- Location
- Owaka, New Zealand
If you don't ask, you don't get!
Worth a try
...and most of the time asking gets you nowhere
Regenerative Agriculture
- Thread starter Farmer Roy
- Start date
...and most of the time asking gets you nowhere
T Bourne
Member
- Location
- Tasmania, Australia
Haha, thanks Kiwi Pete.Looks bloody good.
When are you going to make another drill and give me your old one?
It is going to be a serious cover crop, will be waiting in anticipation to see which does what, especially the turnip/radish combo
I haven't finished pimping this one yet. Hopefully I'll do a couple mods and add liquid fert to the drill before next year. I want to be able to put down liquid humates, kelp, fish and calcium. I'm excited to see what performs well and whether the proportions are adequate. My agronomist helped me put it together so hopefully it will be on point. Cheers.
- Location
- Glen Clova, Angus, DD8 4RD
Sorry if this one has been posted before....
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/3-big-myths-about-modern-agriculture1/
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/3-big-myths-about-modern-agriculture1/
Last edited:
- Location
- Cornwall
Here you go @Kiwi Pete, this has got you written all over it...
http://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2018-...h-old-grinds-for-pastures/9562628?pfmredir=sm
http://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2018-...h-old-grinds-for-pastures/9562628?pfmredir=sm
- Location
- Owaka, New Zealand
https://smilingtreefarm.com/blog/carbon-mooooves
Courtesy of @Farmer Roy
Old hat to some of us but well worth sharing, especially to counter the sheer volume of misinformation about livestock farming
@unlacedgecko
Courtesy of @Farmer Roy
Old hat to some of us but well worth sharing, especially to counter the sheer volume of misinformation about livestock farming
@unlacedgecko
- Location
- Owaka, New Zealand
If I had the energy to deal with all the buts and "its alright for you"s I would start a separate thread called "Carbon flows - the time proven advantages of grazing livestock" or something similar.
Most all of what I strive to do here, is to achieve and enhance the flow of Carbon from the atmosphere into the animals and soil, simple thought processes really, but the liquid Carbon pathway is what drives life on Earth... and thus allows farm profit.
I thought the above diagram and post was a really simple way of showing it and teaching the concept, which is almost as abstract as electrical theory but no less valid or real.
It also shows the likely futility of basing future rural payments on soil Carbon stocks IMO, that would be like being paid for having money in the bank; the rewards of "Carbon Farming" are in effect a subsidy, a safety net if you will - a resilient and efficient farming system.
Most all of what I strive to do here, is to achieve and enhance the flow of Carbon from the atmosphere into the animals and soil, simple thought processes really, but the liquid Carbon pathway is what drives life on Earth... and thus allows farm profit.
I thought the above diagram and post was a really simple way of showing it and teaching the concept, which is almost as abstract as electrical theory but no less valid or real.
It also shows the likely futility of basing future rural payments on soil Carbon stocks IMO, that would be like being paid for having money in the bank; the rewards of "Carbon Farming" are in effect a subsidy, a safety net if you will - a resilient and efficient farming system.
- Location
- Cornwall
Start it anyway!
- Location
- Glen Clova, Angus, DD8 4RD
We need a "superlike" option for that onehttps://smilingtreefarm.com/blog/carbon-mooooves
Courtesy of @Farmer Roy
Old hat to some of us but well worth sharing, especially to counter the sheer volume of misinformation about livestock farming
@unlacedgecko
- Location
- Owaka, New Zealand
It is largely the reason I have a slightly disdainful opinion of "farmers" and prefer to make the distinction that this is a small ranch. Does it show?
"Rancher"
The question remains - why is this simple biological/chemical cycle largely glossed over in agricultural circles?
Money.
Money makes Carbon go away.
I realise it doesn't "go away", it just puts it into the atmosphere faster, so the land managers can concentrate on all the other compounds and "which pickup" details; compared to Carbon, all other elements could be considered 'micronutrients' in a farming context.
Truly bizarre.
But that is why "they had it so good", because farmers once had to know how stuff worked and how to make it work for them.... now it is all about the money and cashflow, instead of looking after the simple stuff such as how to make money out of sunshine and water
I won't worry about a new thread, the forum is too morose as it is, and the best of us are already here
...as long as we keep dropping terms like liquid carbon pathway and efficiency then the search tool will bring them here
"Rancher"
The question remains - why is this simple biological/chemical cycle largely glossed over in agricultural circles?
Money.
Money makes Carbon go away.
I realise it doesn't "go away", it just puts it into the atmosphere faster, so the land managers can concentrate on all the other compounds and "which pickup" details; compared to Carbon, all other elements could be considered 'micronutrients' in a farming context.
Truly bizarre.
