Angus Association President Makes His Cows Work for
| Lawrason Sayre, president of the American Angus Association and owner of Waffle Hill Farms, a purebred Angus seedstock farm in Churchville, MD, packed his luggage more than five decades ago, leaving the family homestead near the Chesapeake Bay to attend Yale University's School of Engineering. | |||||||||
In addition to adding his son Ned into the partnership, Sayre, by the 80s, had made considerable strategic changes to the operation. They increased their land holdings to 250 acres of owned and leased tillable land and pasture, and had opted several years earlier to abandon the egg route as the chicken industry integrated. By far, however, the most significant decision which affected the way in which they farmed came as a result of visiting their daughter, Nancy Ann, who had taken a job in New Zealand. "What I saw in New Zealand mad me a total believer out of what you can do with grass if properly managed," says Sayre. As he coupled that experience with the prospect of continuing to battle a persistent shattercane infestation in their corn, he knew it was time to make some significant decisions. The foundations of their farm, the Sayres knew, was the registered Angus herd. But, it would take careful management of all their resources to maintain its acceptable level of profitability. Their current feeding program consisted of corn silage, topped with urea for adequate protein. The concern with this program was two-fold, however: shattercane problems haunted them, and row crop and small grain production was extremely labor- and equipment-intensive. The herd, now consisting of approximately 150 cows and heifers, had been developed and improved over several years, and was backed by the American Angus Association's growth performance data and their own loyal customer base who had counted on Waffle Hill for superb breeding stock each year. Steady selection for functional traits - fertility, calving ease, maternal ability, and efficient growth - had provided them with the backbone of their operation. Putting Forages to Work But, the question remained. how would they continue to turn a profit with the cattle while investing in all the equipment necessary in farming 250 acres and still maintain a top-level herd? Turning back to his experience in the corporate world, Sayre began looking at his cows more as employees of the farm and began asking all the hard questions that would create a farming system where the cows performed the bulk of the work for him rather than the other way around. The idea of properly managing forages, as he had seen done in New Zealand, quickly surfaced to the forefront and became the driving force behind optimizing profits at Waffle Hill Farm. Where they had previously committed labor resources into planting and harvesting row crops as well as making hay for the cows, the Sayres began funneling those energies into increased planning and management of the forage program. Now in their 11th season, they know they made the right decision. "I'm still amazed at the potential that Management Intensive Grazing" has to offer," explains Sayre. Their grazing season typically begins in late March or early April. "The explosive spring growth of the grass is too much for the cows to utilize all at once," says Sayre. So we fence off adequate pasture space, leaving the remaining acreage for haying." A veteran Vermeer equipment user, they recently upgraded to a Vermeer 504 Super I Baler to harvest the forage that the cows can't consume; half as dry hay and the other half as round bale wrapped silage. They use a 70 hp Case IH four-wheel drive tractor to operate the baler over all types of terrain on their hilly Maryland farm. "The beauty in the versatility of this baler is that we can capture the higher quality forage produced during early spring when vegetative growth is too fast for the cows to consume on pasture and the weather oftentimes too wet to make dry bales," explains son, Ned Sayre. The other advantage is that the Vermeer baler packs the round bales tightly, creating an oxygen-free bale that won't spoil or lose valuable nutrients when wrapped. "We can harvest 17-18% protein by wrapping round bales as silage. I don't think we have purchased a single bag of soybean meal for use as protein source for our young stock since we bought the wrapper," Sayre adds. They typically run groups of 45 cow/calf pairs, with a stock density of 25,000 to 35,000 pounds/acre. "Over the course of the season, we will move the animals as many as 300 times through the 65 to 70 different paddocks," explains Ned Sayre. "Paddocks are divided into two- to four-acre sections and provide 2-3 days of grazing. By using temporary fencing (Poly-wire), we can easily match size of the paddock to coincide with the amount of growth available and the number of animals grazing," he adds. Two- to three-inch residual is considered ideal. Managing the Forage Program First established in 1986, they began re-renovating the pastures in 1996, ten years later. Those original pastures consist of a mix of bluegrass, orchard grass, fescue and native Dutch white clover, over-seeded with red clover. New seedings are all no-tilled with a Vermeer 107 Grain Drill rented from Triple H Equipment, a nearby dealership. "This drill gives farmers the option to