- Location
- Derbyshire
Are you able to keep them behind a wire on reasonably small breaks?
Luckily I get a high protein feed block from The Hen Harrier Project (Conservation project), works great for mature stock but young stock did not thrive that well last year even with free access to blocksAny way of giving the youngstock a protein lick or similar, feed the bugs to digest the poor quality roughage?
They are good with this as long as I don’t skimp on pigtailsAre you able to keep them behind a wire on reasonably small breaks?
@JohnGalway has posted about his molinia and said he found it really useful as it grew so early in the season, For extensive hill ground i think i'd agree I, suspect in some cases it may be as well to just better manage the Molinia to keep it palatable and work towards gradual change rather than concentrating on trying to remove it.
True its a brilliant grower this time of year but my problem is from late September when it dies & I have to start feeding bales way too early. Do you have other grasses that come through then?Stuff I'm reading on EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 I'm not sure we'll have to be worried about grazing in the future on lands suitable for molinia.
I found it a lifesaver this year. The mat grasses weren't growing. But even with having 150 ewes in since mid feb, and 60 before that since last year, the molinia grew at a pace the ewes couldn't keep up with. Not sure I want to change that option, as half a loaf is better than no bread.
True its a brilliant grower this time of year but my problem is from late September when it dies & I have to start feeding bales way too early. Do you have other grasses that come through then?
I was actually down at Joe Condon's 2 years ago, great guy, big commonage down there & his cattle were out on it with sheep at end of March. Inspirational the stuff they were eating & cows carrying calves on;I'm only starting down this road myself as yet. If you listen to the outthegap podcast with Joe Condon, he explains how he runs Galloway cattle on the Waterford Tipp border. From memory he was grazing the hills in Summer, then the fenced land during Winter.
The idea of HPG would be to move slowly during slow growth, and move fast during fast growth and give proper recovery times - there's a lot more to it than that but that's the basic gist of extending your grazing year. Like you say, molinia will die off so be of no use really after September. Perhaps you can make use of it while it' in it's growth phase, and use that strategy to rest other areas.
My farm is coming from a place of partial rest (overgrazing and weeds due to set stocking). So it's going to be a bumpy ride here for a fair while.
I was actually down at Joe Condon's 2 years ago, great guy, big commonage down there & his cattle were out on it with sheep at end of March. Inspirational the stuff they were eating & cows carrying calves on;
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Cheers Pete that was my morning milking seminar ?
You can see why I'm reluctant to "define" anything, or regulate regenerative agriculture now?Cheers Pete that was my morning milking seminar ?
That's looks nice. I love that woodland pasture look.View attachment 882350View attachment 882351View attachment 882352put the sheep in here this afternoon, plenty of cover, been rested since February, some nice shade for them in this hot weather under the apple trees
That's what I wish I had. Takes either a lot of time or money to "get it like that"View attachment 882350View attachment 882351View attachment 882352put the sheep in here this afternoon, plenty of cover, been rested since February, some nice shade for them in this hot weather under the apple trees
That's looks nice. I love that woodland pasture look.
Its not ours its on what once was a farm up the road, previous owner planted the apple trees, a lot have been in about 12 years, not sure when the ones in the photo were planted though, there are other trees in one corner as well and even a rope swing if the lambs want to play. the thing is nothing is done with a lot of the apples so the sheep get them as well.That's what I wish I had. Takes either a lot of time or money to "get it like that"
Well done, a lot of farmers neglect to put in rope swings for lambs to play on, a happy lamb is a growing lambIts not ours its on what once was a farm up the road, previous owner planted the apple trees, a lot have been in about 12 years, not sure when the ones in the photo were planted though, there are other trees in one corner as well and even a rope swing if the lambs want to play. the thing is nothing is done with a lot of the apples so the sheep get them as well.
Its only about an acre but its a job to count the 55 sheep we put in there