Intensively Grazing Horses, Goats and Poultry

Lancaster, Missouri

Economically, ecologically and culturally integrated at the 23 acre Leunen Farms, farming comes naturally. Located about 20 miles from Kirksville, Missouri with a population of 18,000 residents, Leunen Farms’ owners, Debra and John Leunen, don’t need to leave their farm to sell their horses, Boer meat goats and day range poultry. Almost all of their customers come to them.

“Trying to find the right farm for our operation was a difficult task,” admits Debra about her and John’s farmstead, purchased in 2001. “We wanted small acreage with an older home and barn. Our farm is easy to find, located on a gravel road less that one mile from a major highway. Since we offer value-added products purchased on the farm, this location is an important factor for our sales.”

Debt-free farming that uses animals for the work that many other farmers rely on tractors to do, Leunen Farms has also reduced their expenses and, in part, severed the dependency relationship that often comes with farm equipment or fossil fuel thirsty machines. “We don’t own a tractor and don’t want to be dependent upon expensive machinery to maintain and improve our land. Other than the mortgage on the farm, we are free of machinery debt and maintenance headaches. By reducing our debts and expenses, we can increase our profitability.”

What Debra and John might have lacked in previous farming experiences or formal agricultural training was overcome by their practical and measured approach to business and researching possible farming enterprises. In 1991, John and Debra moved to Missouri from Tucson, Arizona to rent twenty acres and graze a few horses, raising two or three colts a year. “We were skilled in retail and manufacturing, but had little agricultural experience,” admits Debra.

Six years later in 1997, Debra and John received a grant from the USDA’s Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) to research the feasibility of raising goats in Missouri. “At the time, I was intrigued with Cashmere goats and harvesting the fiber,” shares Debra. “However, while exploring this prospect, I discovered meat goats. The SARE grant provided me with the opportunity to work briefly on a Montana goat ranch, visit with goat breeders in Arkansas and Texas, and attend farm shows and conferences.”

Then in 1998, Leunen Farms — still farming on rented land — received a Demonstration Award for Missouri Sustainable Agriculture, sponsored by the Missouri Department of Agriculture. “Our goal was to restore balance to the plant community, improve pasture and increase the stocking rate by using meat goats to biologically control weeds.” While varying by state, type of soil and vegetation, the stocking rate is a guideline for how many animals can be grazed on an acre of land.

Today, the verdant pastures and abundant wildlife found at Leunen Farms demonstrates the viability of using livestock to do the work many farmers reserve for tractors— or chemicals. “The land has been cleared and improved with our livestock,” explains Debra. “The Boer goats, as adults weighing in at over two hundred pounds, browse along the draws, consuming the weeds, brush and sprouts. This opens up the pasture and provides grasses for the horses. The poultry, including Rock-Cornish cross meat chickens, Muscovy ducks and African grey geese, consume pests, weeds and fertilize the ground.”

“Using multi-species, rotational grazing, we keep parasites at a minimum and maximize the forage, which increases the stocking rate on our small farm and ultimately, the profitability,” chimes in John. “Using temporary, intensive grazing in problem areas, we can remove unwanted growth. Given the opportunity, the goats will kill almost all vegetation. We only have to go in and remove the dead wood and reseed desired vegetation.”

“The eclectic variety of livestock on our farm has a symbiotic relationship, each aiding the other in some manner,” says Debra. “The Muscovy ducks have reduced the mosquito and tick population on the farm and benefited the health of all the farm’s residents, including my husband and I, by reducing the risk of West Nile virus and Lyme disease. The horses stop the cycle of worm infestation by consuming the goat parasites that cling to the grass. They also eat the grasses and clover that goats pass over, since they prefer to browse the brush and taller grass and weeds. The free ranging chickens consume fly larvae, reduce pests, and help spread the manure with their scratching.”

While practicing sustainable agriculture which enhances the ecology and diversity of their land, John and Debra have chosen what they raise — registered performance horses, Boer meat goats and day range poultry — carefully. “Diversification has helped us by providing us with multiple products to sell,” shares John. “Performance bred horses make versatile, all around family horses. We offer weanlings for sale each year and usually have a broke horse or two for sale also. When one year brings a slow down in sales of horses, a boom in goat prices made up the difference.”

“The Rock-Cornish cross chickens are processed on our farm, usually twice a year,” says Debra. “Our customers come to our farm to pick up their orders, fresh. While visiting our farm they often take the time to look at horses and goats. This increases our exposure and sales of goat meat.”

Grossing over $10,000 annually in 2004, Leunen Farm’s income comes from about 50 percent goat sales, including as meat, kids and breeding stock. About 15 percent of farm income comes from their poultry products, both as live birds and processed product. The balance of income comes from performance horse sales to horse show and rodeo competitors and 4-H youth.

All sales are made directly to their customers, many of whom Debra and John know by name and often consider as friends. “Regardless of what brings them to the farm, our customers usually return and purchase other offerings. The animal buyers are generally rural, so a horse buyer might also want to buy a couple of goats or a pair of ducks. Our processed poultry, however, are sold mostly to urban residents.”

“We decided to reduce the horse herd in order to increase the number of goats, which are proving to be more profitable than the horses,” adds Debra. “Our goat meat is sold to a growing ethnic market, mostly Hispanic in this area. Our plans are to produce and process six hundred chickens and a hundred goats annually. But there is no USDA inspected poultry processing plant available to us at this time. This prevents us from producing more poultry and increasing off farm sales.” When not on the road as a truck driver, John fills in where he can on the farm where Debra works full time.

Looking to further diversify into fresh vegetables, fruits and herbs, Leunen Farms added a raised-bed market garden. “We intend to sell a small amount of excess produce to the public visiting our farm,” shares Debra. “We’re living the lifestyle we desire, with our operations slowly gaining in profitability.” Adds John, “Because there are fewer chemicals on our farm, our water is cleaner, our soil is healthier, and our products are safer for our customers — and us.”