Small-Scale Livestock Farming

by Carol Ekarius

  Storage

  Having critters around probably means having feed around. And feed is one item that needs to be stored well, or it spoils. Small, square bales of hay stacked outside, especially in a humid climate, become junk in short order. Grain, too, needs to be kept dry, and should be stored so as not to attract varmints. Rats have a habit of moving in where grain is easily accessible.

  TOOLS YOU NEED

  Some tools are absolutely necessary for small-scale livestock farming, including pitchfork, flat shovel, pointed shovel, wheelbarrow, hammer, pliers or wire cutters, buckets, posthole digger, and fence-post driver.

  Beyond this group, there are lots of tools that come in handy but that you can do without. Too often beginners go to the farm or ranch supply store and buy everything in sight; unless you have lots and lots of cash, ask yourself if you really have to have an item before you buy it.

  Storing hay to maintain its quality can be done in several different ways; the main thing to remember is that you want it covered. Tarps work and they’re cheap, but they aren’t a good long-term option. They tear, or blow away, unless very well secured in the first place; and sunlight eventually rots them, so they only last a season or two. One thing that can help is weighing tarps down well with old tires or blocks, or using tent stakes to tie them down (Figure 7.6). When using tarps, don’t tightly enclose your whole pile of hay, or any moisture that is in the bales will cause them to rot in no time. Hay needs to have some air movement in and around the pile. Small hay piles benefit from being stacked on wooden pallets; this keeps soil moisture from ruining the bottom bales.

  Figure 7.6. Tires are good for holding down hay tarps. Tarps should not completely enclose haystacks. By just tarping the top, the stack is able to breathe.

  If you’re dealing with large quantities of hay, a pole shed with just a roof, or a roof and one wall that blocks the predominant wind, protects hay well yet lets the air move around it. These structures are also relatively inexpensive to build (Figure 7.7). Hoop houses are also good for hay storage. Hay that is being stored in any type of enclosed structure must be adequately dry, or it may start on fire. In the Midwest, there are barn fires every summer and fall from hay being put in the mow a little too damp; as the hay cures, it heats up, and sometimes it can heat up enough to spontaneously combust!

  Livestock kept with grass-farming strategies don’t generally need grain in such large quantities that bulk storage space is necessary. The best way we’ve found to store the small amounts of grain we feed is in garbage cans or 55-gallon (208-L) drums. (Metal or plastic is fine, but make sure the drum contained food-grade materials before: You don’t want to poison your stock.)

  As with hay, grain must be well dried before it goes into storage. Dampness breeds mold (and possibly mycotoxins) and fire. Grain or premixed feeds that are being purchased from a reputable feed dealer should always be adequately dry, and most of the time area farmers whom you buy from directly won’t be selling you wet feed. But when you buy grain at harvesttime, make sure the grain has been tested for moisture. Most feed stores can provide this service, or you can test your own sample. (For instructions, see page 177.)

  Supplies and tools can usually be stored in a corner somewhere, but it helps if there is some kind of method to your storage. Vet supplies are a necessary evil (chapter 8 discusses the basic supplies you’ll need to have on hand) and need to be stored with some type of organization. Some medications need to be kept in the refrigerator, but the rest of your vet supplies can be kept in one of those plastic boxes with the tight-fitting lids that are sold in department stores. These boxes keep your supplies neat, dry, and all in one place, whether that’s in a barn, garage, basement, or a closet in the house.

  Figure 7.7. Where large quantities of hay need to be stored, an open-sided pole shed works best. Access is readily available, and the haystack is protected from most moisture while still being able to breathe.

  FARMER PROFILE

  The Van Der Pols

  Jim and LeeAnn Van Der Pols both came from farming backgrounds. In 1977, they bought their own farm, 160 acres near Kerkhoven, Minnesota. Like many of their neighbors, Jim and LeeAnn raised corn, soybeans, and feeder pigs in confinement barns. But over the years, the work grew unpleasant and the operation wasn’t quite profitable enough. Conventional wisdom said, “Get big or get out,” but they decided there had to be an alternative.

  Today, Jim and LeeAnn farm their 160 acres and rent an additional 160 from Jim’s mom. They raise 1,200 pigs, farrow to finish, on pasture and in hoop houses. They’ve also diversified their livestock operation by adding 160 ewes and about 20 stocker calves to their farm. The variety of animals helps them control parasites, keep more of their land in permanent pasture, diversify their income, and spread out their workload.

  Their crop rotation has changed: Soybeans, the darling of the Midwest, no longer find a place in their rotation. Instead, small grains (oats and barley planted together) and alfalfa are rotated with pasture and corn. The sheep and cattle (both nontraditional animals in this area) “provide appetite to eat the hay.” Alfalfa is important in the rotation: It cuts the expense of raising corn, which their pigs must have. By bringing the ruminants into their operation, though, they don’t have to mechanically harvest second or third cuttings — the animals graze them off.

  “Our work is pleasanter,” Jim says, “we’ve been able to expand the number of pigs enough to incorporate our son, Josh, and his wife, Cindy, into the operation without expanding the land base; and our long-term profitability is better.”