plant three different types of seed at one time without mixing," says Jim Huber, owner of Triple H. "We now drill either orchard grass or fescue with alfalfa and red clover in seven-inch rows in all of our fields," says Sayre. "One practice we feel strongly about is keeping a good legume mixture in our pastures," he adds. The Sayres especially like using Kentucky 31 fescue as one of their base grasses. "We will normally graze hard on those pastures until August, then stockpile them for winter grazing," explains Sayre. If necessary, they take advantage of the "grace" period to apply 40 to 50 pounds of nitrogen per acre to replenish the nutrient level. "That shot of nitrogen really gives us tremendous growth for winter forage," says Sayre. He adds that the nutritional value and palatability of fescue actually increases after being frosted. Lab results of fescue tested in January showed 12% protein and TDN in the mid-60s. That extra nutrition is evidenced by increased body condition scores and higher calf birth weights when compared to cows that wintered strictly on hay. Although atypical in Maryland's climate, they have also had times where cows were grazed throughout the entire year, without supplementing with equipment-harvested feeds. "The winter of 1994-95 was that kind of year," says Sayre. "That winter we grazed 40 cows year-round, which is unusual in our part of the country." Sayre has also seen his brood cows rummage the pasture for feed even when the ground is covered. He says, "Cows will root through 18-20 inches of snow an pull up green grass." Staying Current with New Technology Over the years, the Sayre's have maintained close contact with university and other experts in order to stay current with emerging technologies. For example, they coordinated with the University of Maryland to conduct an on-farm study on improving forage quality. "We saw a doubling of dry matter yields and a 25% increase in protein content just by over-seeding legumes into an existing fescue stand," says Sayre. "We got an added bonus in reducing the need for nitrogen fertilizer." As with any other crop, soil fertility is important with top production of grass and legume crops. To know their needs, they test regularly and maintain adequate levels of soil nutrients. Testing doesn't stop in the soil, however. A probe is standard equipment in the tractor cab while harvesting forages and routine samples are drawn, fight from the field, to determine the quality of forage being harvested. Since becoming intimately involved with grass management, the Sayres have relied on the National Cattlemen's Beef Association's (NCBAs) Integrated Resource Management program. This program integrates the management of forage production with financial management to yield the greatest return on investment. "With this system, we are able to analyze economic return rather than merely measure a top yield," says Sayre. They also track all cow movement by computer. With the help of Dr. Scott Bario, extension beef specialist at the University of Maryland, they have developed a spreadsheet to track forage production in their management Intensive Grazing system. "By knowing how long and how many animals graze a given field over the course of a season, we can reasonably track that field's production from year to year. Currently, it takes 1 1/10 acres to support each animal unit (1000 pounds live weight). As we refine our forage program further, we feel one acre per unit is achievable," says Sayre. It would be difficult to find a more committed cattleman than Lawrason Sayre. He is a stronger believer in making the cattle business work for others as well. Over the years he has been involved in a host of beef initiatives. In addition to currently serving as president of the American Angus Association, he served on the Certified Angus Beef Board of Directors and is past chairman of the Maryland Beef Council. He has also played a significant role in NCBA's Myth Stoppers program and has served his local community as a 4-H club leader and livestock judging club coach. He is an avid merchandiser, both with his own cattle and in support of the entire cattle industry. Waffle Hill diligently markets their breeding stock through on-farm auctions and private treaty, central bull tests, and consignment sales. While most cattle stay in the Mid Atlantic region, stock carrying the Waffle Hill brand are performing in climates as varied as Montana, Vermont and Alabama. Believers in keeping extensive records, they work diligently to continually upgrade their stock and maintain EPD and other pertinent records. They also maintain a "freezer beef" trade, started in 1961, that gives them insights into carcass traits they have bred into their herd as well as keeping them in touch with consumer trends. While standard operating procedures at Waffle Hill Farm have not changed dramatically over the years, the Sayre's have continually improved their operation for greater profit potential. The goal is still to produce a product that people want and need. And, in order to do that in today's business climate, they have to operate with the utmost efficiency. "The bottom line is that we have to make the livestock work for us in order to be profitable. We don't work for them," he concludes. |
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