Timeshare Relief for Grazing Land in Vermont| Agency of Agriculture Report Gives New Agriculture Innovations

Timeshare Relief for Grazing Land in Vermont| Agency of Agriculture Report Gives New Agriculture Innovations

The Laplatte River Angus farm has been providing their farm with innovative relief with land timeshare in Vermont agriculture. The Vermont agency of AG(Agriculture) sent a report about a model for rotational grazing strategies which would allow the Vermont agriculture some timeshare relief for grazing lands. The report was put out in March of 2009 and has impacted the Laplatte River Angus farm in a positive light.

What began with just a few head of cattle in 1971, original owners Jim Kleptz and son Mark have helped the cattle farm flourish into about 250 to 300 mainly Angus cattle on the farm and has grown to include nearly 600 acres of grazing land. The land used for grazing is leased and sometimes donated by neighbors, everyone benefits from this land timeshare and the owners are free from upkeep and maintenance fees.

The report discusses a business innovation focusing on grazing land and helping the Vermont agriculture fully utilize their assets through land timeshare. Once a cattle grazing has consumed enough of the land they give it some much needed relief and alternate between direct grazing and haying. This method for land relief through timeshare, according to the Vermont agency of AG, is dependent on grass, soil and animal conditions.

Vermont beef that is locally raised and grass-fed has had increased demand by 40 percent each year with supply for this local grazing cattle going up by 20 to 30 percent in 2009.

“I put a lot of effort into making sure [the animals] are comfortable,” says Kleptz. One of the ways he does this is by providing the land with a timeshare which in turn provides Vermont AG relief.

The Vermont AG and Vermont economy have surely benefited from this timeshare of land relief. In 2007 the Vermont sustainable agriculture council awarded the Kleptz family as being the sustainable farm of the year.