HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen-Agriculture 2001, 2001-03-14, Page 26yj
Easy does it
The cattle stand ready as Tim Prior moves the fence (top),
then proceed through anxious to get to the fresh grazing
land (middle). In very little time, the cattle have moved on to
the next pasture and the job is done for Prior (bottom).
to study agriculture. "I enjoyed
farming, and I love the country,"
says Prior.
Upon graduating with top marks,
he went to Australia for six months,
then came back to work at Brussels
Stockyards.
Fifteen years ago, he and his wife
Donna, whom he met at Ridgetown,
moved onto a farm just east of
Brussels. Renting the house and a
bit of land, they got some grazing
cattle.
Prior, who was employed by this
time with Bell Canada reached a
crossroads in his life just over three
years ago, when that company
began to downsize. Having worked
By Bonnie Gropp
Citizen staff
Take a small town boy, put him on
a farm for the summer and he'll
want to stay in the country forever.
Tim Prior grew up in Brussels, the
son of a nurse and a teacher. As a
high school student, Prior spent the
summers employed on a feedlot.
This inspired an interest in
agriculture that has in turn inspired
others.
Admitting he was a mediocre,
unenthusiastic student while attend-
ing secondary school in Wingham,
Prior set off for Ridgetown College
tjaa',te uteteetne to attend
GRAZING MANAGEMENT MEETING
March 21, 2001 - 7 p.m.
at Brussels Legion
caeca Speaketa:
jack %gee — Ontario Grazing Specialist,
Topic: Pasture Management and Water Quality
Dan Xectitt — Michigan Grazer,
Topic: Pasture Water Systems
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PAGE A-6. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 14, 2001.
Town' boy enjoys success in agriculture and agrt-business • •
with Brussels Agri Services, as a
dealer with a power fencing compa-
ny, Prior saw an opportunity when
the business came up for sale. He
bought it.
Incorporating business with his
love of agriculture has brought Prior
and his family no small degree of
recognition. Having purchased the
farm, now known as Grazing
Meadows, several years ago, the
Priors were the recipients of the
2000 Ontario Pasture Competition,
after coming second in 1998.
In October of 1999, Grazing
Meadows acquired 70 light beef
steer calves, averaging about 370
pounds. These were grazed until
December with the fresh air and
feed to which they were accus-
tomed.
In the winter, the calves received
a combination of hay and grower
pellets. Prior says that by the time
spring arrived they were "green,
ready for grass and in shape to opti-
mize compensatory gain."
Grazing began in April, 2000 and
the calves were sold late last sum-
mer. They gained an average of 2.25
pounds per day.
Prior learned early how to get the
most out of every acre. "When we
only had four acres of grass, if I
rotated I could put eight cattle out
instead of four."
Pasturing, he says, is a low cost
operation. "I don't need machinery
sitting in my shed. I have a four-
legged harvester manure spreader. I
don't cut hay or grain to feed, then
gather the manure to spread it. I
don't need all the expense to take
the feed to them and away from
them in the form of manure."
How did he utilize the pasture?
The land is divided into four areas.
In the first the sheep the family also
own were rotationally grazed in the
front 4 and 4.6 acres through a
series of eight paddocks. Two beef
stockers also ran with the sheep to
balance the grazing. The sheep were
shifted every four days through the
eight paddocks.
In the second area, 13 beef stock-
er steers, were shifted daily with the
use of moveable tumble wheels
through the 7.8 acre paddock.
Some 25 beef stocker steers were
shifted daily through the 30 semi-
permanent paddocks in the third
area. Ten cows, one heifer and a bull
followed in the paddock behind the
steers.
The fourth area is a 16.6-acre hay
field used for grazing after the hay
is taken off.
Even the lane running down the
centre is used. "It's not wasted
space because we put them in for
two days to eat the grass along it.
We're trying to use everything,"
Prior says, adding with a smile, that
the (awn is the only thing left to go.
Agreeing that forward thinking is
what the judges probably consider
in making their decision, Prior adds,
"I didn't do my grazing to win, but
to try and make money off the.
farm."
And, it would seem that people
are takirig notice. "People come in
starving for information. They want
to see how it's done. The cattle are
moved every day. It takes about half
an hour, makes so much sense and is
so easy. More and more people are
looking at it."
Priors often have bus tours of cat-
tle and sheep producers come to see
the operation. As well, he sent invi-
tations for a pasiure walk. About
100 producers attended.
With Prior running the business,
Donna", who works part-time as an
activity professional, is primarily in
charge of moving the cattle. Their
three children also help. "It has been
a good thing for family."
The couple laughs when recalling
a recent outing during which their
son, seeing some cattle in a field,
proceeded to point out areas where
he thought improvements could be
made.
Noting that he hopes that at least
one of his children will be interest-
ed in taking over the farm, Prior
tells of a speaker he heard recently.
"He talks about making changes so
kids want to come back to farming."
To Prior, pasturing just may be an
answer. " It's not to say that I can't
lose money, but I'm optimizing land
and environmentally it's a good
move. Besides that, this is fun farm-
ing."
"I love the animals. One of my
biggest enjoyments is coming home
at the end of the day and walking
back to look at them grazing. It's so
quiet, so peaceful."
It's a feeling that only a true coun-
try boy would know.