- Location
- Owaka, New Zealand
"Improving Our Lot" - Planned Holistic Grazing, for starters..
- Thread starter Kiwi Pete
- Start date
- Location
- Owaka, New Zealand
Photo would help
Don't surprise me.
We have a small field in our main block that always looks better than the others looking from a distance, I think its because its small the cattle are never in there long but give it a good trample when they are, it also gets hell from the keep sheep as the density is so high and it can lie wet, it was the last one grazed this winter when I was itching to get the keep sheep gone cos it turned so wet, be interesting to see what gives, not been out to look at it yet but it looks a bloody mess from a distance
- Location
- Owaka, New Zealand
it certainly doesn't look like a seed brochure, however there's an incredible amount of feed in this stuff, and so easy to mash down flat with a bit of pressure / density
just as well, because we've got lots of it.. will probably be a quite a long round
Looks like the sort of weed we have here, so difficult to grow in it
rubbish though, you will never get fat spherical cows with thattim@marford
Member
- Location
- Hertfordshire
Not been here for a bit! That is down to *The Ruminant* of this very forumtim@marford I noticed a herd of Herefords being grazed in a tight cell as I passed yesterday. Are you experimenting with cell grazing?
The dung distribution looked fantastic.
Shows up well on Google Earth currently.
Fenwick
Member
- Location
- Bretagne France
16 days in and i have already have had enough of winter. Bring on the tall grass, bring on spring!
- Location
- Owaka, New Zealand
It works ok, I wouldn't do it after seeing what you guys are expected to pay for "herbal ley mixes", would be more inclined to undersow something cheap and simple like IRG/Rape because you do tend to get "holes" in it and places it gets smothered by the W/C
in other places it can beat the W/C which is no big deal
- Location
- Owaka, New Zealand
In saying that, if you are prepared to go much lighter on your W/C seedrate, then it can work very well, but you lose tonnage
Looking to double up by using whole crop which I would anyway whilst getting stewardship payment for it then being able to outwinter on it.
I was thinking the herbal key for the diversity aspect but a few things cheap and cheerful will probably be easier and nothing lost to turn it around if needed in the spring.
I was thinking the herbal key for the diversity aspect but a few things cheap and cheerful will probably be easier and nothing lost to turn it around if needed in the spring.
- Location
- somerset
sowing w/r clover, under, or spinning on rape seed pre-harvest.
we find chicory grows like a weed, but could go well with w/crop
the £58/ha, for putting 15% of farm into diverse leys, looks interesting, as we are moving that way, depends on what the 'definition' of a herbal mix is, will probably be cheaper to mix ourselves, seed merchants will 'up' the price of bespoke mixes.
Interesting question, prior to ww2, a lot of work was put into building up the soil fertility, through crops/rotation etc, which was rapidly replaced by cheap and easy ferts etc, wonder how far that research could have got, if carried on. Quite sure many believe that anything other than fert, is a backward step, unless you are organic.
While regen or holistic, is following those principles of soil fertility, 40 or 50 years, of intensive proper trials, and research work, may have come up with some worthwhile results, to late now of course, something for the future generations.
we find chicory grows like a weed, but could go well with w/crop
the £58/ha, for putting 15% of farm into diverse leys, looks interesting, as we are moving that way, depends on what the 'definition' of a herbal mix is, will probably be cheaper to mix ourselves, seed merchants will 'up' the price of bespoke mixes.
Interesting question, prior to ww2, a lot of work was put into building up the soil fertility, through crops/rotation etc, which was rapidly replaced by cheap and easy ferts etc, wonder how far that research could have got, if carried on. Quite sure many believe that anything other than fert, is a backward step, unless you are organic.
While regen or holistic, is following those principles of soil fertility, 40 or 50 years, of intensive proper trials, and research work, may have come up with some worthwhile results, to late now of course, something for the future generations.
- Location
- Owaka, New Zealand
Lots of people also can't see the benefit of any plants on the landscape that they didn't put there... today I measured 24°C of difference in soil temperature, 2 metres apart - that's the beauty of the things the stock leave behind them, however you can't always get people to step outside the stories they have told themselves for years and have a look
- Location
- Owaka, New Zealand
“ In Washington DC, at a Metro Station, on a cold January morning in 2007, a man with a violin played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, approximately 2000 people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.
