SG USA July 2018

He has worked with his Johnson County Cooperative Extension agent and has hosted a field day on his land but says a lot of what he has learned about rotational grazing has come from trial and error. “Once you do it just a little bit, it’s really easy to figure out,” Creech says. Another advantage to the intensive rotation is the increased amount of time Creech gets to spend with his cattle, which has made them more docile and easier to handle. “When they see me coming, they know it’s time to move on to the next pasture,” he says. “They’ll follow me to the next plot or to the working area. I kind of like the attention they give me.” While Creech primarily sections off the plots and moves the cattle him- self, he does rely on the help of his wife, Allyson, and their four children, Brandon, Caroline, Seth and Colin, to help vaccinate and wean the calves and keep the cows healthy. “We enjoy doing things as a family when we can,” he says. “It’s been fun to watch my children grow up learning how to work around the cattle and under- standing more about our operation.” Creech, who is a footing contractor by trade, has always been interested in the Santa Gertrudis breed and knew he wanted to start a high-quality herd of his own. Through the 1990s and 2000s, he was able to acquire land adjacent to his property near Zebulon, N.C. After the tobacco buyout of 2004, a lot of land was out of production, and Creech decided to plant grass and get into the cattle business. He purchased his first cattle in 2006. “I wanted to do more than take a few cattle to the sale barn,” he says. “I wanted to raise quality animals that I could sell to other producers.” With that mindset, Creech set out to source quality genetics from established Santa Gertrudis seedstock producers. His original females came from fellow North Carolina producer Bill Cameron at Double C Farm in Raeford and others he purchased at purebred sales. Over time, Creech has built a repu- table set of cows, primarily using Never Before genetics from New Mexico’s Red Doc Farm. “My goal is to have the best quality seedstock cattle I can raise,” he says. “Never Before’s calves have good car- LEFT: High-quality genetics and innovative management practices have helped Tony Creech double the size of his Santa Gertrudis cowherd despite limited land resources. Photo by Caroline Creech.

PRODUCER PROFILE

CREATIVE MANAGEMENT PAYS OFF AT

Creech Farms

M aking more with less is a common theme in the cattle industry these days, and North Carolina seedstock producer Tony Creech is determined to make the most of his Santa Gertrudis herd with the limited resources he has available at his family’s Creech Farms.  Located just 25 miles east of Raleigh, N.C., Creech explains that develop- ment pressure has inflated land prices, making it nearly impossible to find pasture to rent. Instead, he utilizes an intensive rotational strip grazing pro- gram on his 100 acres to maximize the land’s potential. “We’ve got good soil and we have good rainfall – five to six inches a month – so we’ve got good growing conditions for grass,” he says. “But with limited pasture availability, I use rota- tional grazing to get the most use out of the land as I can.” Creech’s 75 cow-calf pairs – mainly purebred Santa Gertrudis with about 15 STAR 5 mamas – graze in plots of fescue, hybrid Bermuda and Marshall ryegrasses. When the rye dies off in the summer, he plants pearl millet or relies on a native crabgrass to sustain his herd. With such favorable growing conditions, Creech says his grass will usually last until December when he starts feeding hay and cottonseed. He also creep feeds his fall-born calves to help the nursing cows through the By Macey Mueller, Freelance Writer

winter months until the ryegrass is ready at the beginning of March. “Our best grazing is in the spring on the Marshall ryegrass,” Creech says. “A fall-calving cow that’s been pulled down will be back in condition in just a couple of months.” Most of the pastures at Creech Farms are 5- to 30-acres. The exterior fenc- ing is all six-strand, high-tensile wire, and while some of the interior fencing is three strands, Creech primarily uses an electric polywire to cross-fence his smaller cells. He will often divide a five-acre pasture into three plots and will put 25-30 pairs in each section. Depending on the grass condition, cattle are usually moved every three days, and Creech tries to let the cells rest 20-30 days before graz- ing them again. He has about 50 cells sectioned off in the rotation. “We really haven’t had any draw- backs with this system; it has really increase in soil health since we started the rotational grazing, and the weed pressure has decreased.” Without this creative management practice, Creech estimates he’d only be able to run 30-35 pairs on his 100 acres. Instead, he is able to double his grazing days, which has allowed him to double the size of his herd and be more sustainable with his limited resources. only helped our operation,” he says. “We have seen a dramatic

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