Greg Judy and his wife Jan live on
Green Pastures Farm in Rucker, Missouri, which is 24 miles northwest of Columbia. They raise
cattle, sheep, horses, goats, pigs, and
chickens on grass pasture in balance with nature. They use no antibiotics, no hormone implants and no grain. The livestock graze rich pasture 100% of their lives.
They use rotational grazing on our farm, which means they constantly move the livestock to fresh rested pasture to graze and let the previous grazed pasture rest so that it can grow back undisturbed. Their pastures are rich in clovers and many species of natural grasses. They use no chemical fertilizers or herbicides on any of their pastures. Large populations of birds,
ants, worms, butterflies, spiders &
bees build their soils and control pests.
Their animals have clean fresh
water every day. They
fence around ponds to keep livestock out of them. The fish, frogs, and surrounding water animals thrive in this atmosphere. They value our wildlife which includes
deer, bobcat, squirrel, fox, coyote, rabbit, turkey, quail, dove, hawks, owls, cranes, geese and many species of songbirds.
Their grass is their most precious natural resource. The grass leaf is actually a
solar collector that stores
energy from the sun. Livestock possess the unique ability to convert this green blade of grass into healthy meat without the use of fossil fuel. Their livestock is happy to harvest their own forage year round. They have hair sheep that are quite different then your standard wool sheep. They are strictly a meat sheep, no wool. The meat is very mild and extremely tender. They have developed a parasite resistant hair sheep, they get no medicine shots of any kind. Lambs are naturally weaned by their mother. The horses, sheep, goats, and pigs love eating weeds & sprouts.
South Poll cows produce tender tasty meat on grass only, no grain. A cow is a herbivore, they are designed to eat grass, not grain. Compared with grain-fed meat, grass-fed meats have 5 times more cancer-fighting CLA {conjugated linoleic acid}, four times more vitamin E, three times more heart-friendly omega-3s and twice as much beta carotene. It’s lower in total fat, saturated fat and calories as well. Fatty acids are essential (fats) in our diets and are required for a healthy body, but they must be in the correct proportion. That natural proportion has been seriously changed in this country due to the extensive grain feeding of livestock in the last 50 years. We are what we eat and we need balance in that consumption. The only way to get the correct proportions is to choose grass-fed animal products.
It is amazing how everything falls into place once you mimic Mother Nature. Have a pasture walk with Greg and Jan. They love showing people how happy their animals are in their natural environment. They feel green pasture is absolutely the best for our environment and our animals!
Greg Judy is a regular lecturer at events, and last year presented at
Permaculture Voices 3:
Successful Implementation Using High Density Planned Grazing
Greg has also written two books:
Comeback Farms: Rejuvenating Soils, Pastures and Profits with Livestock Grazing Management
No Risk Ranching: Custom Grazing on Leased
Land 
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