Large Scale Composting on the Lazy R Ranch

By Maurice Robinette

Almost all of our sales are direct to consumers and we butcher here at the ranch.  Three years ago, our butcher wasn’t able to take all of the parts of the butchered beef away with him.   This was because the rendering plant quit taking hides, bones, and internal organs.  We then had to dispose of the leftovers from about 40 beeves.   

This proved to be a great opportunity for some adaptive management, one of the key elements of holistic management.

To paraphrase Alan Savory, “When you make a plan, assume you may be wrong, look for the first indicator of a problem, and correct it”.   We didn’t plan to dispose of our leftovers, but we were forced to change our non-plan. Fortunately, our newest apprentice, Drew Clarkson, has an extensive background in soil science and suggested we look into large-scale composting.

We needed lots of wood chips and made arrangements with a Spokane arborist to get free chips for providing transportation and disposal.   Unfortunately, this deal fell through a week before our first butcher date.   So, we bought thirty cubic yards from a local provider and ate the cost. These chips worked so well we ordered a second load a few weeks later.

A large U-shaped form was constructed from some old poor-quality bales placed on edge to keep the strings intact. The U was about fifty feet long.   There was about eight feet between the long sides.  Two feet of wood chips were put in about ten feet from the back of the U. Next came a pickup load of leftovers - hides, skulls, feet, and internals.   To keep the components uniform, these had to be placed by hand.   It’s not that bad it you're supervising.

We used a second load of chips, 60 yards total, and put extra on top to make three feet of chips covering the goodies.   A hose was placed nearby just in case things got too hot.   Temperatures never exceeded 175 degrees, well below ignition, and we monitored daily for about six weeks.   Surprisingly, there was very little odor and almost no scavenger activity.   The piles were covered with a hay tarp for the winter and kept in place with several old tires.

The process was repeated the next year and we were able to reuse the same chips.   The U was inverted, and one side was removed and placed about eight feet next to the other side.  Several things surprised me.  There was very little material left that could be identified.  Small pieces of hide 2-3 inches across were sparsely dispersed.  The skulls were about half gone and the biggest surprise was stomach contents were not very decomposed.   This was explained as they were anaerobic, and the decomposing bacteria couldn’t get a start. It’s beyond me.

I’m looking forward to starting year three in a couple of months.  We plan to start spreading our new-found fertilizer and trying compost tea on a large scale.   If the tea proves effective, we will consider fertigation in my K-line system next year.   

What could go wrong with that plan?

Maurice Robinette is a third-generation cow-calf operator and a sustainability activist in Cheney, WA, and actively promotes regenerative agriculture practices in the Northwest. He is an educator in Holistic Management and a certified consensus facilitator.

Is a Plant-Based Diet the Key to Ruminant Issues?

By Madison Throop

For thousands of years, Homo sapiens relied solely on nature and its bounty for sustenance and nourishment. A walk through the prairie with one of our ancestors would leave us staggered as they’d point out each tuber, leaf, or fruit they harvested.

Amidst the compounding domineering effects of fossil-fueled agriculture on food production, humans have become increasingly disconnected from nature and the sustenance that once nourished us. One of the most marked instances of that separation is with the sustenance that was coveted highest over any, that of fauna - notably the ruminants that have shaped our grasslands and landscapes for millennia.

Ruminants have received a bad rap as of late. Not only has the meat industry been under scrutiny for animal welfare issues and whether red meat is healthy or even necessary in modern human diets; the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) purports that 14.5% of greenhouse gas emissions are directly related to animal agriculture, with 5% of greenhouse gas emissions generated solely from ruminant methane. What’s often overlooked is that this data is largely derived from concentrated animal feeding operations, not the 4% of ruminants raised exclusively on pasture.

Many groups argue that the remedy for the issues surrounding animal agriculture is largely through adopting diets froth with vegetables, nuts, fruits, and grains, thus practically eliminating red meat from our diet. While the solution sounds simple, this approach would ultimately drive the need for increased commodity crop production, furthering soil erosion, desertification, and habitat loss.

New information is emerging through the efforts of ranchers and stewards who are taking a holistic approach to livestock management by way of rotational grazing and multi-species integration. According to a study organized by Jason E. Rowntree, a professor of animal science at Michigan State University, greenhouse gas emissions can be reduced as much as 86% with a holistic management approach to livestock production compared to their feedlot counterparts with a carbon footprint roughly 74% higher.

Not only is this method of production more environmentally friendly, individuals such as Fred Provenza and Stephan van Vliet are discovering that ruminants raised on these diverse, rotationally-grazed systems show a higher level of nutrients and phytochemicals stored in their muscle and fat tissue, resulting in a more nutrient-dense, bioavailable meal that can be delivered to your dinner table.

We’ve come to believe synthetic, modernized production methods can overcome time-tested wisdom. As a result, we are now enduring the repercussions of thinking we can outwit nature. Perhaps the answer to many issues surrounding ruminants can be found through embracing the pastoral proclivity of our ancestors who worked in symbiosis with nature.

Madison Throop is a shepherdess to her flock of Katahdin sheep, and fourth- generation farmer on her family’s farmstead north of Davenport, Washington.

New Cowgirl Camp: Calling all Sisters, Mamas, Herd Quitters, and Dreamers

By Beth Robinette

If you’ve always dreamed of a life with livestock but don’t quite know where to start, join us for our five-day intensive New Cowgirl Camp at the Lazy R Ranch this summer, August 24-29th. Our team of seasoned professionals will guide you through the basics of facilities and fencing, grazing planning, ecosystem monitoring, animal husbandry, business development, and more!

Build community with other women who share a passion for animals and nature and learn new skills in an open and celebratory environment. Participants are guided through a mix of classroom lectures, hands-on workshops, and the opportunity to participate in the daily workings of a grass-fed beef operation. No question is too basic or too advanced, and New Cowgirl Camp has welcomed sixth-generation cattle ranchers alongside folks who’ve never touched a sheep. If you’re looking to gain skills and confidence, this is the place for you.

In the words of former participant Camas Davis, “New Cowgirl Camp was life-changing for me.  I went in expecting I would learn a little something about grassland health, grazing, and pregnant cows. I left with a completely new mindset about my work and my life. I ended up making pretty huge changes in my life after New Cowgirl camp, all for the better, and I am now moving forward with a very new and different sense of what matters: quality of life, the health of the planet, listening to nature, and building community. I love the way that this camp seeps into each attendee on the practical, philosophical, economic, spiritual, and emotional levels, perhaps without even meaning to. 

‘New Cowgirl’ has a very different meaning for me now-- to be a ‘new cowgirl’ means being a part of a gritty, scrappy, intelligent, intuitive, curious, hard-working community of women who all hold the potential to become change agents within our food system, and within our ecosystem.”

More information at newcowgirlcamp.com

Beth Robinette is a certified Holistic Management educator. She is the fourth generation of her family to work the Lazy R Ranch, where she raises grass-fed beef and lamb. Beth co-facilitates the New Cowgirl Camp and is excited about making future generations of land managers more resilient, vibrant, and diverse.