But that is why "they had it so good", because farmers once had to know how stuff worked and how to make it work for them.... now it is all about the money and cashflow, instead of looking after the simple stuff such as how to make money out of sunshine and water
I won't worry about a new thread, the forum is too morose as it is, and the best of us are already here
...as long as we keep dropping terms like liquid carbon pathway and efficiency then the search tool will bring them here
Start it here in the direct drilling forums or even better i the holistic farming bit. The wont work here bunch wont look there
- Location
- Owaka, New Zealand
There was even considerable doubt shown that there were more ruminants in existence before mankind and his fertilisers and other "improvements" came to the foreStart it here in the direct drilling forums or even better i the holistic farming bit. The wont work here bunch wont look there
It is staggering that folk can learn to type before they can learn to think......
the phrase "f**k me swinging" keeps popping into my head
- Location
- Cornwall
But that is why "they had it so good", because farmers once had to know how stuff worked and how to make it work for them.... now it is all about the money and cashflow, instead of looking after the simple stuff such as how to make money out of sunshine and water
I never bought into the whole “the old fellas knew what they were doing” thing. They didn’t know “how things worked”, about carbon cycling or or soil biology. They figured out what worked through trial and error and using the very few options they had available to them. Then carried on doing it father and son.
We have so much more knowledge, understanding and, crucially, options available to us today, we should be doing it far better than the old fellas ever did! The fact that most are not is the legacy of the old fellas... unfortunately!
- Location
- Owaka, New Zealand
Maybe it was just my old man, back in the days where they had an Ag Class specifically reserved for the blunter instruments
He explained nearly everything in my vocabulary to me, using that "teachable moment" for maximum effect.
Different buzzwords, of course, I think it was Dr Christine Jones that coined the LCP terminology?
But, the message was still the same, all about living plants and solar capture, pumping sugar into the soils to feed the life within to help build soil and fertility the same way the migratory herds had done.
"Recovery" was his buzzword, if he had only one - "we can recover so much if we farm for it"
Pretty cool guy, I miss him immensely.
- Location
- Cornwall
But that’s not that long ago in the grand scheme of things is it? When I say “old fellas” I mean oooooooold fellas. Ploughers of old, old fellas.
- Location
- Owaka, New Zealand
Oh, before Maggie Thatcher?
Yes, I agree, it had always been about maximum impact = maximum effectiveness
Now quite the opposite, the new ideal is to not waste effort flipping the Earths mantle every other week and actually let it perform as nature intended it to, landscapes, biomimicry, all that cool stuff!
Have they never heard of the cowboys slaughtering the thousands (millions?) of bison in north america to starve the native americans off the land? When you could "ride hard all day on a fast horse and still not reach the end of the herd" i rememeber reading that somewere when i was a kid and being absolutley amazed how many bison there must have been. Then being sad when i learnt they were all killed. Id bet theres not that many cattle in america now even with all the fertilizers and feedlots.There was even considerable doubt shown that there were more ruminants in existence before mankind and his fertilisers and other "improvements" came to the fore
It is staggering that folk can learn to type before they can learn to think......
the phrase "fudge me swinging" keeps popping into my head
- Location
- Cornwall
There was even considerable doubt shown that there were more ruminants in existence before mankind and his fertilisers and other "improvements" came to the fore
It is staggering that folk can learn to type before they can learn to think......
the phrase "fudge me swinging" keeps popping into my head
I missed this post!
I am now trying to grapple with its ramifications.
Who doubted that ruminants were more numerous in the absence of modern agriculture?!
Are these the same people who believe the world was created in 6 days 3,500 years or so ago and that dinosaurs existed and became extinct in that time, or that all the animals, including ruminants, hopped onto some blokes boat to escape some watery apocalypse?!
Apparently these people do exist!
- Location
- Hampshire
According to Rothamstead we're all wasting our time!
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/02/180228134114.htm
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/02/180228134114.htm
- Location
- Owaka, New Zealand
I don't think the neurons quite connect with some
As in the FB link, the world was a much healthier and happier place without us
When you think of the impact currently, and then bear in mind that 40% of food grown is simply wasted
(not in Africa, mind) then you realise just how many people are in fact "part of the problem": myself included, I drive to work by myself every day purely for convenienceDad hated tractors to the point he referred to them as "a waste of a bloody good shadow" insinuating there could be an incalf cow making better use of one
So many paradox exist, the areas that could make the best and easiest job of regenerative agriculture seem to be the most mechanised and most intensively industrial in their methods
we want animals to create the necessary disturbance and trampling but.... farmers in harsh environments seem to be getting ahead of those of us blessed with rainfall and temperate conditions?Even sheep can work wonders here
- Location
- Owaka, New Zealand
More intervention
I did read that one with interest, all the same, and quite agree from a holistic perspective; doing more will not help.
Doing far less to achieve about the same, will.
Fossil fuel conservation is crucial!
They have luckily not heard about the possibilities of sowing the seas with iron compounds to trigger plankton blooms and supercharge the ocean's CO2 absorption, not only are Kiwis keen to put junk into orbit, want to try and upset the oceans now!!
- Tags
- glyphosate