Woolless
Member
- Location
- Berwickshire, Scottish Borders
That's the problem, I am trying to be the trusted tup breeder!
"Improving Our Lot" - Planned Holistic Grazing, for starters..
- Thread starter Kiwi Pete
- Start date
Leave it to dry before chipping?
- Location
- Owaka, New Zealand
Nothing leaves the farm!
Unless it walks off
JohnGalway
Member
- Location
- Connemara, Ireland
Use it as bedding if you house, you can compost it then use it as bedding again like would be done with peat, then spread. There was something in the Pontbren project of the size of material used as chipping and the relationship of how nutrients were affected in the soil.
- Location
- Devon
Thats the plan here.
Trying to convince my neighbour to get a tree shear for his digger.
Got a mate with a tree shear, just need a chipperThats the plan here.
Trying to convince my neighbour to get a tree shear for his digger.
- Location
- Owaka, New Zealand
Yes, and fetches top dollar as well.
That's why I can't claim to be much of a farmer, last year we sold less than a dozen of our cattle and 31 lambs in boxes. We bought in over 300 tonnes of inputs
- Location
- Quebec, Canada
And around here you get skis and skates for your birthday, but never a bike!
Fenwick
Member
- Location
- Bretagne France
For our soils (silty sans and sandy silt, low to very low CEC) The reccomonded maximum dose is 1ton/ha/year on the siltiest soil, and 500kg year on the sandiest, (depending on the starting PH) . This could be doubled for those on heavy clay.
I was always told that too much lime at one time can block other elements, though i can't remember which.
As far as diverse (natural or otherwise) prairies are concerned a too much lime in one go alters to quickly the habitat for species to adapt and the production may even decrease the first year or two, though it will increase in later years.
Ideally for our cultures and hay fields, it would be good to add 200 - 300kgs a year every year. (less depending on the addition of fym) In order to replace what we are exporting.
For the prairies that are only ever grazed we are able to maintain a PH through biological activity. Sometimes even raise it a little.
Each time we put in a culture or cut hay we bring it down a touch.
We hadn't limed our farm for over 20 years, but we have been eating into our captial for our cultures, and got caught out this year on the hemp (likes a more neutral ph). I have now limed our away fields. I think it cost about 1300€ for 20 tons delivered and spread. The return on investment will be about a year.
For the prairies we have some that are at 6.7 on a granit base!
And some very productive prairies at 5.7.We don't use art. fert. Which is a bugger for acidifying soils.
I might lime some of our pastures next year at 300kg/ha for all of those under PH.6 that are unproductive. Maybe with lithothamne or perhaps dolomite to increase the olgio-elements. But I don't like the idea of these big machines driving on my pastures.
Either way as far as inputs are concerned, it's damned cheap for the effect it has. As it gives you access to a captial you already have (assuming you have it) , rather than buying in captial from elsewhere.
Liming revolutionised my part of the world where we are on naturally acidic soils. Liming actually reduced significantly the number of people dying of starvation on my peninsular a couple of centuries back.
Sounds like I have rights in a liming company, and I do think it is really important!
But for a bit of perspective with the liming this year, that averages 12kgs/ha/year over the last 20 years.
- Location
- Devon
Shame you're not closer, I know for a chipper
NZDan
Member
- Location
- Broomfield, New Zealand
We've been mobbing ewes and lambs up as soon as possible and rotating ewes and lambs to last 3 years, ewe weights at weaning have gone up and lamb weights at weaning have gone down, shifting them 1 to 3 times per day is to hard on lambs, they just can't compete with the ewes for better quality parts of the pasture when shift rapidly, next year we're going back to more mobs and shift them every 3-5 days.The moss isn't bad but is noticeable. All these fields will be rested now until March, then more set-stocking for lambing
NZDan
Member
- Location
- Broomfield, New Zealand
We've been mobbing ewes and lambs up as soon as possible and rotating ewes and lambs to last 3 years, ewe weights at weaning have gone up and lamb weights at weaning have gone down, shifting them 1 to 3 times per day is to hard on lambs, they just can't compete with the ewes for better quality parts of the pasture when shift rapidly, next year we're going back to more mobs and shift them every 3-5 days.The moss isn't bad but is noticeable. All these fields will be rested now until March, then more set-stocking for lambing
- Location
- Glen Clova, Angus, DD8 4RD
Beat me to it
- Location
- Glen Clova, Angus, DD8 4RD
Ideal kit to share around a group. Only need it once in a while and, unlike some kit you don't all need it at once.
Woolless
Member
- Location
- Berwickshire, Scottish Borders
That's interesting. Sounds like I have been inadvertently doing it the best way for the lambs. Also supports the notion that cattle are the best tool for the intensive grazing job.
to hire or buy ?Shame you're not closer, I know for a chipper
That's a a bit different from some of my ideas but not not far away......I have quite high cec soils here and along with a high rain fall makes me wish I had lower cec at times. Lime is quite cheap here around $30/ton plus cartage and spreading but dolomite is expensive most of it comes from the top of the South Island and trucking isn't cheap! Mind you my old consultant said "don't worry about mg let it fall where it lands"For our soils (silty sans and sandy silt, low to very low CEC) The reccomonded maximum dose is 1ton/ha/year on the siltiest soil, and 500kg year on the sandiest, (depending on the starting PH) . This could be doubled for those on heavy clay.
I was always told that too much lime at one time can block other elements, though i can't remember which.
As far as diverse (natural or otherwise) prairies are concerned a too much lime in one go alters to quickly the habitat for species to adapt and the production may even decrease the first year or two, though it will increase in later years.
Ideally for our cultures and hay fields, it would be good to add 200 - 300kgs a year every year. (less depending on the addition of fym) In order to replace what we are exporting.
For the prairies that are only ever grazed we are able to maintain a PH through biological activity. Sometimes even raise it a little.
Each time we put in a culture or cut hay we bring it down a touch.
We hadn't limed our farm for over 20 years, but we have been eating into our captial for our cultures, and got caught out this year on the hemp (likes a more neutral ph). I have now limed our away fields. I think it cost about 1300€ for 20 tons delivered and spread. The return on investment will be about a year.
For the prairies we have some that are at 6.7 on a granit base!
We don't use art. fert. Which is a bugger for acidifying soils.
I might lime some of our pastures next year at 300kg/ha for all of those under PH.6 that are unproductive. Maybe with lithothamne or perhaps dolomite to increase the olgio-elements. But I don't like the idea of these big machines driving on my pastures.
Either way as far as inputs are concerned, it's damned cheap for the effect it has. As it gives you access to a captial you already have (assuming you have it) , rather than buying in captial from elsewhere.
Liming revolutionised my part of the world where we are on naturally acidic soils. Liming actually reduced significantly the number of people dying of starvation on my peninsular a couple of centuries back.
Sounds like I have rights in a liming company, and I do think it is really important!
But for a bit of perspective with the liming this year, that averages 12kgs/ha/year over the last 20 years.
- Location
- Devon
Hire. Chap I used to work with.
I don't have have any cattle in my system and the more I read I can't help but think cattle are "required" in intensive grazing.......and struggling to see the best way to have ewes with lambs at foot
