Holistic Grazing event in Berwickshire

[Jungle Bill]

The Farmers Weekly Graze initiative has organised an open day with Charley and Andrea Walker, Abbey Saint Bathans, Berwickshire on 11th March. @Sheila Cooke will also be talking there.

Further information and booking (free) details here:

Grass Management - Agenda - Farmer's Weekly

Graze: a grass management event will take place on the 11th of March, at the Scottish Borders, on the farm run Charley and Andrea Walker, winners of Farmers Weekly Awards 2019 Grassland Farmers of the year. By running an all grass and forage system and outwintering stock on deferred grass, they...

www.fwi.co.uk

It would be a chance for some of us to meet up, I’ve heard Charley talk and it should be a good day.

 

[Sheila Cooke]

The Farmers Weekly Graze initiative has organised an open day with Charley and Andrea Walker, Abbey Saint Bathans, Berwickshire on 11th March. @Sheila Cooke will also be talking there.

Further information and booking (free) details here:

Grass Management - Agenda - Farmer's Weekly

Graze: a grass management event will take place on the 11th of March, at the Scottish Borders, on the farm run Charley and Andrea Walker, winners of Farmers Weekly Awards 2019 Grassland Farmers of the year. By running an all grass and forage system and outwintering stock on deferred grass, they...

www.fwi.co.uk

It would be a chance for some of us to meet up, I’ve heard Charley talk and it should be a good day.

Thanks for mentioning this Jungle Bill. I am looking forward to meeting Charley, seeing his farm, and having a chance to speak with people about what is possible with holistic planned grazing.

 

[ShooTa]

ooh excellent.

 

[Woolless]

This isn't far from me and I would love to go. Must try and get a day off work.

I know the Walkers do a great job of rotational grazing. Wasn't aware they would be classed as holistic? Just listened to the second part of the pasture podcast featuring them and it is excellent ?

 

[Jungle Bill]

This isn't far from me and I would love to go. Must try and get a day off work.

I know the Walkers do a great job of rotational grazing. Wasn't aware they would be classed as holistic? Just listened to the second part of the pasture podcast featuring them and it is excellent [emoji106]

They say they are grazing holistically in the FW details for the day and from what I heard in their talk at a Soil Association talk last year they are seeing, thinking and making decisions holistically.
@Sheila Cooke will also be giving a talk on holistic planned grazing so there will be a strong holistic element to the day.
Allan Savory says you can no more manage a little bit holistically than you can be a little bit pregnant and I think we will see undeniable signs of holism at Barnside, and after all holistic thinking is a journey rather than a destination.

 

[Sheila Cooke]

This isn't far from me and I would love to go. Must try and get a day off work.

I know the Walkers do a great job of rotational grazing. Wasn't aware they would be classed as holistic? Just listened to the second part of the pasture podcast featuring them and it is excellent ?

Where do I get the pasture podcast? I would like to hear it too.

 

[Woolless]

Where do I get the pasture podcast? I would like to hear it too.

Just Google 'pasture pod podcast' or it is available on i-tunes I think. There's 12 in total and the Walkers feature in a double-header.

Trying to get a day off work so that I can come along on the 11th. Fingers crossed!

 

[Sheila Cooke]

Just Google 'pasture pod podcast' or it is available on i-tunes I think. There's 12 in total and the Walkers feature in a double-header.

Trying to get a day off work so that I can come along on the 11th. Fingers crossed!

Thanks! I spoke with the organisers today and they are limiting to 70 farmers, and are nearly full, so please register soon if you plan to go!

 

[Woolless]

Thanks! I spoke with the organisers today and they are limiting to 70 farmers, and are nearly full, so please register soon if you plan to go!

Right, I've registered. Didn't want to get day off and then be sitting twiddling my thumbs! Now just need my boss to play ball. Oh for an end to wage slavery!

 

[ShooTa]

signed up - hope everything works out for it as its a heck of a mission up norf.

 

[Sheila Cooke]

signed up - hope everything works out for it as its a heck of a mission up norf.

Very happy to hear you're coming! Hey, for any TFF people attending the event, please introduce yourself to me. I love meeting you in person!!!

 

[Jungle Bill]

Sadly I’ve had to cancel going to this because of a colitis flare up,hope you all have an interesting day.

