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

som farmer

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
somerset
hays nice to handle, usually smells lovely, and doesn't leave a lingering smell on your hands.
first memories of feeding hay, used to load up a trailor, little bales, all cut at the knots, dad had a cash outlet, for stringing tomatoes up, and throwing it out, flap by flap, across the field, hard weather, 1 bale of straw in case water frozen, then a match if needed. Whatever one says about little bales, they were easy to use, with less wastage than big bales. Used to make 5/6,000 a year for the horse market, flat 8, and telehandler, they made the job easy, they came to late. Had the privilege/not, of combining 18 acres of timothy, as a student, dead slow, drum flat-out, and no cab, once was bad enough, but 4/5 days after 1st pass, you did it again, 2nd time was dustier. Then baled, wire tied, hauled to barn. That was the year they lost the contract for elephant feed. So we had to feed these wire tied steel wool bales, awful stuff, the cows loved it !
 

Crofter64

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Quebec, Canada
That's some weather! Have you got cows in the shed now?
No, they live outside all year with access to shelter. Warm water is always available but otherwise theyhave to keep themselves warm. They were enjoying the sun today.
B6D37A60-9583-460D-AEA1-A05D5AB7269D.jpeg
CF2146FA-1A1F-42DC-98DB-A9208BCFC055.jpeg
 

Rob Garrett

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Derbyshire UK
No, they live outside all year with access to shelter. Warm water is always available but otherwise theyhave to keep themselves warm. They were enjoying the sun today.View attachment 938851View attachment 938852
-28c, cattle are amazing sticking that, you would think sheep are better designed for cold. Dry & frozen weather, stock seem happy enough, it's just the prolonged wet & cold here that makes them miserable. How do you get warm water to them? I like @somfarmer idea of straw & box of matches!
 

holwellcourtfarm

Member
Livestock Farmer
-28c, cattle are amazing sticking that, you would think sheep are better designed for cold. Dry & frozen weather, stock seem happy enough, it's just the prolonged wet & cold here that makes them miserable. How do you get warm water to them? I like @somfarmer idea of straw & box of matches!
... But it appears that it's poor welfare to move them at below +5C :banghead:
 

som farmer

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
somerset
-28c, cattle are amazing sticking that, you would think sheep are better designed for cold. Dry & frozen weather, stock seem happy enough, it's just the prolonged wet & cold here that makes them miserable. How do you get warm water to them? I like @somfarmer idea of straw & box of matches!

you wouldn't be able to thaw out that way now, not only would the plastic inside the ball valve melt, the whole thing might. Used to heap fym around the inlets, my son looks horrified, why would you do that ? Another sign suggesting climate change might be slightly true.
 

Samcowman

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Cornwall
you wouldn't be able to thaw out that way now, not only would the plastic inside the ball valve melt, the whole thing might. Used to heap fym around the inlets, my son looks horrified, why would you do that ? Another sign suggesting climate change might be slightly true.
Really!! I have used the muck around the pipes. Works a treat where pipes go from the outside through the shed wall.
 

