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

[Kiwi Pete]

the best way to stop the “milking” of subsidies is to not have any subsidies . . .

outstandingly simple . . .

from what I’ve seen, read & people I know in person, many of those practicing “regen” ( for want of a better term ) are doing so because they want more freedom & control over their destiny, not to be restricted by guidelines or beholding to 30 pieces of silver

Practice holistic management....?

The testing questions soon take care of whatever it was that held us back before.

As we subsidies are a form of disability or "handicap system", I'm more than happy for those to continue, because it locks people into things and out of other things that could really benefit their operation then their "playing field" can never be level enough

I would rather design my own game, not be attached to winning this game, and simply play to win, that's what I got out of Stu's post

 

[som farmer]

the best way to stop the “milking” of subsidies is to not have any subsidies . . .

outstandingly simple . . .

from what I’ve seen, read & people I know in person, many of those practicing “regen” ( for want of a better term ) are doing so because they want more freedom & control over their destiny, not to be restricted by guidelines or beholding to 30 pieces of silver

for several reasons, we may not enter ELMS, not all farming related.
we gave 'sensible' farming a go, we were in trouble, 3, for us, very dry summers/winters left us with some nasty options, we had to make some decisions.

It was in yr 2, we started 'playing' around different ideas, trying different things, mainly min-til, dd and longer grass recovery periods, on/off grazing, etc, and moved on from there, but they worked, with virtually zero expense.
We are dairy farmers, and for us, quality fodder, grazed or ensiled, is king, simply has to be, we quite happily will use modern tools, fert sprays etc, but only when needed, it supplies an option.

No doubt we will have a concoction of sprays for the 30 acres of cereals, we have started growing, my arable knowledge is somewhat dated, so will do, as told. We grow maize, and double crop it, with h/rye and vetch, or w/wolds, so we are quite intensive, this bit, is for anyone new to the thread, hello, its background.

We are entering our 4th year now, so 'things' are beginning to show, we are noticing some unusual 'things', whether they are caused by weather, freak, or how we farm, remains to be seen. Wildlife, there are simply a lot more about, noticeably more, why ?
Our grass, clover has grown all winter, we have clover in grazing leys, now, that we would expect late summer. Plenty of grass, where the clover is, its a darker green, and growing back behind the cows, no fert for 1st round, 25 units of N for second.

Our stock are looking, growing and milking, better than expected, cows will exceed predicted/budgeted yields, by 2,000 litres per cow.
Today we have silaged some double crop w/wolds, and a new aut ley, grazed by sheep, til mid feb.

I have no idea if it actually caused, by our regen leaning ways, but, what l can say, all those things, mentioned above, have not cost us any extra money, but saved us a lot, and that, can't be bad, can it ?

 

[Kiwi Pete]

Having that buffer can certainly help you bounce back much faster, the key is to not simply redirect it somewhere else because "somebody said"

I witness a lot of that, eg money saved on fert simply being used to plant "weed mimicking plants" when the weeds would do the job better if they were appreciated for doing that job in the first place

 

[Kiwi Pete]

this was midsummer, Christmas day I think it was

and this morning, I haven't been out there in the daylight this week.
As you can see, we ran the lanes in the same general direction when we mocked them up (silly string and pigtails) as we did when we put the permanent lanes in. Just 'across' a little now that the reseeded area grew.

Remember a while back I discussed the idea of "grass hedges" or microshelter, what I eventually landed on was to use polytape between the lanes (to chop each hectare into 13 cells)? Well, because the tapes deflect the lane fences inwards, we're kinda getting that effect automatically, the stock have about a metre-wide strip that goes untrampled which forms a wee 'grass hedge', without any extra infrastructure or work.

"Our green drought" is over now, it began raining the other night and I've recorded 18,8,18,7mm for a total of 51mm

and it all went green again, just like that

 

[Kiwi Pete]

Water troughs

 

[onesiedale]

I know some of you on here are using homemade drag for watering their stock. I have a kiwi tech at the moment but technically can’t use it at the new place because the field water is all direct from mains. Does anyone have any tips for a homemade sled from their experience?

...and really, what is the problem with the Kiwitech drinker?

 

[Henarar]

the best way to stop the “milking” of subsidies is to not have any subsidies . . .

outstandingly simple . . .

