Greg Judy will be one of the speakers at PV3 in March 2016.Learn more about PV3 at permaculturevoices.com/pv3.
In the late 90's Greg was down to $9 in the bank. The way that he was farming, wasn't working.
Greg was grazing cattle using conventional methods at the time. And the costs were killing him, or should I say the debt was killing him.
Cattle loans, equipment loans, feed costs, seed costs, and other input costs drawing too much away from his top line, thereby shrinking his bottom line.
With an unprofitable farming operation and $9 left in the bank, Greg had two choices, roll over and quite, or try something new and effectively start over.
With gritty determination, a passion for cattle, and a need to grow more grass, Greg dropped all of his conventional ways and began grazing cattle that he didn't own, on land that he didn't own, and with less inputs.
The transition was nothing less than remarkable. Within a few years Greg had paid off all of his debt including his farm. He was adding new leases to his farm portfolio, and lessors were so happy they were granting him lifetime leases. But it wasn't just Greg's bottom line that was benefitting, the soil was as well.
Greg's high intensity grazing was speeding up the growth of grass. And with more grass, comes more cattle. All without adding more land.
Greg's methods have been widely successful and used for the last 15 plus years. And it all started when Greg's back was up against the wall and he decided to let the cows work for him, instead of working for the cows.
If it ever feels like things just aren't working, then look no further than Greg Judy as a remarkable example of someone who had the passion, the grit, and the wherewithal to make a change when he could have easily just quit.
Learn more at permaculturevoices.com/greg