"Improving Our Lot" - Planned Holistic Grazing, for starters..

Crofter64

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Quebec, Canada
We had 5 inches of rain yesterday in two hours. Terrible thunder and lightning. One blast hit a tree 30 feet behind the house. I was looking out that window ( from the centre of the room) when the blast hit and I was knocked off my feet. The phone line, tv, satelite dish, internet dish, phones, vcr, dvd, computer screen, modem and fencer are toast. I had turned off several breakers but forgot a couple obviously. Another of the great joys of rural life- feeling the power of nsture. I’m glad it wasn’t worse. Funnily enough, I had put up sheep netting next to that tree a few minutes earlier, with the thunder rumbling ever closer, saying to myself:”what are the chances… just keep working!”
 

Kiwi Pete

Member
Livestock Farmer
Everyone (not just farmers) should write a holistic plan. It makes you think deeply about what you actually have, who is actually in control and what you really want from life.

Glad to have helped a little bit mate.
Too right. Otherwise the empty vessels can get you down in the dumps!
There are few better things to work "off", than your own goals in life and how they relate to you, and your values.
Otherwise you rely on happiness coming to you, which is particularly fraught
 
Help! My lack of back fence on my outwintering plot has promoted a mass of rushes on the bottom of the hill. I have no mower and only a loan of a tractor so I rolled them last night, any ideas on what I should do now? Am in conversion to Organic and this 15 acre field is away from main farm so is rested from March to November
 

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Henarar

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Somerset
Thanks. It’s been bugging me for a few years but I had a sudden wave of fudge it and go do it after reading your holistic plan the other week about being happy in yourself.
plans now are to go self employed and do something from farming to agri machine repairs general engineering odd job type of thing. There’s loads of folk around here need that sort of guy but no one to do it.
Ex to be boss wasn’t surprised and is happy enough that I’d go back and help out on the self employed basis as there is no way anyone can pick my job up in just over a week. But all at my rate. It will probably work out more beneficial to the both off us.
What sort of engineering was your job ?
 

Henarar

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Somerset
Help! My lack of back fence on my outwintering plot has promoted a mass of rushes on the bottom of the hill. I have no mower and only a loan of a tractor so I rolled them last night, any ideas on what I should do now? Am in conversion to Organic and this 15 acre field is away from main farm so is rested from March to November
Would have been mid 70's when a lime salesman called in, Dad was out in field and the salesman said to him I notice you have some rushes in here, I have some lime that will get rid of them for you all you have to do is put the cows in here after its been limed and washed in and they will eat them down so hard it will kill them if it don't I will give you the lime, Dad had to pay for the lime, guessing it was burnt lime but Dad never said
 

hendrebc

Member
Livestock Farmer
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Took some quick pictures this morning while gathering cattle for our annual TB test (which was clear 🥳 ) if the out wintering field I posted a few days ago.
First picture is one of the ring feeder scars. It's recovering nicely. Second one is a ring feeder scar where dad drove a tractor though it 🤦‍♂️ it's the same story anywhere where the tractor went near mud it made much more mess than the cows did.
Third picture is of where the cows were walking to water. It's quite rough to drive over but will, or should I hope, flatten with a roller when the ground gets soft in the autumn. Should have done it in spring. Don't think it will need anything else doing to it though apart from a roller and maybe some seed on the odd bare patch if there is still bare patches by then.
I'm pretty sure if I had the bales placed out ready and water I could move with the cows then they wouldn't make any mess at all that is anything worth worrying about.
 

Rob Garrett

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Derbyshire UK
Thanks. It’s been bugging me for a few years but I had a sudden wave of fudge it and go do it after reading your holistic plan the other week about being happy in yourself.
plans now are to go self employed and do something from farming to agri machine repairs general engineering odd job type of thing. There’s loads of folk around here need that sort of guy but no one to do it.
Ex to be boss wasn’t surprised and is happy enough that I’d go back and help out on the self employed basis as there is no way anyone can pick my job up in just over a week. But all at my rate. It will probably work out more beneficial to the both off us.
Takes some balls does that, best of luck.

My good lady normally buys the Sunday Times, but sold out so got the Telegraph, I don't understand the politics & just look @ the pictures, but last week that lad Terry Waite (Christian envoy held hostage by Hezbollah for 1,763 days) wrote a few words. After 1,763 days (try getting your head round that!), he came to the conclusion "quality of life is not measured by material possessions - what counts more than anything is to be in harmony with yourself, your neighbor and the world of which we are a part"

Got to say this thread has helped me see that. Thank you KP & all the rest of you, keep talking (& posting them pictures) your changing lives for the better. [emoji275]
 

Karliboy

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
West Yorkshire
55 bales of good dry solid haylage delivered in tonight another 26 coming tomorrow afternoon. I just have to wrap them.
all part of the plan on keeping things simple with the least amount of work ad possible.
only balls ache is carting them a few hundred meters from main road due to big trailers and poor access but 4 at a time soon shifted them
379A9EFF-7A16-43C5-BF66-52E8D8F4A521.jpeg
 

Kiwi Pete

Member
Livestock Farmer
Well in the context of self happiness in my so called holistic plan I today resigned from my engineering career of 20 years.
roll on next Friday for my last day.
Good stuff. An hour or twos' business beats a day of work.
It's more difficult to get value back from an hour working for wages, than if you can used that hour providing a "service" of some description
 

RushesToo

Member
Location
Fingringhoe
Help! My lack of back fence on my outwintering plot has promoted a mass of rushes on the bottom of the hill. I have no mower and only a loan of a tractor so I rolled them last night, any ideas on what I should do now? Am in conversion to Organic and this 15 acre field is away from main farm so is rested from March to November
Pigs would get rid of the rushes but you would need to plan carefully what you did next.
 

SFI - What % were you taking out of production?

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Red Tractor drops launch of green farming scheme amid anger from farmers

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As reported in Independent


quote: “Red Tractor has confirmed it is dropping plans to launch its green farming assurance standard in April“

read the TFF thread here: https://thefarmingforum.co.uk/index.php?threads/gfc-was-to-go-ahead-now-not-going-ahead.405234/
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