Welcome,

You are standing at our virtual farm gate, you might say. Come on in and explore the world of grassfed beef production, Galloway cattle,and the finer points of grazing ecology.

So, who are we, anyway? We are Bill and Judy Decker, and we own and operate Renaissance Farms Ltd in east central Kansas.

We began producing grassfed beef using purebred Galloway genetics in 1998. Currently we run our operation on about 240 acres, half of which we own, the remainder being leased. We have a nice balance of cool season grasses, which flourish in the spring and fall and can be stockpiled for winter grazing, and warm season native grasses, mainly big and little bluestem, switchgrass, Eastern gamagrass and indian grass. These native species sink their roots deep into the soil and can grow even when the summers get hot and dry.

We live in a 35 inch rainfall region, though much of this rain can come in deluges that are separated by several weeks in between. The soils on our main pastures are a clay loam, and were once farmed several decades ago, which contributed to a major loss of top soil. 'Highly Eroded' is the classification in the soil guide.

Temperatures cover all the bases in this area. In summer we have seen the temps hit 109, and in winter have seen minus 12. Sometimes a 24 to 36 hour period can yield a 50 degree temperature swing!