attendees can see the impact of different farming systems on soil and nutrient loss.
From left, the first jar under a bare-soil tray contains the most soil and water loss after a simulated rainfall event. The fourth tray represents a pasture where grass had been grazed down to less than 4 inches. There wasn’t enough grass to hold much water, thus it had the second-highest amount of soil and water loss.
Ann Zimrin speaks to attendees at a tour of the Butler Family Farm, where beef cattle are raised and finished on grass.
David Zimrin discusses the portable electric-fencing system used at Butler Family Farms.
A system at Butler Family Farms provides cattle in an intensive rotational-grazing system ready access to water.
Cherrie Nolden, a doctoral candidate in the animal-science department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and owner of a goat-browsing service in Dodgeville, Wisconsin, discusses how goats can be used to reclaim pastures from woody vegetation.
A hillside at Butler Family Farms that was once covered with brush is cleared by goats and ready for cattle to graze again.
A windrow-turner is used to help speed the aerobic process in compost composed of manure, hay and wood chips. The compost will later be used to fertilize pasture.
The 900-acre Butler Family Farm is nestled in a verdant-green valley near Spring Green, Wisconsin.