som farmer

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
somerset
whatever we think, or say, to the public, it sounds good, the fact that it will throw the whole system into chaos, be unenforceable, doesn't matter, those poor little lambikins won't be abused anymore.
In the 'letters' today, in farmers weekly, how will regenerative ag feed the masses ? and the author goes on to basically say it can't. Citing, growing populations, wouldn't work on his soil (min til), the need to increase animals, to produce the required amount of fym, in contrast to being told to eat less meat, poor management leading to pollution, increased cost of food, and therefor cannot economically survive, by farming re-gen.
Having been deprived of my transport for a few days, been quite happily looking at the mymarid's of info on the net.
And been having a really good pondering session, the first conclusion, wish i could start farming from a young age again, to late for me now, and probably getting to far ahead of son ! The biggest gains of regen/holistic, are in the semi desert areas, the opportunity to increase food production, and peace, in those areas are vast, how you can alter the 'desert' by cattle management, was nearly unbelievable, so that's one gain, reducing the need of those communities on food aid from the richer countries. It's an interesting subject, because regen farming, can be very intensive, looking at joe salatin, how he uses the different 'types' of stock to complement each other, by using one, to capitalise on the previous one, has done, and working it all in a big circle, very impressive, and very profitable, and highly stocked as well. There was an experimental farm, name slips me, growing regen maize, with no fert/spray, against normal maize with 'everything', and beating it on yield. All of us on here, recognise the importance of rotation, which modern ag, inc me, has conveniently forgotten about. Then an article about growing crops, in the desert, using irrigation, which after seeing the regen stuff, didn't really seem right. The big question or test, is can we do it on our farms, reducing imput, but increasing output, i don't know the answer, but i think if we went slowly, and carefully, we probably could, the slow and careful approach, so as not to get a disaster, and write it off, as nuts. Probably the biggest obstacle, it is the complete reversal to what we have been taught, nor do i think that it is a gospel, modern ag, has given us tools to use, whether fert, sprays or machinery, they are good if used sensibly, ideally we would not need them !
So, do you think we could feed the world, with regen ag, views please.
 

Crofter64

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Quebec, Canada
-28c, cattle are amazing sticking that, you would think sheep are better designed for cold. Dry & frozen weather, stock seem happy enough, it's just the prolonged wet & cold here that makes them miserable. How do you get warm water to them? I like @somfarmer idea of straw & box of matches!
I have a hydrant that self empties in the barn to five feet. The water comes via the house from the well, buried at 5 feet. I built an insulated box around the hydrant with a 40 watt light bulb inside. there is an ordinary garden hose that hangs nearby. It goes straight up into the mow and then curves out of the building into a water tank which is heated. I disconnect the ends as soon as the tank is full and both ends drain out . Each time I re attach I have to run the hose end under rushing water to clean the threads of ice. This morning the water was frozen as the bulb had burned out . I poured very hot water along the pipe , put in a new bulb and away I went!
 

Kiwi Pete

Member
Livestock Farmer
So, do you think we could feed the world, with regen ag, views please.
Yes

it may mean some people in some places have to abandon the concept that "calories are nutrition", eg much of the western world is eating 3x as many calories as they need (and it shows)

Caught up with the "what do you eat for breakfast" thread on here and most posters eat more for breakfast than I eat in a day, and I am very fit and well.

Another point, "regenerative" encompasses uniqueness as a principle, which means that your little shitty lamb, or your higher SCC milk, or someones potatoes with eyes and forked carrots actually need to be valued and used - as opposed to being dumped.

Yet another point, why are we trying so hard to increase the global population? Covid was a great opportunity to lose some weight, but if you say as much then people view you as a psychopath or a crackpot.

Farmers are just as much "the problem" as the grandmothers and friends that say "when are you having another one, he needs a sister/she needs a little baby brother"

in my opinion, just warming up
 

Blaithin

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Alberta
I have a hydrant that self empties in the barn to five feet. The water comes via the house from the well, buried at 5 feet. I built an insulated box around the hydrant with a 40 watt light bulb inside. there is an ordinary garden hose that hangs nearby. It goes straight up into the mow and then curves out of the building into a water tank which is heated. I disconnect the ends as soon as the tank is full and both ends drain out . Each time I re attach I have to run the hose end under rushing water to clean the threads of ice. This morning the water was frozen as the bulb had burned out . I poured very hot water along the pipe , put in a new bulb and away I went!
It’s only down 5 feet?

I have one in the yard that’s between 5 and 6, it’s done until May or June every year. Not a chance in hell it’ll work. Most around here aim for at least 8 feet unless you want to risk issues.
 

SFI - What % were you taking out of production?

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Red Tractor drops launch of green farming scheme amid anger from farmers

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As reported in Independent


quote: “Red Tractor has confirmed it is dropping plans to launch its green farming assurance standard in April“

read the TFF thread here: https://thefarmingforum.co.uk/index.php?threads/gfc-was-to-go-ahead-now-not-going-ahead.405234/
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