Greg and Jan Judy of Clark, Missouri run a grazing operation on 1400 acres of leased land made up of 10 farms. Greg and Jan went from near bankruptcy in 1999 to paying off a 200 acre farm and house in 3 years with custom grazing on leased land and are completely debt free. Today they own 3 farms and lease 7 farms. Holistic High Density Planned Grazing is used to graze cows, cow/calf pairs, bred heifers, horses, and stockers. They also own a 250 head grass genetics cow herd, a 300 head hair sheep flock, a goat herd, and graze Tamworth pigs. They direct market grass-fed beef, lamb and pork.
Greg is absolutely convinced that there is no better way to get into the grazing business than to lease some fallow land, employ high density grazing, and use other people’s livestock to do it. Since switching from Management Intensive Grazing to Holistic High Density Grazing 3 years ago, the results have been breathtaking. The Judy’s now use no lime, no fertilizer, no seeding, no chemicals, and no equipment. The Judy’s focus solely on increasing animal density with high animal performance, and long grass recovery periods between grazing. Plant diversity has exploded, with increased grass quantity each successive year, combined with increased profit.
Greg authored “NO RISK RANCHING, Custom Grazing On Leased Land” in 2001. The book details a complete breakdown on the methods they used to build their operation from scratch. His latest book is “COMEBACK FARMS, Rejuvenating Soils, Pastures and Profits with Livestock Grazing Management.” This 2008 publication covers all the methods they use with Holistic High Density Grazing, multi-species grazing, grass finishing animals, and eliminating costly inputs.
Greg is a popular speaker all over the United States on the benefits of Holistic High Density Planned Grazing, leasing land, multi-species grazing and custom grazing. The Judy’s hold Holistic High Density Grazing Schools at their farms and teach the principles of HHDG, and Greg consults for people interested in setting up HHDG grazing systems.
A high achiever by any measure, we proudly claim Greg Judy’s northeast Minnesota roots. He was born in Minnesota and spent his early years on his family’s dairy farm near Pine City before his family moved to Missouri when he was seven years old. Sustainable Farming Association is pleased to bringing him back to his first home, and we are confident that Greg Judy’s
advice, experience and innovation will inspire our progress in designing and improving our grazing operations.
For more information about Greg and Jan Judy’s grazing operation and techniques, visit their website www.greenpasturesfarm.net
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