Last week I traveled to western Iowa and Missouri to get a view of grassland farms that graze livestock on permanent pastures. I visited the farm of Tim Kelley in Elmo, Missouri. Tim is selling his 200 acre farm (Valley View Farm) that is currently home to grazing herds of sheep and black angus cattle. The angus are the property of Clinton Ohnmacht, a young farmer looking to get his start with sustainable agriculture. Clinton’s family farm is nearby and grows conventional row crops and grain fed beef. He is interested in changing to a grass fed operation and Valley View Farm fits nicely with this plan. We would like to diversify operations and are currently researching the possibility of this acquisition.
Dave M. (Farmland Forager)
I thoroughly enjoyed Dave’s visit. It was a meeting of the minds.
It is often said nature abhors a vacuum. It is also true that nature hates a monoculture. Nature has already figured out most things for us if we would try to imitate her instead of battling her and trying to recreate nature in mankind’s vision.
The pastures on Valley View Farm are a diverse species of grasses, legumes and forbs. The biological life in the pastures and soils is also diverse. The more diverse the life above the soil the more diversity of life can exist in the soil.
Elaine Ingham, one of the premier microbiologists of the world, and originator of the web site, soil food web, states that there is no commercial fertilizer that does not harm some part of the micro flora or fauna of the soil. Valley View has practiced this philosophy for many years. Healthy soils produce healthy forage which produce healthy animals which produce healthy food.
It is my understanding that Clinton Ohnmacht has the intent of increasing the above ground livestock to multiple species of sheep, goats, poultry and beef, working together in harmony to increase and maintain the below ground livestock of the billions of microbes.