The Grass Whisper's Secrets

The environmental, economic, and social benefits of the Bishopp Family Farm

The Grass Whisperer Himself

Troy Bishopp, also known as the Grass Whisperer, is a modern example of a successful and sustainable grass farming and grazing operation.

Troy Bishopp

Troy is the 6th generation to care for the Bishopp Family Farm in Deansboro, NY. On his 100 acres of cool-season pasture, Troy raises 100% grass-fed beef, dairy heifers, and background feeder cattle through a custom rotional grazing operation.

Troy is also an active member of Madison County: in his spare time, he works on water and soil conservation and helps others learn about practical, holistic land management concepts.

Take a look at the Bishopp Family Farm in the blue outline:

See the beautiful greenery of Troy's farm as a result of his environmentally friendly rotional grazing operation!

Cows grazing on the pastures of the Bishopp Family Farm

Experience the Farm

An immersive experience on the Troy Bishopp Family Farm

Building a community of observers and lingerers where you applaud the idea of observing the little things and think about how it affects the big things - Troy Bishopp

What is Rotational Grazing?

Rotational grazing is a simple and sustainable way to grass-feed cattle!

The diagram above shows how cattle move through a rotational grazing plan. The center picture is how the Bishop Family Farm divides their pasture into paddocks!

  1. A pasture is divided into paddocks and cattle graze one paddock at a time
  2. Once a paddock runs low on grass, the cattle are moved to the next paddock in the rotational grazing system
  3. As the cattle move through the differing paddocks, the grass has enough time to regenertate before the cattle return back to the paddock they started in.

This form of grazing promotes soil health, leading to consistently green and beautiful pastures!

See the difference!

These two pictures were both taken on August 13th, 2017. The picture on the left is a neighboring pasture that does not practice rotational grazing.

The picture on the right is one of Troy's pastures, green and healthy from rotational grazing!

Slide the arrows to see the full view of the pastures.

Time and Money Savers

Switching to rotational grazing can save you $$$$ and time! Click the slides to learn more.

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Healthier Animals

Rotational grazing allows animals to have: 1) more exercise 2) more fresh air and 3) less exposure to dangerous microorganisms.

This allows animals to be more productive and more profitable! Research has found that the culling rates of herds dropped from about 35% to 10% for farmers once they started rotational grazing. 

Less Physical Labor

Rotational grazing is very efficient. It can take as little as 15 minutes to move the cattle to a new pasture and there is no time spent on growing hay as feed or hauling manure from barns. This saves time and labor that can be spent on other projects to benefit the farm.

Saves Energy

Rotational grazing eliminates the need to use fuel to harvest hay or constantly maintain a barn at all times, reducing direct energy costs. Energy inputs can be reduced by about 60% and land resources reduced by about 8%. Not only does this save money, it helps the environment.

More Consistently Fertile Pastures

Rotational grazing promotes healthier and more uniform soil. In general, less pesticides, fertilizer, and tilling is needed-- movement and manure from the cattle help the pastures self-sustain! Rotational grazing also increases biodiversity, enhances the surrounding natural environment. 

Long Term Profitability

Grass fed beef sells at a higher price than grain fed beef producing a greater profit per cow! Research has shown that rotationally grazing beef and dairy cattle will consistently provide a higher net farm income than grain feeding cattle. Reduced input costs (ie. less fertlizer) will also provide higher net profit for the farm.

Lower Maintenance Costs

For most rotational graziers, the only start up and maintenance costs are fencing and water facilities. The cattle are able to sustain themselves without the expensive maintenance required of confined feeding.

Find more information on the time and saving benefits of rotational grazing below:

Better Flood Management

Not only does flood abatement benefit individual farms, it benefits the entire community! Extreme flooding has become a reality in Central New York. Rotational grazing can make a lasting impact on the environment and community.

Here's how it works:

Prevents Soil Erosion

Soil from pastures with rotional grazing have improved organic matter. Organic matter makes for more stable soil, which is resistent to erosion.

