5 acre regenerative pasture experiment

[TedMS]

I have about 5 acres of badly managed pasture which I am looking to put into a more diverse regenerative/conservation grazing system. The field was put into a 3 year grass ley about 15 years ago. It is split into drought prone sand consisting mainly of very unproductive ryegrass and ragwort and a more diverse but very weedy end on a silty soil which regularly floods.

I am looking to move the field into a more diverse regenerative/conservation grazing system. I appreciate both parts of the field are going to require a different approach, but I would like to establish a long term low input grazing ley with a diverse sward, based around legumes, herbs and grasses. This would hopefully address the drought, improve soil health, improve our cattle's diet, benefit the birds and bees, sequester carbon and be an interesting experiment.

The field will be grazed by low stocking numbers of cattle and occasionally sheep. It will not be required to be cut for feed, but can be as a management tool. The soil structure is good in the top inch.

The problem is I am not sure how best to approach it, the options I am considering at the moment (open to suggestions) are:

Trim the existing grass as short as possible, harrow aggressively, broadcast seed, roll and hope

Plough, harrow, broadcast seed and roll - I don’t want to smash the structure I have in order to get good seed/soil contact.

The biggest issue I foresee is having a wireworm problem, I have found a couple every time i’ve dug a hole in the field, but also getting the seed mix wrong, weed control in a diverse mixture, and having a limited lifespan before reverting back to the current situation in 5 years or so.

Help or suggestions appreciated.

 

[holwellcourtfarm]

I have about 5 acres of badly managed pasture which I am looking to put into a more diverse regenerative/conservation grazing system. The field was put into a 3 year grass ley about 15 years ago. It is split into drought prone sand consisting mainly of very unproductive ryegrass and ragwort and a more diverse but very weedy end on a silty soil which regularly floods.

I am looking to move the field into a more diverse regenerative/conservation grazing system. I appreciate both parts of the field are going to require a different approach, but I would like to establish a long term low input grazing ley with a diverse sward, based around legumes, herbs and grasses. This would hopefully address the drought, improve soil health, improve our cattle's diet, benefit the birds and bees, sequester carbon and be an interesting experiment.

The field will be grazed by low stocking numbers of cattle and occasionally sheep. It will not be required to be cut for feed, but can be as a management tool. The soil structure is good in the top inch.

The problem is I am not sure how best to approach it, the options I am considering at the moment (open to suggestions) are:

Trim the existing grass as short as possible, harrow aggressively, broadcast seed, roll and hope

Plough, harrow, broadcast seed and roll - I don’t want to smash the structure I have in order to get good seed/soil contact.

The biggest issue I foresee is having a wireworm problem, I have found a couple every time i’ve dug a hole in the field, but also getting the seed mix wrong, weed control in a diverse mixture, and having a limited lifespan before reverting back to the current situation in 5 years or so.

Help or suggestions appreciated.

Changing the management is key if you want to change the result. Talking of low stocking numbers worries me as you could well over rest / overgraze it. Your expensive herbal seed would then be wasted.

Are you up for high density mob grazing? (It doesn't have to be many animals, just bunch them tightly and rest the land well after they've grazed it).

 

[Ffermer Bach]

I would agree with the post above, electric fence the field into a couple of paddocks, then mob graze them a couple of times during the season, while managing the rest of the farm as per normal and watch the changes to the sward/soil structure and if it is positive extend that grazing system over more of the farm. As above, set stocking will tend to both over and undergraze at the same time as well as set the conditions to discourage productive species.

 

[JohnGalway]

I'd bale graze the sandy bit if it's suitable (access etc), if you source the right bales they'll have seed in them and the ahem "wasted" hay will help with organic matter. Check out Rob Havard on YouTube, he makes bales from wild flower meadows, lets it go to seed before baling then transports that seed into other fields via the bales. I'd also go the other direction and use high stocking density but for very short duration and give it the appropriate rest period (observation). Low density &/or extensive won't get you to where you want to go.

 

[TedMS]

Thank you all for your responses.
We could probably split the field into four paddocks and rotate the grazing, although it wouldn't quite be mob grazing. Perhaps rolling and topping could be used following grazing and before resting to help the process?
Increasing stock numbers is also something which we would consider, up until now cattle have been kept purely for our own consumption however we are considering bringing in some store cattle each year which would bolster the numbers.
Bale grazing sounds interesting, not something that i have ever come across, I shall look into it.

 

[Still Farming]

@Great In Grass possibly too

 

[holwellcourtfarm]

Thank you all for your responses.
We could probably split the field into four paddocks and rotate the grazing, although it wouldn't quite be mob grazing. Perhaps rolling and topping could be used following grazing and before resting to help the process?
Increasing stock numbers is also something which we would consider, up until now cattle have been kept purely for our own consumption however we are considering bringing in some store cattle each year which would bolster the numbers.
Bale grazing sounds interesting, not something that i have ever come across, I shall look into it.

4 paddocks is nowhere near enough for what you want to achieve. The most important bit is how long the grass gets to regrow before being grazed again. This varies with grass growth rate through the season but could be as much as 70 days. The next most important bit is not letting them regraze grass that's started to regrow after a first grazing. In fast growing periods this could be as little as 3 days. That leaves you needing LOTS of small paddocks, easiest done with electric fencing.

If you want to understand the idea try reading any of these:

Holistic Management by Allan Savory and Jody Butterfield.
Grass Productivity: An introduction to rational grazing by Andre Voisin
The art and science of grazing by Sarah Flack.

 

[ShooTa]

poultry for the wireworm issue?>

 

[Kiwi Pete]

Changing the management is key if you want to change the result. Talking of low stocking numbers worries me as you could well over rest / overgraze it. Your expensive herbal seed would then be wasted.

Are you up for high density mob grazing? (It doesn't have to be many animals, just bunch them tightly and rest the land well after they've grazed it).

Or the other tack - don't worry too much about subdivisions, just rest it and then graze it with all the stock you have, then rest it again

Pretend it's a hay field

Pretend it's someone else's field and they only have 3 weekends a year that they leave their farm

Pretend it's a bit of roadside verge and "it's just a hassle to graze it"

The reason pasture "turns to crap" is because it's too easy to put livestock there, usually.

This eats into the rest it gets per year.. so the better plants disappear.
Aim for something like 360 days per year that nothing is in there and they'll come back (for free)