  The sows now farrow on seasonal schedules, spring and fall. In spring, they farrow directly on the pastures and have access to portable huts that look like large steel culverts cut in half. These spring pigs are finished in the hoop houses during the winter. The fall farrowing takes place in the hoop houses, the pigs are sold as feeders (at about 40 pounds), and the hoop house is cleaned for the spring pigs to come in for finishing. Straw from the small-grain crops is used to deep-bed the hoop houses, keeping a clean and healthy environment for the growing pigs.

  “Since we’ve gone to pasture and hoop-house operations, we don’t have to dock tails or cut eyeteeth out of the baby pigs,” LeeAnn adds. This saves both money and labor, and makes for happier piggies. “The pigs burn their nervous energy running, playing, or burrowing in the straw, instead of fighting and chewing on each other.”

  Conventional confinement buildings have problems with noise, dust, and odors. Also, the manure from these structures, stored in liquid slurry lagoons, is a management nightmare. When spread on the soil, it has a tendency to kill beneficial organisms, like earthworms and the smell is overwhelming. For Jim, the end to manure-handling problems is one of the best benefits of their current system. “Now we have better nutrient cycling. Our land is improving — it’s like we move one thing into place, and all kinds of good things start to happen.”

  The first hoop house went in during 1994. “Hoop houses cost about one-fifth the amount that a comparable confinement barn costs,” Jim says. For example, a hoop house that can feed 400 pigs costs slightly under $10,000, whereas a confinement setup would cost more than $50,000. Last year, when Josh and Cindy joined the operation, another hoop house went in, allowing them to reach the 1,200-pig mark.

  “Now, with the kids involved, we’re beginning to work on direct-marketing. We may never market 1,200 pigs directly, but we feel we need to market as many as we can. Marketing through the commodity system is too chancy.”

  CHAPTER 8

  Health & Reproduction

  The most important “drug” you can give your animals is good husbandry.

  C. E. Spaulding, A Veterinary Guide for Animal Owners

  A 3-DAY OLD CALF LIES ON ITS SIDE, listless, dull eyed,

  not eating. The head of its tail is covered with caked yellow manure. Scours.

  A goat has been straining for hours, and still no kids have come. Breech position.

  A horse is off
feed for the second day. Its eyes roll in its head, and it grunts in obvious pain. Colic.

  A ewe has been walking stiff legged for a few days. Flies, far more than normal, seem to be buzzing around her. A wound has become home to maggots.

  A cow is kicking at its side. It gets up, it lies down, it gets up, and it lies down again. It isn’t interested in food. Hardware disease.

  Although the best care, the most love and compassion, and the highest-quality feed significantly reduce the incidence of health problems, these things can still happen — animals get sick, they sometimes have trouble breeding, or problems occur while they’re having their babies. For the small-scale livestock farmer, observation — not a peripheral glance, but true, studied observation — is one of the most crucial skills to develop: Your best chance of minimizing health problems is early detection.

  Professional Help

  The first thing a livestock farmer needs to do is develop a professional relationship with a veterinarian. Looking for a vet should be like looking for a family physician. You can expect, based on their diplomas and state licensing, that all vets are minimally qualified to provide service, but a vet needs to be more than minimally qualified — he or she needs to be someone you feel very comfortable with. Good vets don’t only doctor your animals; they also answer your questions, they make good management suggestions that take into account the type of operation you’re striving for, and they care about you and your animals’ well-being.

  Ask other farmers in the area whom they use as a vet, and what their opinion is of him or her. Have prospective vets out for something minor such as performing vaccinations, or take a dog or cat into their office for its annual shots. Feel out how their personality meshes with yours. Find out if they make emergency farm calls whenever you need them — which may happen to be midnight on Christmas! If they’re unavailable, do they have an arrangement with another vet to take their emergency calls? Will they accept and return client phone calls if you need their advice or opinion?

  CAVEAT

  Before you read on, I want to inject a word of caution: There is a phase that most medical, pharmaceutical, and nursing students pass through in which they become convinced that they’re suffering from some terrible fatal illness (which they just so happen to be studying at the time). Sometimes they “suffer” multiple illnesses in the course of a few months. Then they finally figure out that they’re healthy — as long as they don’t worry themselves to death over all the things that they could possibly die from.

  Well, reading veterinary books, or even this animal health chapter, can create similar reactions in livestock owners. You start to think raising animals is hopeless because they’re bound to contract all the terrible illnesses you read about. During our tenure as husbandmen to a vast menagerie, we’ve dealt with our share of health problems, including those I listed above, but for each health problem dealt with we’ve raised hundreds of healthy, happy animals without incident. Take good care of your animals and your land, and they will take good care of you — generally with few health problems to weigh you down.

  We lucked out with a group of six veterinarians who shared a practice in Minnesota. Each was professional, hardworking, and easy to talk to. They came promptly, day or night, for emergency calls. And they didn’t poohpooh our interest in alternative practices and organic production. In fact, from time to time they’d ask us what we had been doing for a particular animal or situation; they didn’t use alternative practices, such as homeopathic preparations or acupuncture, but they were interested in what they saw working.

