MOLALLA, Ore. — Holly Koch attributes her love of cattle to her grandfather, David Schriever, who founded Schriever Simmentals in Molalla, Ore., in the 1970s. He passed away in May 2022.

“Papa would wait for me to wake up from my naps so I could go along to help feed,” Koch said. “His life centered a lot around what he enjoyed and what he enjoyed was Simmental cattle and making hay. He’s the reason I’m in the cow business.”

Koch has a degree in crop and soil science from Oregon State University and worked a short time in agronomy. She started keeping heifers from her grandfather’s herd in 2017 and now runs a cow-calf operation, marketing through her direct-to-consumer beef program and selling calves as seedstock.

Koch maintains about 25 Simmentals and is currently experimenting with reducing the average cow size from 1,500 pounds — though some have attained 1,800 pounds — to the 1,300-1,400 pound range.

“A 1,300-pound cow can raise a bigger calf for her size than an 1,800-pound cow, so you can raise more head on your property off the 1,300-pound cow — and they eat less,” she said. “Another big deal around here is that their hoof size is smaller enough that they’re doing a lot less damage to the soil than larger cows.”

Koch has also found that her beef customers prefer a smaller carcass size.

“You still get your T-bone steak, but you might be able to eat it in one sitting,” she said.

However, there’s a whole realm of cattle raising that is rarely emphasized, which is the importance of plant nutrition and how the whole system functions.

“Bringing that into balance is the fastest way to build soil health and is what allows me to provide a more nutritious product for my customers,” Koch said. “I’m getting this thing functioning to where micronutrients that wouldn’t otherwise be available are now part of the system.”

Koch has brought diversity to her pastures by adding plants like plantain, radish, chicory and clover that pick up more micronutrients from the soil than grass crops and provide excellent nutrition for her cattle.

“Each of these plants hosts a different soil biology,” Koch said. “Some are better at breaking the surface crust, allowing for better gas exchange through the soil; I’m already seeing big changes in my soil health.”

Regenerative grazing also entails the frequent moving of cattle from one pasture to another, which, in addition to plant regrowth, increases photosynthesis and a chance for soil to rebuild. It also gives Koch ample opportunity to keep an eye on what’s happening in the pastures.

“Just being still in the pastures and observing is one of my favorite parts of this,” she said. “It’s amazing what you’ll learn. For instance, chicory plants have periwinkle blue flowers that are just stunning.

“The cattle eat all this stuff up and they really enjoy it,” she added. “This year’s beef crop is the first one that was conceived, born and raised all the way through on these diverse, rotationally grazed pastures, and I’m getting some good feedback; people are tasting a difference.”