Speaking for the Trees

written by

MoSo Farm

posted on

February 26, 2024

“He said with a sawdusty sneeze, I am the Lorax. I speak for the trees. I speak for the trees, for the trees have no tongues.” - The Lorax

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We had the opportunity last weekend to be like the Lorax and speak for the trees — specifically, the immense value that trees can have on grazing operations. We presented on how our farm implemented silvopasture (trees + livestock + forages) at the annual Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association (OEFFA) Conference. We spoke to a room of over 40 livestock producers and ag professionals about the benefits of silvopasture and the ins and outs of how to design, lay out, install and manage a silvopasture system. It was so energizing to talk to other producers about the practicalities of integrating trees into a grazing operation in order to offer shade and diverse diets to livestock, increase revenue, sequester carbon, improve animal health and increase wildlife habitat. Read more about the benefits of silvopasture in this blog!

As I write this, we have just returned from another wonderful learning experience with The Ohio State University’s animal science program through the Beef509 class. Over two days, we learned how to judge a market-ready beef animal, then got hands-on experience with the full butchering process. While we do not butcher our own cattle, it’s important to us to get behind-the-scenes to understand the butchering side, how to grade beef, the quality traits to look for, and the loads of work it is to break down a whole beef into individual cuts. We have always been grateful for our partnerships with local butchers, since we could not sell our beef without them, but we walked away with newfound respect for their daily work.

This winter has given us time to focus on learning and planning for the farm before the grazing season comes in full flush in April. We are humbled by the incredible complexity of farming and the endless learning opportunities in this field of work. And we are always doing our best to care for the animals that, in turn, nourish us.

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March Meat Pickups Around the Corner

Put your orders in now for our next monthly pickup! Our on-farm pickup is Thursday, March 7th and our Columbus pickup is Saturday, March 9th. You can order as much or as little as you’d like and there’s no commitment to order each month. It’s come as you please over here! Looking forward to seeing you soon. Here’s how it works:

  1. SHOP - Shop your favorite ethical meats, raised right! Create a free account to check out so that we can track your order.
  2. PICK UP - Meet us at a monthly pickup location in Columbus or Athens to collect your order. Or select home delivery if it's available in your area.
  3. ENJOY - Enjoy your new source of premium meat products!

Shop Beef and Pork

What I'm reading...

Three Takeaways from the USDA Census of Agriculture - Article by Modern Farmer - “The 2022 Census of Agriculture was released this week, reporting increased farm profits but decreased farmland. Vilsack calls the data ‘a wakeup call.’”

Nourishment - Book by Fred Provenza - “Animal scientists have long considered domestic livestock to be too dumb to know how to eat right, but the lifetime research of animal behaviorist Fred Provenza and his colleagues has debunked this myth. Their work shows that when given a choice of natural foods, livestock have an astoundingly refined palate, nibbling through the day on as many as fifty kinds of grasses, forbs, and shrubs to meet their nutritional needs with remarkable precision.”

What I'm listening to...

I’ve had my Winter Playlist on shuffle as I drive to work, paint a room, and cook dinner!

I’ve been listening to the My Digital Farmer Podcast, which is all about farm marketing. I really recommend this resource to any small farmers out there!

More from the blog

Expanding to Greener Pastures

Expanding to Greener Pastures

We’ve got some exciting news to share! We are transitioning into being the new owners of the Shew Family Farm. This winter, we have been discussing the possibilities of a farm transition — as Pete & Marjie sought to create a plan for retirement, in hopes that their farm could be stewarded in a similar manner, and as we sought to expand our beef operation on our current limited land base. With guidance from our Uncle Jon Sowash, we devised a land contract to purchase the farm over the next many years in installments. In December, we also purchased the Shew’s brood cows and young calves. It’s no small feat to pass a farm from one generation to the next, particularly when it’s not to children. According to the American Farmland Trust, 2,000 acres of farmland are lost to non-agricultural uses every day. This has been a full circle moment, as Pete has been a mentor to us for several years. When I first started our farm in 2020, I cold-called him to see if I could visit and learn from him. I remember visiting one day to learn about handling cattle and to “help” as Pete brought a few steers down to the barn and loaded them into the trailer for the butcher. Over lunch, Marjie shared how they weren’t sure who would take over the farm when they retired and remarked, “maybe you’ll buy this place one day!” My eyes grew wide and I laughed, thinking to myself — me?! I have no idea how to farm. What does this mean for us and the Shews? We will continue to live and farm here in Athens County where we’ll run our pastured pork operation. During the growing season, we will run the cattle at the Shew farm where we’ll have the space to increase the herd size and maintain a breeding operation for the first time. As winter approaches, we will bring the herd back to our Athens farm to graze stockpiled forages — reducing the amount of hay we need to feed and making winter chores easier. Pete & Marjie will continue living in their home. They will be raising their butcher-ready steers and selling beef at the Athens Farmers Market this season before retiring in the fall. We are grateful that they will be staying on the property and advising us, as we get to know the farm and continue to learn as first-generation farmers. How does this enable us to raise our own calves? Until now, we have been purchasing weaned calves in the spring from other grass-fed farms and raising them to butcher weight. But we are getting squeezed by the cattle market, making it difficult to run a profitable enterprise. In spring 2021, we were purchasing calves for $1.62/lb or $680 for a 420 lb animal. Right now, the average price for the same calves is $5.25/lb or $2,205. People have often asked us — why don’t we raise our own calves? But on just 50 acres of pasture that we lease from family, we don’t have the space to maintain a herd of brood cows without having to really reduce our production. After all, a mama cow needs about 2 acres of pasture to live, so we’d have to free up space by reducing the number of steers we raise for beef. Last year we tried to expand our land base by leasing smaller, noncontiguous land near us. This involved hauling cattle to a different property every month or so, trucking water, and setting up temporary fencing. This opportunity to expand to the Shew property’s 115 acres of pasture means we can now run a “birth to butcher” operation in one centralized place. Better soils mean more beef! This also means we can increase beef production, as the soils have been so improved by the Shew’s managed grazing that they can support nearly twice the number of animals per acre as our Athens pastures. Pete told us that when they moved there in 1984, the organic matter of their soils was around 2-3%. In 2024, soil samples showed organic matter ranging from 4-6%! That is incredible improvement in soil health in a short amount of time. These productive soils will allow us to sustainably meet the growing demand for our grass-fed beef. More than anything, we are excited about the opportunity to invest in soils that have been improved for 42 years by sustainable grazing practices. That’s the best farm insurance policy we could ask for. We are honored to carry on the legacy of Pete & Marjie. We’ve got big Shews to fill.

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The word that best defines 2025...

The word that best defines 2025...

is community. And our community shows up in the pages of our newly released 2025 Annual Report — from photos of our events to this year’s Customers of the Year to our families who support our farming endeavors wholeheartedly.

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Welcoming quiet & new life in the New Year

Welcoming quiet & new life in the New Year

We’ve been absent from your inbox lately as the December holidays brought a flurry of travel and events to many of our lives. There’s something wonderful about January’s contrast to December, when the decorations come down and the weather gets colder and the world seems to stand a little more still. We are embracing this quieter pace of life, in a literal and figurative sense.

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MoSo Farm

  • 5686 Enlow Road
    Athens OH 45701
  • 740-331-0357