 

[Sheila Cooke]

Sadly I’ve had to cancel going to this because of a colitis flare up,hope you all have an interesting day.

Take care @Jungle Bill. We'll miss you.

 

[Woolless]

A very interesting day at Barnside, set in the scenic Lammermuirs. This is the third time I've been at an event there and you always come away knowing more than you did when you arrived. Nice to have some 'facetime' with @Sheila Cooke and @ShooTa. And a deer farming lurker. You know who you are

Anyway, my learning points were:

-To get most benefit from these types of planned/rotational grazing systems, you want big mobs of commercial animals. The Walkers run 110 cows in one bulling group to this end and all 500 ewes are tupped in a big mob. If you're precious about pedigrees and genetics are important to you, you won't get quite as much out (but it will still be an improvement). Even better if you're happy to trade stock, as @Kiwi Pete does, which again could make it difficult to maintain the health status of any capital stock.
-The consumer will push us down the sustainable/regenerative, high welfare road, if we're not already heading that way ourselves.
-Tall grass/holistic planned grazing has great potential with cattle but I think it would be a brave shepherd that tried it with sheep alone. The 3LM presentation sounded almost too good to be true, 200+% increase in margin plus all the environmental benefits. BUT we've had our little green Anzac troll telling us the same for some time, plus all the other hippies on the grazing thread , so it has to be taken seriously.
-If I plant a forage crop again, it will probably be kale.

 

[exmoor dave]

A very interesting day at Barnside, set in the scenic Lammermuirs. This is the third time I've been at an event there and you always come away knowing more than you did when you arrived. Nice to have some 'facetime' with @Sheila Cooke and @ShooTa. And a deer farming lurker. You know who you are

Anyway, my learning points were:

-To get most benefit from these types of planned/rotational grazing systems, you want big mobs of commercial animals. The Walkers run 110 cows in one bulling group to this end and all 500 ewes are tupped in a big mob. If you're precious about pedigrees and genetics are important to you, you won't get quite as much out (but it will still be an improvement). Even better if you're happy to trade stock, as @Kiwi Pete does, which again could make it difficult to maintain the health status of any capital stock.
-The consumer will push us down the sustainable/regenerative, high welfare road, if we're not already heading that way ourselves.
-Tall grass/holistic planned grazing has great potential with cattle but I think it would be a brave shepherd that tried it with sheep alone. The 3LM presentation sounded almost too good to be true, 200+% increase in margin plus all the environmental benefits. BUT we've had our little green Anzac troll telling us the same for some time, plus all the other hippies on the grazing thread , so it has to be taken seriously.
-If I plant a forage crop again, it will probably be kale.

Out of interest, why kale over other crops?
(Sheep or cattle to graze it?)

 

[Woolless]

Out of interest, why kale over other crops?
(Sheep or cattle to graze it?)

Same establishment cost as forage rape (£300/ha quoted) but about twice the dry matter (4-5 vs 8-10) and winter hardy.

 

[Kiwi Pete]

A very interesting day at Barnside, set in the scenic Lammermuirs. This is the third time I've been at an event there and you always come away knowing more than you did when you arrived. Nice to have some 'facetime' with @Sheila Cooke and @ShooTa. And a deer farming lurker. You know who you are

Anyway, my learning points were:

-To get most benefit from these types of planned/rotational grazing systems, you want big mobs of commercial animals. The Walkers run 110 cows in one bulling group to this end and all 500 ewes are tupped in a big mob. If you're precious about pedigrees and genetics are important to you, you won't get quite as much out (but it will still be an improvement). Even better if you're happy to trade stock, as @Kiwi Pete does, which again could make it difficult to maintain the health status of any capital stock.
-The consumer will push us down the sustainable/regenerative, high welfare road, if we're not already heading that way ourselves.
-Tall grass/holistic planned grazing has great potential with cattle but I think it would be a brave shepherd that tried it with sheep alone. The 3LM presentation sounded almost too good to be true, 200+% increase in margin plus all the environmental benefits. BUT we've had our little green Anzac troll telling us the same for some time, plus all the other hippies on the grazing thread , so it has to be taken seriously.
-If I plant a forage crop again, it will probably be kale.

Cheers, ears! ?

