In the factory or on the pasture, ‘failure is not an option’

It was the 1980s. Interest Rates Were High. Farm Returns Were Low. The Economy was Recovering from a brutal revenue. And like many of his peers, Farmer Jim Whitley was look for a job to help the family cattle operation survive.

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So when a $ 9-year-for job opened up on the paint line of honda’s new alliston plant, the Creemore native Gobbed it. “I needed the money,” Says Whitley, Who’s Now A Cow-Calf Director with Beef Farmers of Ontario, and a speaker at this Year’s profitable Pastures Webinar Series, sponsored by the Ontario Drilling Council.

Whitley’s plan was to put in a few years at the factory and get the farm back on its feet, but honda Became a Career. By then “We had Four Kids,” He Says. “As a parent, you like to be able to feed your kids Every Day – Somits Even Three Meals a Day.”

Flash Forward Almost 40 Years, and the move paid off. The Kids Got Fed. Jim and myrna can admire the scenic mad river valley from their front window, and the 40-cow herd is still grazing the steep hillside farm. Looking back, Whitley can see how “git ‘er done” farm skills help him in manufacturing, but also How Honda Experience Benefits the Farm and Pasture.

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It turns out, for example, that production lines and hayfields share a lot in common: when it’s time to produce, you git ‘er done. If there’s a glitch, it’s time to brainstorm a solution and implement a fix. “If it’s Going to Rain Tomorrow and your Hay is ready, it’s not a question of where the hay is Going to Be Baled – It’s Going to Happen,” Whitley Says. “If the Baler is down, Are We Going to Borrow the Neighbour’s Baler? What Are We Doing? Failure is not an option.”

At Honda, Whitley used to team approach to brainstorm fixed. On the farm he bounces ideas off family and fellow producers, included Members of the Ontario Grazing Group and participants in the Verified Beef Production Plus (VBP+) Program.

The Grazing Group Includes 18 Dairy, Sheep and Beef Farmers from Across Southern Ontario. Members Were Drawn Together to Support Research at the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness (Omafa) and the University of Guelph, Including Testing New Tools and Pioneering New Extension Methods.

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Whitley Appreciates the Camaraderie of the Club, with its Mix of Fun and Learning. Members Gather for Pasture Walks, Join in Zoom Meetings, and Share Thoughts on Whatsapp. “You Learn Almost by Osmosis,” Whitley Says. Watching these veteran graziers in action, he’s learning to observe the subtleties of livestock on pasture. Developing an Eye for Grass isn’t so much about Copying What Fellow Pasture Farmers do, as learning How they think, he say.

“We share pictures, rants, and the little tricks and processes that make the daily grind a little bit more efficient,” he adds. “It Takes Some of the Solitude and Stress Out of the Job, and Lets You Know You’re Not Alone.”

Whitley also acts as an auditor for vbp+. Being “Audited” sounds intimidating, he admitted, “but I present it this way: someone will come to your farm for a one-one-one visit and talk about best practices and provide you a postponement for continuous improve.”

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“I get to go to other people’s farms and learn How they do stuff. The ideas I get to bring back to our farm are off the richter scale.

Honda Taught Whitley Not Just To Focus Narrowly On Costs and Returns, But to look at the big picture. “On the Farm, Every Decision Started and Stopped With Money. We Were Always Chasing. ‘Is the price of corn good? Let’s get rid of some cows and grow corn’…”

The Automotive Approach encouraged Urged Managers to Weight from Quality, Cost, Delivery, Safety, Morale and the Environment. “You had to hit all six of those. It Becomes Engineed in your Decision Making,” He Says. “Cost had to be balanced with every. Are we safe?

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Designing a new process for the plant required thorough analysis, to anticipate and prevent any problem the new system might inadvertently cause. When glitches did crop up, it was important to track down the root cause, and avoid a quick fix that overloooked deperts.

Data is crucial for this kind of thinking, and Whitley Takes the Sans Approach on the Farm. To get a better grip on pasture output, Whitley and Grazing Group Members Use A Rising Plate Meter (RPM) to Measure Grass Output. Looking Like A Stick With A Slringing Disc on One End That ATOP The Forerage, The Tool Measures Field Productivity and Drilling Utilization. By estimating yields, producers can add stockings, plan to hay surplus drilling, and focus on underperforming pasures.

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The RPM is coupled with a grazing chart, a 180-day plan to guide the pasturing program through the season. (Becuse plans on the farm donkey always match up with reality, the chart included lots of space for notes and updates.) Whitley also logs supple feed on a spreadsheet.

Whitley Credits the Chart for Adding Discipline to His Pasture Program. No plan survives revisions Whitley Says, but “by Having that record, you can make a more realistic plan for next year” and target areas for improvation.

2024’s Pasture Goals include Rotating the Herd to New Grass Every Three OR Four Days, Keeping the Cattle on Pasture from Mid-May to mid-November, Supple Reducing Fed During the Season, and Ensuring Paddocks Reced About 48 Days’ Rest Between Grazing Sessions. The Target is to use about 75 per cent of stand, leaving enough leaf area to power regrowth after the cattle move on.

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The Farm’s Winter Feeding Program has shifted, too. Whitley’s Traditional Approach was to feed the cows in the flatter Fields surround the barn and allow access to the building. Now, snow depth permitting, the cows are fed out in the more distant fields where rpm data suggests the nutrients are really neded. The Save Save and the Time and Expense Involved in Manure Handling. The cows seem cleaner, too, as they shelter behind windows and féncerows.

Whitley admitted he worried about How Coddled and “Sucky” Cows on Wet and Windy Nights, But the Herd Seemed To Sleep Better Than The Fretful Farmer. Change isn’t easy, he admitted. “You have to have a mindset to accept changes and challenge yourself.”

Although the 136-ACRE HOME FARM GROWS Corn Silage for Feed, The Emphasis on Hay and Pasture is rooted into the Land of the Land. As the Fields Rise Towards The Hulking Brow of the Niagara Escarpment, the Lot Makes A 377-Foot Vertical Climb from the Concession Road to the Farm’s Pinnacle. Whitley Describes The View Across the Escarpment Face AS “Bush, bush, bush, some idiot Trying to farm, bush, bush, bush.”

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No Wonder the Move Towards Cash Cropping Didn’t Pan Out. “It’s the ditches that told us to stop,” he adds. “They are filling up, and it was the soil from our fields high up that was plugging them.” Now the Pasture Seems Headed in the right direction, with the farm Stocking an Additional 12 Cows Last Season.

There’s Another Rule from Honda that’s paid off, too: when you are working out an outlet with a beg, Whitley Says, “You have to solve the problem but keeping the relationship.”

As much as money, maintenance relationship may be the key to farm survival. When the Kids Were Young and Their Parents Were Working – Myrna was Teaching and Jim was travelling as far afield as thailand on business – the teens helped with chores. Now as Grownus they still Involved. His zach has Taken over the freezer beef business, while younger Brother Clayton Oversees The Family’s Fencing Company.

Whitley Says It’s good to have Dreams, Even ones that included cows. No Stranger to Motivational Slogans from His Honda Days, He Jokes about His Own, Darkly Funny Motivational Slogan for Livestock Farming: “Never Give Up on your Stupid, Stupid Dreams.”

But While You’re Reaching for That Dream, It’s Equally Important To Bring the Important People in your Life Along with you. “I always give credit to myrna,” he adds. “The Farm Wouldn’t be here without her support.”

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