Limited soil erosion is one of the reasons why pastures with rotional grazing operations are self-sustaining and beautifully green!

Average Organic Matter Percentage for 20 Field Samples on Bishopp Family Farms from 2008 to 2020. This graph shows increased organic matter % from 2008 (3.37%) to 2020 (4.8%), implying improved soil health. Source for Optimal Organic Matter %: (University, 2021).

Notice the improvement of organic matter on Troy's farm as he has continuly practiced rotational grazing!

Rotational grazing => More organic matter => Less soil erosion and less flooding!

Deeper Root Systems

Because rotational grazing does not require as much plowing, root systems in the soil are allowed to develop into complex, water absorbing systems, mitigating flooding for the entire community!

Rotational grazing (left) v. commercial grazing method (right)

The graphic above shows how rotational grazing increases root complexity in the soils beneath the pasture! These stronger roots:

  1. Take up more nutrients
  2. Increase of carbon storage
  3. Increase biodiveristy in the soil such as fungi and bacteria

... all of which allow the soil to absorb more water and resist erosion

Rotational grazing =>Stronger root systems => Increased water absorption => Less flooding!

Riparian Forest Buffer

Here is an example of a riparian furest buffer being planted on the Bishopp Family Farm.

A riparian forest buffer is area next to a stream, lake, pond, or wetland that contains a combination of trees, shrubs, and other plants to provide ecosystems services like water filtration, carbon sequestration, and flood abatement (USDA, 2022).

For his newest Riparian Forest Buffer, Troy is planting trees such as Winterberry, Serviceberry, and Honey locus.  

Riparian Forest Buffers help to:

  1. Filter and absorb water
  2. Improve animal well being by sheilding them from the wind
  3. Limits soil and wind erosion
  4. Improves air quality

Riparian Forest Buffer =>Stronger root systems=> Increased water absorption => Less flooding and wind erosion!

To learn more about the benefits of Riparian Forest Buffers, visit:

Health Benefits

Rotational grazing is benefical for the local community and even makes for healthier beef!

Grass-finished beef is better for you!

Grass finished beef is healthier than commerical, grain fed beef operations. Grass finished beef is:

  1. Leaner, with less unhealthy fats
  2. Contains more antioxidants
  3. Has more healthy fatty acids

Cows on the Bishopp Family Farm

Cleanier Ground Water

Rotational grazing operations require less fertilizer, leading to cleaner ground water! This is becuase fertlizer leaks into the soil, tainting water. Without the help of root systems, the soil is unable to filter out the toxins from fertlizer, and sometimes it can end up in our drinking water

Rotational grazing => Less fertilizer and better root filtration systems => Cleaner water

Cows in a paddock on the Bishopp Family Farm

Get Involved!

An explanation of an effective and successful rotational grazing plan!

Want to switch to rotational grazing?

Take a look at an Troy's explaination of his rotional grazing plan!

Looking to support rotational grazing efforts?

Try to buy beef labeled as "grass finished". This label indicates that the beef has finished it's life eating grass. Don't mistake "grass fed" for "grass finished"! Grass fed beef is a sneaky label: beef can be labeled as grass fed even if the cow only eats grass for 2 days of his life! The "grass finished" label is a more reliable indication that the beef you are consuming has been fed with grass for a long period of time.

Learn more about the differences between "grass finished" and "grass fed" labels:

Troy Bishopp

Average Organic Matter Percentage for 20 Field Samples on Bishopp Family Farms from 2008 to 2020. This graph shows increased organic matter % from 2008 (3.37%) to 2020 (4.8%), implying improved soil health. Source for Optimal Organic Matter %: (University, 2021).

Rotational grazing (left) v. commercial grazing method (right)

Here is an example of a riparian furest buffer being planted on the Bishopp Family Farm.

Cows on the Bishopp Family Farm

Cows in a paddock on the Bishopp Family Farm

Cows grazing on the pastures of the Bishopp Family Farm