- Location
- Quebec, Canada
Cheap also! just takes a bit of planning.
"Improving Our Lot" - Planned Holistic Grazing, for starters..
- Thread starter Kiwi Pete
- Start date
- Location
- Glen Clova, Angus, DD8 4RD
What we are all really doing by spending money on inputs is trying to buy time. If time's not a constraint miracles can be worked cheaply.
- Location
- Quebec, Canada
I find that if I initially electrify the back fence and then skip it later they don’t go near it. Its all about training
- Location
- Owaka, New Zealand
Into rain mode again
Nice and warm so far, and a good soak, over the bank we go tomorrow and next
Nice and warm so far, and a good soak, over the bank we go tomorrow and next
- Location
- Owaka, New Zealand
Good call, one key is buying 'lasting' inputs rather than relying on annual ones
Do zero-cost accounting, see how that works out
Whitewalker
Member
They have eaten 2 fields with an electrified back fence yet 1 day switched off and it’s chewed through!!
- Location
- Derbyshire UK
Sounds like a great opportunity to play with some of the tools these holistic boys are using. Would strongly suggest having a butchers at the basic thinking behind it all before you start, (Ecosystem processes, holistic perspective, time/rest etc etc). Google "Alan Savory", the nice boys & girls on here may have some good links/reading suggestions. L4M run some good courses.
Don't be put off by the elephants and everyone wearing cowboy hats! Just use your farmer logic to pick the bits that might work for you i.e. a ruck of beast's grazed right tight on long grass, the accumulation of sh1t alone is going to add some fertility. It's a fun/scary journey of learning once you get going, the Herbert's on here, sorry experts! Are always there if you get stuck. Good luck.
- Location
- Derbyshire
Late evening walk across a far paddock grazed 22 days ago and there's loads of these coming through; PlantNet is matching them to an orchid, just can't decide which one. Any ideas??
- Location
- Owaka, New Zealand
64mm so far...
- Location
- Owaka, New Zealand
Pretty proud of the state of our creek below the mob this morning
not even a tinge of colour and tastes sweet (but bloody cold)
- Location
- Glen Clova, Angus, DD8 4RD
243mm YTD here.....64mm so far...
- Location
- Owaka, New Zealand
24 hours' worth
YTD: 50% of our rainfall has fallen in the space of 90 hours, in two rain events, 6 months apart; otherwise we'd be about the same as eternally sunny Hertfordshire!
- Location
- Glen Clova, Angus, DD8 4RD
Our total includes 36mm which fell in one day last month.
- Location
- Owaka, New Zealand
It's funny how it happens like that, more and more.
We made the exec decision to pull the cattle off the grass and put them under the roof, as much as I like to push things along it's a little too risky especially with the winds they're talking after the snow blows through; would rather they were shut in the dry than only a power-cut shy of trampling their next month's feed.
I'm going to dismantle their lane and set the next one up at a right angle, so they graze their way along the bank back to where they were, while the ground is so nice and soft I can turn it into 'fibre reinforced topsoil' and give the worms something to do for the next few months.
We made the exec decision to pull the cattle off the grass and put them under the roof, as much as I like to push things along it's a little too risky especially with the winds they're talking after the snow blows through; would rather they were shut in the dry than only a power-cut shy of trampling their next month's feed.
I'm going to dismantle their lane and set the next one up at a right angle, so they graze their way along the bank back to where they were, while the ground is so nice and soft I can turn it into 'fibre reinforced topsoil' and give the worms something to do for the next few months.
Durry cows
Member
- Location
- Derbyshire
Out of interest have you tested soil organic matters Pete? And a bit like gabe brown have you looked in to water infiltration? Interesting with all that rain and you’re water course is crystal clear nice work
- Location
- Owaka, New Zealand
Yes to both of those
I don't really "trust" soil testing absolutely as far as OM or SOC goes as you're really only taking a momentary snapshot of a cycle - a bit like looking at my photo above and "assuming" that it's wet here all the time.
But, OM is a bit better than 8% here across the area, some parts higher than that by quite a margin.
Infiltration is the big one for us as without it we are screwed, and that's really what it was when we bought the place.
One particular sampling spot only took 7mm/hr but most were 9-15mm/hr, absolutely hopeless. As luck would have it, our first year we ran totally understocked and just took a silage cut (so really, a very long rest/fallow) and that helped the infiltration a lot.
Then we worked on getting our grazing speed matched to the grass growth, then worked on getting the density up, then get the stocking rate matched to what we can run, and then get them all working together.
Now we have brilliant infiltration rates, worst bit from the first time is still the worst at 165mm/hr but 95% of the land can handle better than 200mm/hr now.
I'm hoping that the covercrop + high density AMP grazing will make a big difference in years to come, I'll grab @Henarar a photo tomorrow of the bit we muddied up the other day but it's like a big spongey mush.
You could probably get around it in Sarah's car if you went between downpours.
- Location
- Isle of Skye
A common spotted orchid or moorland spotted orchid I think, If it has brown spots on leaves.
Any over the fence photos of the neighbours creeks?
- Location
- Glen Clova, Angus, DD8 4RD
Just about every self-obsessed soil scientist will tell you that's impossible, clearly fake newsYes to both of those
I don't really "trust" soil testing absolutely as far as OM or SOC goes as you're really only taking a momentary snapshot of a cycle - a bit like looking at my photo above and "assuming" that it's wet here all the time.
But, OM is a bit better than 8% here across the area, some parts higher than that by quite a margin.
Infiltration is the big one for us as without it we are screwed, and that's really what it was when we bought the place.
One particular sampling spot only took 7mm/hr but most were 9-15mm/hr, absolutely hopeless. As luck would have it, our first year we ran totally understocked and just took a silage cut (so really, a very long rest/fallow) and that helped the infiltration a lot.
Then we worked on getting our grazing speed matched to the grass growth, then worked on getting the density up, then get the stocking rate matched to what we can run, and then get them all working together.
Now we have brilliant infiltration rates, worst bit from the first time is still the worst at 165mm/hr but 95% of the land can handle better than 200mm/hr now.
I'm hoping that the covercrop + high density AMP grazing will make a big difference in years to come, I'll grab @Henarar a photo tomorrow of the bit we muddied up the other day but it's like a big spongey mush.
You could probably get around it in Sarah's car if you went between downpours.
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