Chad and Kim Woods of Spring Crest Farms LLC manage specialty finished beef production and horse hay sales on 175 acres in central North Carolina. Chad represented North Carolina at the American Forage and Grassland Council (AFGC) forage spokesperson contest in January, speaking about “making it work” – a philosophy that guides the whole operation.

Bart Hamilton told his story of improving his farm through new management skills and won the 2023 National Forage Spokesperson Contest put on by the American Forage and Grassland Council.

Primarily utilizing A.I., the herd calves in spring and fall, and about 90% of heifer calves are retained as replacements and to be sold as bred heifers and cows. 

The farm has been in Peter’s family for 151 years, but he is the second generation to farm it, since previous uncles and great uncles had been country doctors and rented out the parcel. Peter took over the family dairy when his father passed away in 2001 after being in partnership together.

Rising feed and transportation costs have dairy farmers looking for ways to save on raising replacement heifers. A free spreadsheet planning tool called the Heifer Grazing Compass allows farmers to evaluate whether their operation can reduce cost and labor needs by creating a rotational grazing program.