After about four minutes, a middle-aged man noticed that there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds, and then he hurried on to meet his schedule.
About four minutes later, the violinist received his first dollar. A woman threw money in the hat and, without stopping, continued to walk.
At six minutes, a young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then looked at his watch and started to walk again.
At ten minutes, a three-year old boy stopped, but his mother tugged him along hurriedly. The kid stopped to look at the violinist again, but the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk, turning his head the whole time. This action was repeated by several other children, but every parent - without exception - forced their children to move on quickly.
At forty-five minutes: The musician played continuously. Only six people stopped and listened for a short while. About twenty gave money but continued to walk at their normal pace. The man collected a total of $32.
After one hour:
He finished playing and silence took over. No one noticed and no one applauded. There was no recognition at all.
No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the greatest musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, with a violin worth $3.5 million dollars. Two days before, Joshua Bell sold-out a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100 each to sit and listen to him play the same music.
This is a true story. Joshua Bell, playing incognito in the D.C. Metro Station, was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and people’s priorities.
This experiment raised several questions:
In a common-place environment, at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty?
If so, do we stop to appreciate it?
Do we recognize talent in an unexpected context?
One possible conclusion reached from this experiment could be this:
If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world, playing some of the finest music ever written, with one of the most beautiful instruments ever made…
How many other things are we missing as we rush through life?”
After about four minutes, a middle-aged man noticed that there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds, and then he hurried on to meet his schedule.
About four minutes later, the violinist received his first dollar. A woman threw money in the hat and, without stopping, continued to walk.
At six minutes, a young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then looked at his watch and started to walk again.
At ten minutes, a three-year old boy stopped, but his mother tugged him along hurriedly. The kid stopped to look at the violinist again, but the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk, turning his head the whole time. This action was repeated by several other children, but every parent - without exception - forced their children to move on quickly.
At forty-five minutes: The musician played continuously. Only six people stopped and listened for a short while. About twenty gave money but continued to walk at their normal pace. The man collected a total of $32.
After one hour:
He finished playing and silence took over. No one noticed and no one applauded. There was no recognition at all.
No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the greatest musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, with a violin worth $3.5 million dollars. Two days before, Joshua Bell sold-out a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100 each to sit and listen to him play the same music.
This is a true story. Joshua Bell, playing incognito in the D.C. Metro Station, was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and people’s priorities.
This experiment raised several questions:
In a common-place environment, at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty?
If so, do we stop to appreciate it?
Do we recognize talent in an unexpected context?
One possible conclusion reached from this experiment could be this:
If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world, playing some of the finest music ever written, with one of the most beautiful instruments ever made…
How many other things are we missing as we rush through life?”
I'd probably keep walking as well. But Jimmy page playing guitar I would happily be late for work
- Location
- somerset
not told themselves rather, been told/taught for years.
When l went to college, l cannot recall much other than fert/ sprays maxing yield. If organic farming was taught, must have been a quick lecture, 'cos l cannot remember it !
We undersowed herbal ley under some spring oats and it came well, but didn't look that strong immediately post-harvest, but it romped away in the autumn. I wouldn't have wanted to graze it at all hard that year, in fact left it till spring. If anyone came to the cattle move at Groundswell last year, that was how that field was established.
I'd have thought whole-crop might be better as you'd harvest it before spring oats...all slightly depends how dense your whole-crop is, you want some light and moisture at ground level for the herbal ley to get going.
- Location
- Derbyshire
Walwyn
Member
- Location
- West Wales
Do you want the wholecrop or a nurse crop for your ley? Planning on trying some annuals in with a herbal ley this spring, not sure yet if we'll cut it or graze it first. Other thought is chuck all the non grass diversity and annuals in in spring then drill grasses in late summer after grazing.
- Location
- somerset
l let that whole field out to a neighbour, to grow maize, years ago. Not sure what his spray programme was, but the whole 28 acre field, was full of 'wild' plantain, once the maize was off. Tack sheep, would spend part of everyday, picking over that plantain.I think the starlings sh!t all the seeds out after eating them at your neighbours
Now fenced that steep bank, 9 acres, off, young lads, on massive tractors, silageing, stopped treating it with the respect it needed, for safe working, it really is steep.
Don't think any of my neighbours have herbal leys for those bloody starlings to shite out here, but l would dearly love to know why they avoid us, not complaining though !