“It seemed a natural progression to begin milking.” Perry bought open yearlings in April, 2005 bred them in June for spring calving in 2006 milked cows conventionally for one year and transitioned his animals in 2006 under the 80/20 provision. So how did he go from crop farming to grazing dairy replacements and (ultimately) organic dairy farming? “Asa had been working towards organic row crop production since the late ‘80’s and he had worked to improve soil quality and health with reduced and eventually zero chemical inputs, making it much easier for me to transition to organic production,” explains Perry. I see organic systems as fixing problems not only on our farms, but in our communities and the world as a whole.” Clutts said, “I was so inspired! Organic systems and holistic thinking seemed to jive with the way I think. He was impressed with the ideas he heard and loved the energy he felt. Perry’s first organic conference was an OEFFA (Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association) conference in the mid 1990’s. All the compost they make goes on the farmland, and regular soil tests help them stay on top of their progress and monitor how the program is working. “With cows, we are in a carbon shortage, that’s why the leaves work well – along with waste hay and any other organic matter that is around – it goes in the compost row.” Perry’s farm has very little manure storage, because even in winter the cows go out unless the weather is really bad. “Those leaves mixed with winter manure makes great compost”, says Perry. Today they still take in the leaves and bed their livestock with them. In 2000 Perry started by bringing in bedding and manure from horse racetracks and the Ohio state fair (about 8,000 cubic yards) along with 1600 cubic yards of leaves in the fall from the city of Circleville. The soil building/fertility program for the farm consisted of good crop rotations and farm-manufactured compost using the Controlled Microbial Composting system (CMC) developed by the Lubke family in Austria. Growing into the livestock-grazing sector was attractive to Perry and that year they planted winter wheat as soon as the crops came off to begin contract grazing heifers and dry cows. In that same year, Asa Chester, the farm’s tenant, decided that it was time he retired from farming. His goal was to raise calves successfully and to learn how to intensively manage their grazing on a portion of the alfalfa/orchard grass. In 2003, he bought a group of 50 bull calves from a nearby grazing dairy. Harvesting all that forage each year and ensuring that it was a quality product can be a challenge in rainy weather, and Perry felt that adding some grazing livestock into the mix (that can harvest in the rain) would be a good alternative to 100 percent hay production. Their 400 acres of row crop production was managed in a 5-year rotation consisting of corn, beans, wheat, and alfalfa/orchard grass. The Short Historyįrom 1988 – 2003, Pleasantview farm was focused on producing value added products such as grains for the human food-grade market. This year, with a focus on improving milk quality, they averaged 196 SCC, 4.06 BF, andd 3.38 Protein. Last year their annual production was just over 13,000# per cow with 4.01 BF, 3.45 Protein and 312 SCC. Beginning in 2006 as a spring seasonal dairy, they now have spring and fall calving seasons. Including Perry, they have 3.5 full time employees operating the farm and currently milk 150 Jersey/Holstein cross cows with plans to expand to 225 over the next couple years. Working on the farm with Perry is the Queen family a father, mother, and son team (Joey, Rhonda, and Joseph). He buys only corn and minerals to supplement the forage diet fed to the cows, and composts all his manure and waste forages to return to his land as biologically active fertilizer. Just ten years into the farming experience and Perry has turned Pleasant View Farm into a self-sufficient grass-based organic dairy operation. The farm consists of 545 contiguous acres, of which 450 acres are in grass/legume, 50 acres are in pine plantation, 30 acres are floodplain river-bottom, and the remaining acres are buildings, housing, and buffers. Pleasantview Farm is an organic dairy farm located in Circleville, Ohio operated by Perry Clutts and owned by his family for over 110 years. Left to right: Joey Queen, Perry Clutts, Joseph Queen, Rhonda QueenĪdded November 15, 2010.
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