Cope Grass Farm works in harmony with the land
Harry Cope doesn’t do anything normal. Sure, he raises cattle, pigs and some row crops on land that’s been in his family for generations. But many of the practices Harry and his children use were more common on farms 50 years ago than today. The Copes are constantly exploring new and forgotten ways of farming with the simple goal: improve the farm every year.
The Copes sell their beef online and at the Lake St. Louis Farmers Market. They also supply beef to Stacked, a burger restaurant in St. Louis.
“We’re not reinventing, but we’re going back to a lot of systems my parents and my grandparents did — trying to close the loop on our farm with what we produce and what we use,” Harry says. “I told Mom one time, ‘I’m not that smart, but I know a lot of smart people and most of them will answer when I call.’ I get a lot of good advice, and we borrow ideas from anywhere local or across the world.”
The Cope family has been farming near Truxton for 150 years. After graduating from the University of Missouri in 1984, Harry returned home and started to carve out his own operation, Cope Grass Farm. By the 1990s, he was using rotational grazing for livestock, with a focus on growing forages to reduce erosion and increase soil health. That led to no-till planting, cover crops and native grasses — all of which were rare for Missouri farmers at the time.
Dusty helps care for the free-range ducks, which they produce for meat and eggs.
Then and now, Harry wants his farm to be a synergy of livestock and crops. Because of their dedication to conservation, Cope Grass Farm was the 2023 recipient of the Missouri Leopold Conservation Award, which honors farmers who go above and beyond to manage soil health, water quality and wildlife habitat on working land. The recipient receives a $10,000 prize, thanks to support from the Missouri Farmers Care Foundation, Missouri Corn Merchandising Council, Missouri Soybean Merchandising Council and USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service.
“Cope Grass Farm is always pushing the envelope,” says Ashley McCarty, executive director of Missouri Farmers Care. “In any conversation with Harry and Sabrina, you hear their passion for land management and stewardship. Nothing gets them more excited than to tell you about the latest experiment or trial on their farm.”
Today the farm is home to cattle, hogs, sheep, chickens, turkeys and ducks. The animals spend most of their time outdoors, grazing on a smorgasbord of grasses, timberland, forages and crops.
The Copes raise pigs that are a cross between a Berkshire and Red Wattle. “They are a good outdoor pig,” Harry says.
Besides the sheep, all livestock is processed and sold to customers at the Lake St. Louis Farmers and Artisans Market or through their farm website. The Copes began direct marketing their livestock six years ago. This venture created an opportunity for Harry’s daughter, Sabrina, to join the farm. “I went to Mizzou and majored in general agriculture,” Sabrina says. “Right before I graduated, Dad sat me down and asked if I was interested in direct marketing some of our products. I said, ‘yes,’ and Dad almost fell off his chair.”
Now the farm is a partnership between the father-daughter duo, with Harry’s son, Dusty, providing labor (Harry’s wife, Rose, works off farm). Sabrina leads farm marketing and is often the one you’ll find at the farmers market, answering questions about their beef, pork, lamb, poultry and eggs. They get many questions about how their animals are raised.
This year, the Copes are raising 400 sheep. “Our sheep are our only true commodity business,” Harry says. “We sell them at the Mexico or Montgomery County sale barns. Everything else we direct market.”
“What we do is educate the people who we’re selling to, but they also educate us,” Harry says. “Their questions help me question what we do.” Above all, Sabrina says, they offer healthy and local products that taste great. “Flavor is the one thing customers definitely come back for over and over,” she says.
The secret to their meat’s great flavor is what the animals eat, the Copes say, and diversity is on the menu. For example, one pasture is home to 43 species of forages, legumes and grasses. The healthy mix of plants extends the grazing period for livestock and attracts wildlife.
To have her own farm enterprise, Sabrina started raising chickens, turkeys and ducks a few years ago.
An audit by the National Audubon Society found more than 100 species of birds at Cope Grass Farm, making it one of just seven Missouri farms to receive a “Bird Friendly Beef” certification. “I saw the list of birds and was disappointed they didn’t have a bald eagle on it, because I’ve seen those on the farm,” Harry says. “I’ve learned to appreciate birds as an indicator of good things on the farm.”
Three years ago the Copes began producing microgreens, or fodder, as a supplemental cattle feed. Harry and Sabrina load barley seed in 6-foot trays and a sprinkler system waters them with a fine mist for three minutes every hour. Six days later, the seeds grow into a lush mat that is high in nutrients and smells like cucumbers.
Always innovating, the Copes recently started offering a new food to their cattle. In a former hog farrowing house, they place barley seed in trays and mist them every hour. Six days later, the seeds grow into a lush mat the cattle gobble up. “It’s literally just barley seed and water,” Harry says. “It took some old-fashioned, back-of-the-napkin brainstorming to create the system. The amount of water we use to grow the barley inside is so much less than the water to grow the equivalent in the field.”
The barley fodder, Harry says, allows them to provide grass to their livestock all year long, especially during the winter months.
After nearly 30 years on the farm, Harry is dedicated to seeing his children succeed and his land be healthy and productive. He’ll continue to pursue a harmonious balance of sustainable practices through trial and error. “If you’re afraid to screw up, you’re never going to make progress,” he says. “Conservation should be grounded in improving the profitability and durability of a farm.”
To learn more about Cope Grass Farm, visit copegrassfarm.com. You can learn more about the Missouri Agriculture Stewardship Award at mofarmerscare.com.