Nothing government provided, in fact no government, it would be interesting I will give you that

 

[holwellcourtfarm]

...and really, what is the problem with the Kiwitech drinker?

Only that, on a flat farm, it means pumping the water main to feed the troughs......

 

[holwellcourtfarm]

For some reason, people seem to need a “definition” of regen Ag, as if it needs to be labelled & put in a box with restrictive or absolute boundaries

personally, I disagree with that to some degree, but if you have to have a definition, I think Stuart has come up with about the best one I’ve seen

https://www.facebook.com/203783620305018/posts/966001987416507

Spot on. It's a direction of travel as much as anything and your man sums it up nicely. Knowing where you want to be going is key

I think it's the corporates that are desperate for a definition as that's how they control their suppliers.......

 

[cows sh#t me to tears]

Having that buffer can certainly help you bounce back much faster, the key is to not simply redirect it somewhere else because "somebody said"

I witness a lot of that, eg money saved on fert simply being used to plant "weed mimicking plants" when the weeds would do the job better if they were appreciated for doing that job in the first place

it does depend on the weed in question though....

 

[Henarar]

it does depend on the weed in question though....

If you are happy with it being there its not a weed

 

[Henarar]

and it all went green again, just like that

Bloody odd that

 

[Kiwi Pete]

...and really, what is the problem with the Kiwitech drinker?

Not a lot, I would be inclined to just make a portable isolator (air gap to prevent siphoning) for the line, and use one

or make a trough from a barrel like on Russ' video I linked, but put the valve above the water level and kink the float arm downwards

 

[Kiwi Pete]

it does depend on the weed in question though....

Yeah, it does. But most of them aren't nearly as "bad news" as they're made out to be. I mean you could make very thistly hay and think thistles are sh!t.. but if you don't make hay then thistles aren't so sh!t.

Sheep lambing behind rushes and gorsebushes probably think they're great species to have around

 

[Will7]

I know some of you on here are using homemade drag for watering their stock. I have a kiwi tech at the moment but technically can’t use it at the new place because the field water is all direct from mains. Does anyone have any tips for a homemade sled from their experience?

@Samcowman I have one for sale. It has a high flow valve and was the used with a mob of 140 cattle last summer. Just attach a quad to the front, or pull by hand if you are feeling fit.

 

[som farmer]

all we can control, is our farm, and ourselves, everything else, is outside of our control, we are at the mercy of government policies, weather, and other people, and events. You only need look, at Ukraine, a massive food producing region, stumped, by a nutter. We hear all about Crimea, and Dombas, not so much about the coastal strip, he want's, to deny a sea port, to stop that export of food. If he cannot get it, he will flatten it, same result.
In selfish ways, the lesser amount of available food, is actually excellent news, for farming, the start of s/mkts rationing cooking oil, all positive for us, and we deserve it.

 

[Henarar]

all we can control, is our farm, and ourselves, everything else, is outside of our control, we are at the mercy of government policies, weather, and other people, and events. You only need look, at Ukraine, a massive food producing region, stumped, by a nutter. We hear all about Crimea, and Dombas, not so much about the coastal strip, he want's, to deny a sea port, to stop that export of food. If he cannot get it, he will flatten it, same result.
In selfish ways, the lesser amount of available food, is actually excellent news, for farming, the start of s/mkts rationing cooking oil, all positive for us, and we deserve it.

It seems quite positive for Russian farming as well

 

[Samcowman]

@Samcowman I have one for sale. It has a high flow valve and was the used with a mob of 140 cattle last summer. Just attach a quad to the front, or pull by hand if you are feeling fit.

Are you the same Will off of the precision grazing discussion group?
If you are heading to groundswell we could sort something out.

 

[Samcowman]

...and really, what is the problem with the Kiwitech drinker?

Not a lot really as far as I can see. It is one of those rules that when they brought it in did make you think wtf is the actual level of risk from not having an air gap.

 

[som farmer]

actually, its probably not a bad thing for Russian farmers, not their fault that they are governed by a nutter, and they have to cope with weather extremes as well.
What it does show, is how quickly, events can completely affect, the global food chain.
Sobering to think, elsewhere in the world, people will starve, because of this war, through zero fault of them.