ASGA Teatime Replay: Jumping into Large-Scale Grazing in TX and the Southeast with Chad Raines

We had great a farmer-to-farmer chat with Chad Raines, a solar grazier and ASGA Board member based out of Lamesa, TX. Chad told us how he transitioned from targeted grazing and raising sheep on a traditional model to solar grazing at scale. That includes how he got his start working with JR Howard and Ely Valdez and how’s negotiated his own contracts with companies.  He also gave us a sense of how he is quickly expanding his business and how he manage a complex operation that runs from West TX to northeast Arkansas.

Chad also gave us a good picture of how he manages utility scale sites (from 600 acres to well over 1000 acres), including the labor issues, fencing, sheep numbers, parasites, hybrid mowing, and more. Currently, he’s running 2,000 sheep on sites in Central & South Texas and as far away as Arkansas. He expects to have a flock of 7,500 by the end of this year alone.
 
We also learned a lot about Chad’s background. A 4th generation cotton farmer, he transitioned from cotton to sheep farming after taking over the family farm, but struggled in the West Texas droughts. After trying out targeted grazing, he heard about solar grazing and ASGA and spent a long-time studying it before putting his sheep on solar sites.

We had a great Q&A with the audience as well. Watch and enjoy!

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