Most departures of the mind from within the box others placed it are extremely worthwhile.
As I attempted to explain on another thread, as a bare-legged schoolboy I was able to generate over $5500/cow margin in a year, grazing an old reserve by a riverbank full of brush and willow regen. and fostering on batches of calves.

Rattling your cage only gets you so far!

Glad you had a good day out

 

[Sheila Cooke]

A very interesting day at Barnside, set in the scenic Lammermuirs. This is the third time I've been at an event there and you always come away knowing more than you did when you arrived. Nice to have some 'facetime' with @Sheila Cooke and @ShooTa. And a deer farming lurker. You know who you are

Anyway, my learning points were:

-To get most benefit from these types of planned/rotational grazing systems, you want big mobs of commercial animals. The Walkers run 110 cows in one bulling group to this end and all 500 ewes are tupped in a big mob. If you're precious about pedigrees and genetics are important to you, you won't get quite as much out (but it will still be an improvement). Even better if you're happy to trade stock, as @Kiwi Pete does, which again could make it difficult to maintain the health status of any capital stock.
-The consumer will push us down the sustainable/regenerative, high welfare road, if we're not already heading that way ourselves.
-Tall grass/holistic planned grazing has great potential with cattle but I think it would be a brave shepherd that tried it with sheep alone. The 3LM presentation sounded almost too good to be true, 200+% increase in margin plus all the environmental benefits. BUT we've had our little green Anzac troll telling us the same for some time, plus all the other hippies on the grazing thread , so it has to be taken seriously.
-If I plant a forage crop again, it will probably be kale.

It was really fun to meet @Woolless, @ShooTa and our lurker, who grows deer, yesterday.

There are many people all over the world who manage only sheep holistically. One of the people we trained has herded thousands of sheep in France holistically. Here is one of his videos.

Fernhill Farm in Cheddar Gorge, near Bristol are also using Holistic Management for their thousands of sheep. The short video below shows images of their sheep, fencing and grass.

FERNHILL FIBRE

Join the web’s most supportive community of creators and get high-quality tools for hosting, sharing, and streaming videos in gorgeous HD and 4K with no ads.

vimeo.com

 

[Woolless]

It was really fun to meet @Woolless, @ShooTa and our lurker, who grows deer, yesterday.

There are many people all over the world who manage only sheep holistically. One of the people we trained has herded thousands of sheep in France holistically. Here is one of his videos.

Fernhill Farm in Cheddar Gorge, near Bristol are also using Holistic Management for their thousands of sheep. The short video below shows images of their sheep, fencing and grass.

FERNHILL FIBRE

Join the web’s most supportive community of creators and get high-quality tools for hosting, sharing, and streaming videos in gorgeous HD and 4K with no ads.

vimeo.com

Thank you Sheila. I'll have a look at them when I get the chance

 

[onesiedale]

A very interesting day at Barnside, set in the scenic Lammermuirs. This is the third time I've been at an event there and you always come away knowing more than you did when you arrived. Nice to have some 'facetime' with @Sheila Cooke and @ShooTa. And a deer farming lurker. You know who you are

Anyway, my learning points were:

-To get most benefit from these types of planned/rotational grazing systems, you want big mobs of commercial animals. The Walkers run 110 cows in one bulling group to this end and all 500 ewes are tupped in a big mob. If you're precious about pedigrees and genetics are important to you, you won't get quite as much out (but it will still be an improvement). Even better if you're happy to trade stock, as @Kiwi Pete does, which again could make it difficult to maintain the health status of any capital stock.
-The consumer will push us down the sustainable/regenerative, high welfare road, if we're not already heading that way ourselves.
-Tall grass/holistic planned grazing has great potential with cattle but I think it would be a brave shepherd that tried it with sheep alone. The 3LM presentation sounded almost too good to be true, 200+% increase in margin plus all the environmental benefits. BUT we've had our little green Anzac troll telling us the same for some time, plus all the other hippies on the grazing thread , so it has to be taken seriously.
-If I plant a forage crop again, it will probably be kale.

We've found that kale and bales probably works the best of the forage crops for our heifers. However this winter has prompted me to take a more serious look at deferred grass with bales on.
The stock were so much happier on it this winter (as was I moving the fences and water!) The ground seems to have come out of the winter much better. The key thing I need to do though is build a bigger cover ahead of the winter.