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

[Kiwi Pete]

I bought an inline feriliser injector in order to mix liquid kelp and apple cider vinegar to the animals but haven’t used it yet as I am worried about putting anything but water through my water lines. I wonder if I could end up havingunwanted bacterial growth.View attachment 828600
Is a dosatron anything like this?

Dunno, better ask @Kiwi Pete he's just having his morning tea...

Similar principle, we had one of those on our last dairy as they don't cost as much as a Dosatron, to run.
Seaweed can grow in a water system, especially if mixed with other things such as magnesium - I'd ust dose the troughs with a kelp product to be on the safe side, but anything else will be fine.

I'll get a photo of my dosatron.

 

[Kiwi Pete]

I didn't get a photo as the lighting in my workshop is crap.

This is what I have.

Quite precise, you can adjust the % per volume via turning the barrel at the bottom, like a dosing gun.
The larger ones have a big piston that clonks up and down, they don't like grit or sand in the water as it wears out the seal and can score the barrel (it's all plastic inside) but the smaller one like mine is better (we'll have no grit issues thanks to our good supply).

Can just mix up a mineral blend to suit the season, and put it in a drum - like your one @Crofter64 it will draw a couple of metres

 

[Samcowman]

Not sure if this has been posted already worth a watch though

 

[Henarar]

The grass has grown well in this field all year, in fact it seemed to grow well last winter

Anyone else find that some fields will do this maybe for a few years then drop of a bit for no obvious reason

 

[Henarar]

Apartheid alive and well and living on the blackdown hills

 

[Crofter64]

Apartheid alive and well and living on the blackdown hills View attachment 829388

They say animals are colour blind but I have noticed the same thing at my farm.

 

[ShooTa]

just picked out our keepers for the flock - ones got a brown spot - there was some heated discussion as to why it shouldnt go - as its a purebred lleyn - quite interesting.

 

[bitwrx]

Not sure if this has been posted already worth a watch though

Brilliant video, thanks @Samcowman.

Animal growth rate is all about how much residual is left. Making them eat it down low reduces intake. Had forgotten that gem from Voisin.

 

[Farmer Roy]

Harsh country requires hardy cattle

When it comes to breeding cattle in harsh landscapes, you need to be confident of two things: that they're strong in the right genetic traits and that they can still perform if seasonal conditions take a turn for the worse.

www.theland.com.au

 

[Kiwi Pete]

They say animals are colour blind but I have noticed the same thing at my farm.

I've noticed our red friesians tend to stick by themselves, as do the two wee hereford heifer calves (Buddy, the bull calf, just does his own thing )

Funny how they do that!

 

[Kiwi Pete]

Just been out grazing "the long acre" again.
It's got quite cold here, but I suppose this is the time of year for it!

 

[Kiwi Pete]

Saw a couple of surfers while I was there

 

[Kiwi Pete]

The grass has grown well in this field all year, in fact it seemed to grow well last winter View attachment 829387Anyone else find that some fields will do this maybe for a few years then drop of a bit for no obvious reason

I think (not sure) but the best winter fields here have the most "rubbish" left behind in them.
Whether you call it tag, or litter, or residue..
It seems to help keep the soil much warmer and more active when the frosts begin.

Maybe we take this extra growthiness to heart, and then lean on it too hard - so it switches away from regenerative to sustainable, or worse?
I doubt our spring growth will be the same as previous years in some fields, as I know I've fudgeed them up a little over winter, more than I'd like TBH.
However we will possibly have lighter animals on for a couple of years, now the bulls have made their mark.

We should finish the bulk of them by September and then restock with calves, it's all part of a bigger plan than simply trying to maximise our profits - we really needed the extra weight to get the party started, and now we will go with the gentler animals as per @onesiedale's heifers - practically our best option for LWT/ha vs time vs income.

 

[Henarar]

We had two fields that I didn't graze with sheep last winter so they had more cover/rubbish on them going in to the spring both were cut then grazed one has done much better than normal the other about normal


the field in my pic has been doing well for a few years now but there is one over the road from it that was doing the same a few years back growing grass for fun but has now is not so good, perhaps it is that we have pulled to much out because its there to use
something else to about

 

[Kiwi Pete]

We had two fields that I didn't graze with sheep last winter so they had more cover/rubbish on them going in to the spring both were cut then grazed one has done much better than normal the other about normal


the field in my pic has been doing well for a few years now but there is one over the road from it that was doing the same a few years back growing grass for fun but has now is not so good, perhaps it is that we have pulled to much out because its there to use
something else to about

Maybe - it hasn't been left to rest for a while?
Grow it out as a standing hay crop and put dry cows on it once it's all seeded to buggery, and it will regenerate, maybe the tillers are getting tired and it's time for a "free" reseed?
Eventually grazing can just wear the plants down, that's why we're having a spell with no sheep as they can be very harsh tools in small numbers. Easier to manage a thousand sheep than a dozen.

 

[SilliamWhale]

Brilliant video, thanks @Samcowman.

Animal growth rate is all about how much residual is left. Making them eat it down low reduces intake. Had forgotten that gem from Voisin.

Exact opposite of many grazing "experts"

 

[Henarar]

Maybe - it hasn't been left to rest for a while?
Grow it out as a standing hay crop and put dry cows on it once it's all seeded to buggery, and it will regenerate, maybe the tillers are getting tired and it's time for a "free" reseed?
Eventually grazing can just wear the plants down, that's why we're having a spell with no sheep as they can be very harsh tools in small numbers. Easier to manage a thousand sheep than a dozen.

yep was thinking along those lines at the least it needs something pushed in
not sure its the sheep, the winter keep sheep would only be in each field for a week max in good numbers from the start of nov to mid jan to eat it off once then there is nothing in there till its cut in may/june

 

[Henarar]

View attachment 829530
Saw a couple of surfers while I was there

why is the fence set back so far from the road ?

 

[holwellcourtfarm]

why is the fence set back so far from the road ?

Gives the bad/mad/drunk drivers a fighting chance of getting back on the road before they hit it

 

[Kiwi Pete]

why is the fence set back so far from the road ?

"Town" street - I suppose they allow for a verge as well as a footpath, and gutter when they mark them out?

There's about a quarter acre of grazing within 240 yards of the gate, seems silly to put on a mower to cut it when it goes against my sensibilities to do so..