The decisions you make in April and May will either pay dividends or cost you all season long. We asked some experienced Illinois graziers to share what they've learned.

Trevor Toland is a vocal advocate for regenerative farming practices. In 2025, he decided to find out if grazing livestock in ‘good black dirt’ might be more profitable than row-crop production. Here’s what he learned.

Using a strategic rotational grazing system, forage stays at peak production while the livestock directly benefit from getting the highly nutrient-rich feed on Ted Krauskopf’s farm.

We installed GPS-enabled collars on our cows and downloaded the corresponding app to control grazing zones and track individual animals. The cattle learned the system surprisingly fast.

After running the numbers, looking at my projections and grazing plans for the most efficient use, he feels there is more money to be made grazing than growing either of the row crops.

Ron Freeman has been on a journey to redefine cattle production, moving away from conventional methods and embracing a system that works with nature, not against it.