66: Derek Schmitz - Building a Grazing Dairy

Derek started his farming journey immediately after high school when he decided he could learn better through experience and self-study than college. He gained experience working for several farmers, studied books, magazines and YouTube and used this knowledge to build his own dairy. Today he and his wife run their dairy in central Minnesota. They are impressive grazing managers and are using their herd to build soil! We discuss his journey, his grazing management and talk epigenetics in his herd and using nature to select for the animals that fit his program and environment. Even if dairy isn't your primary interest, there is a ton of great info in this episode!

Resources Mentioned:

Nourishment - Fred Provenza

Joel Salatin

Graze magazine

Stockman Grass Farmer

Dairy Grazing Apprenticeship

Soil Health Academy

As always, check us out at Herd Quitter Podcast on Facebook and Instagram as well as at herdquitterpodcast.com. You can also check out Pharocattle.com for more information on how to put more fun and profit back into your ranching business!