  When shopping for a veterinarian, remember that they have to deal with lots of different kinds of patients.

  One day, they might take care of horses, a parrot, a llama, and dozens of cows. The next day may bring an elk, a herd of sheep, some pigs, and a ferret. Obviously, no one person can be a complete expert on so many different critters, but they should be willing to admit when something is baffling them, and do the research that’s needed to figure out what the problem is.

  You’ll find that throughout this chapter, I advocate using these fine professionals. In the early years of raising livestock, your veterinarian should be your teacher. The first few years, you should plan on using vets frequently. Their help and advice, especially when you’re starting out, is worth every penny you pay for it! As your experience level increases, the need to call your vet will decrease.

  Causes of Health Problems

  Illness is generally the result of either a chemical or a biological agent, though sometimes it is simply the result of improper diet or a change in diet. As with people, injuries are the result of accidents. Falls and cuts are the two most common injuries livestock suffer.

  Chemical Agents

  Chemical agents cause poisoning. Some chemical agents, such as poisonous plants, may be biological by their nature, but it is the chemical in the plant that is toxic. Although chemical poisoning can happen with livestock, it is less frequently the cause of illness than a biological agent. To avoid chemically induced illness:

  1. Learn about the poisonous plants that grow in your area of the country.

  2. Store feed properly, and never store any kind of chemical products — including cleaning products — near your feed or where animals may gain access to it.

  3. If you’re using any chemical products around your farm, make sure to follow the manufacturer’s instructions carefully, including directions for proper disposal of containers. A farmer we read about had a number of cows poisoned from eating hay. It turned out that some empty chemical bags had blown out into his windrows of hay as they were drying. The bags got baled with the hay. Certainly, this tragic experience could have been prevented by proper disposal of the bags.

  4. If animals are kept indoors in an old building containing lead-based paint, lead poisoning may be a problem.

  5. When grazing, keep animals away from fields that have recently been sprayed with fertilizers, pesticides, or herbicides. Field contamination from sprays may be the result of someone else’s operation.

  A neighboring farmer in Minnesota had the local co-op spray a field of red clover with Roundup (Monsanto, St. Louis, Missouri) prior to his fall tillage. Unfortunately, on the day that the co-op arrived our stock was grazing right across the fence, and the wind was blowing pretty hard. When we realized what was happening, we went out and brought our stock in close to the barn, but the damage was already done. Three cows showed signs of a toxic reaction. Our vet contacted a veterinary toxicologist at the College of Veterinary Medicine in St. Paul, who assured us that the Roundup shouldn’t cause a fatal reaction. She told us to make sure the affected animals had access to copious amounts of water. We called both the neighbor and the co-op manager and threatened that if it ever happened again, we would sue for chemical trespass. They apologized and swore it wouldn’t happen again.

  We were far luckier than a farmer down the road, who had several cows die after the local electric utility sprayed along the edges of his field to kill the brush under the power lines. He was paid for the loss of his cows, but some losses money simply doesn’t cover.

  Biological Agents

  Biological agents are the most common cause of illness. Complex organisms such as birds and mammals regularly act as hosts to a rather large menagerie of microorganism guests. In humans, it’s estimated that 100 billion microorganisms routinely share our bodies. These regular guests are called normal flora, and for the most part are harmless to their hosts. In some cases, normal flora — like the digestive bacteria that help break down food — are actually beneficial. But under certain circumstances, these normally benign “bugs” can cause disease. When a microorganism causes disease, whether a member of the normal flora or a recently introduced bug that is just passing through, it’s called a pathogen.

  When conditions are just right for them, pathogens proliferate to the point that their numbers simply overwhelm the animal, like weeds taking over a garden. Some also produce toxins as by-
products of their bodily functions; the clostridium bacteria, whose toxins can cause tetanus, botulism, and black leg, are prime examples. These toxin-producing pathogens are capable of causing illness even when only a few are actually present. The biological agents include bacteria, viruses, yeast and other fungi, and worms and other parasites.

  Bacteria

  These single-celled organisms are a funny bunch: Some of them are so helpful, but some are so deadly (Figure 8.1). The beneficial bacteria are known as saprophytes, and include bacteria that regularly live in the digestive tract. When the saprophytes are where they’re supposed to be and in the right quantity, they help the body keep humming right along. If introduced where they aren’t supposed to be, though, watch out. They become pathogens.

  Bacteria can be treated with antibiotics; however, not all bacteria respond equally to all antibiotics. If a bacteria responds to treatment by a particular antibiotic, it’s said to be sensitive to the antibiotic; if it doesn’t respond to the treatment it’s resistant. When treating an animal for a bacterial infection, it’s best to have your veterinarian perform a culture and sensitivity test if this is at all feasible (i.e., if you aren’t dealing with an immediately life-threatening situation). This test will tell you exactly which antibiotic is most effective against the bacteria that are causing the illness.