206 | Hayden & Taylor Sievers, Illinois | From Cut Flowers to Cattle on German Heritage Ground

Hayden and Taylor Sievers of Sievers Blumen Farm in the Brussels, Illinois area share how their farm has evolved from a cut-flower business into a growing grazing-focused cattle operation, alongside grain and hogs, while keeping an eye on family, profitability, and building a system that works on limited acres.In This Episode, We Explore:How Sievers Blumen Farm got its name and the cut-flower beginnings behind the brandFarming in Calhoun County between the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers, and what that landscape means for grazingConverting a heavily tilled, flood-prone 80 acres into pasture over time while still cash cropping part of itChallenges of establishing pasture on heavy “black stick” clay and lessons learned with broadcast seeding and needing timely rainUsing wheat followed by cover crops and pasture as a transition plan away from cash croppingInfrastructure choices including high-tensile perimeter fence, step-ins, reels, and thoughts on central alley layoutsMoving from Dexters to South Pole-influenced cattle and what they noticed with fly pressure, forage efficiency, and easy-keeping traitsUsing cow-calf as a base herd while considering stockers and sell-buy marketing to capture excess forageTakeaways from stockmanship training, including receiving calves and getting them grazing quickly by focusing on mental and emotional stateRaising meat chickens (including Red Rangers) and layers, plus building and using a chickshaw-style coopTaylor’s path into indie publishing, what she writes, and the discipline of finishing books while raising a familyWhy This Episode MattersIf you are trying to make grazing work on limited acres or on land that is less-than-ideal, this conversation is a practical look at how a young family is building infrastructure, improving soil over time, selecting cattle that fit their system, and staying focused on profitability and quality of life instead of chasing too many enterprises at once.Resources MentionedJoel Salatin (Joe Rogan Podcast)Greg Judy (grazing and fencing approach)Jim Elizondo and total grazing conceptsHand ’n Hand sell-buy marketing class (Tina and Richard)Stockman Grass FarmerWorking Cows podcastRanching Returns podcast (formerly Herd Quitter podcast)Bud Williams stockmanship (referenced through stockmanship training)Dirt to SoilBraiding SweetgrassFor the Love of SoilThe Creative Penn podcast (Joanna Penn)Wish I’d Known Then podcastThe Two Authors podcastJustin Rhodes Chickshaw (mobile coop design)O’Brien step-in postsTaragate reelsMeyer HatcheryMcMurray HatcheryAugust Horstmann's Ranch (Missouri)Find Out MoreWebsite | https://sieversblumenfarm.comInstagram | https://instagram.com/sieversblumenfarmFacebook | https://facebook.com/sieversblumenfarmYouTube | https://youtube.com/@sieversblumenfarmHere is a discount code for our farm shop (https://sieversblumenfarm.com/shop) that listeners can use for 10% off. The code expires in July. GRAZINGGRASS26 Looking for grass-based breeders? Explore the Grass Based Genetics directory.Visit our Sponsors:Noble Research InstituteRedmond Agriculture Grassroots CarbonGrazing Grass LinksWebsiteCommunity (on Facebook)Original Music by Louis Palfrey