Farmer Profiles

"Ron Holter"
Holterholm Farms, Jefferson, MD

"Experiment and adopt your own management style and concentrate on what works."

Ron Holter, Holterholm Farms, talks about seasonal, pasture-based dairy production.

The Farming Operation:   Ron and his family operate a a 207-acre, seasonal, pasture-based dairy farm in Frederick County, Maryland. In 1995, Ron converted his dairy from a confinement operation to management intensive grazing. Ron's 125 milking cows are a mixture of Holsteins and Jerseys. Cows rotationally graze on 65 paddocks averaging three acres in size. Cows are moved from paddock to paddock daily, or every few days, depending on forage growth. Ron manages his cows to calve in late February and early March, thus milk is produced seasonally from March to December. The Holters also produce pasture-finished beef and pure meadow veal.

Marketing:   Ron sells milk from his farm to the Maryland and Virginia Milk Producers Cooperative. Ron has considered certified organic milk production, but found no financial gain because organic milk cooperatives do not operate in the area. The Holters also sell pasture-finished beef and pure meadow veal directly from the farm. Meat products are marketed through word of mouth and an online listing at Frederick County's Virtual Farmer's Market.

Information Sources:   Ron's local Cooperative Extension agent is a valuable resource. Ron also attends grazing conferences and pasture walks in his area and considers it useful to see how other people's farms are set up. His favorite magazine's for dairy information include Stockman Grass Farmer and Graze. Books he finds most helpful incude Greener Pastures on Your Side of the Fence by Bill Murphy and Intensive Grazing Management by Smith, Leung, & Love.

Words to Live By:   Ron believes good management is the biggest factor in farm success. "Cattle are ruminants and therefore should be eating forage. That's one of the reasons I adopted management intensive grazing."

Sources of Pride:   "No soil leaves our farm," states Ron. "We keep permanent cover on all of our land to prevent topsoil loss, One of my biggest thrills is to see our land heal as earthworms and other soil life return to pasture soils.

Contact:   Ron Holter, 5619A Holter Rd., Jefferson, MD 21755; phone 301-371-4255; email rwholter@msn.com

Profiles of rural innovation