Farmers aging without a clear plan of succession. A lack of available affordable farmland. Lack of access to business capital for young farmers, and women farmers, and farmers of color. The challenges in the way of a sustainable and thriving agricultural economy are daunting.

But for livestock farmers, there's an adaptable farming model that can help address these barriers and more: Contract (or Custom) Grazing. "Contract grazing means that someone with grazing animals develops a contract with a landowner or a municipality to graze animals for a purpose all parties agree on," says Grazing Specialist Kimberly Hagen. 

The possible uses are many. "Here in Vermont, we have goats eating poison ivy along the recreational path in Montpelier. We have sheep grazing among solar arrays,on privately owned farms and landscapes, and even among vineyards. We have a beginning farmer who's living in a tiny rundown farmhouse and moving 300 sheep across leased fields. There are farmers who lease land and, for a fee, get beef cattle to their maximum weight by careful managed grazing," Kimberly goes on.  "In California, they use sheep and goats to reduce wildfire risk. The possible models are nearly endless."

It's an approach that can be useful and even profitable for farmers at nearly any scale, and at any stage of their farming career, or anyone who wants to focus on what parts of livestock farming they find most profitable and enjoyable. Kimberly adds, "It's handy for someone if all they wanted to do was breed animals and then send them off, but not do the daily maintenance - they can just send them off on their way, and another grazer can finish them off."

"It's also one way that someone who doesn’t have a lot of money can work with someone else's animals. Or they could have just have a few animals and get an income stream as they grow."

It might be surprising to know that some very well established and experienced farm operators do not own land, and do not own their own animals, but are an equally important part of the equation as the skilled labor who manages animals and land for maximum benefit for all involved. Kimberly says, "Contract grazers are caring for animal health and the health of the land, while producing healthy food and supporting other farmers. There are challenges in it - we are still working out what a sustainable and profitable business model is, and we know that good communication about what to expect is key - grazed lands don't look like manicured lawns, though they're much more healthy and vibrant systems than a lawn."

"But we know that well-managed grazing in all sorts of places, is a value to communities and worth funding farmers' time to do well. We know that we wouldn't ask someone to manage land or to mow for free, and grazing actually improves the land and feeds communities too!"

Stay tuned for much more on this subject as more and more projects get underway.