- Location
- Owaka, New Zealand
It's only fear though
I feel better about surviving an average year, than I thought I would feel, a year ago.. make of that what you will !Anyone in uk know if this is record breaking rainfall? For February or winter overall?
might make me feel better to know I can brag about surviving the wettest winter
we fell into the trap, like many, cows need prg and w clover, nothing else to graze.I feel better about surviving an average year, than I thought I would feel, a year ago.. make of that what you will !
It's quite harsh country and the climate is predictable, but the cattle and us are doing very well. View attachment 1167940View attachment 1167941
(don't mind the "pasture", this is just what grew after being grazed with sheep last June, will drill some rye into it soon, finishing cattle do as well on weeds and sunshine as anything else)
Yes it is simply fascinating to observe them for a day, grass is what they lie down in after a day of weed-wiping.we fell into the trap, like many, cows need prg and w clover, nothing else to graze.
we now know different, variety really is the spice of love. All those 'other weeds' have different tastes, ingredients etc, all help the digestion process, in ways we don't understand.
seeing the cows actually choosing herbs to eat, bypassing 'proper grass', tells its own story.
Sad how readily we ignore benefits and blessings - how many years do you think it will take the new owners to compact and impoverish the soil? I think I remember that you said they were keeping horses. In that case it shouldn’t take any time at all.Not that I have anything against horses, quite the opposite, rather withthe way they are kept.Oh yeah. That's what I meant to share with you guys.
Was speaking with the purchaser of our old farm last Friday, was interested to see how they're going (and I needed to invoice him for some sundry items), in conversation he mentioned that he'd had lots of soil testing done and "it was actually surprisingly good, things were really close.
We put a bit of lime on, pH wasn't real low though, about 6.5 - 6.6, minerals were all good, phosphorous was probably the main thing really. Even that wasn't bad..
We use Superior as ya know, and even they said they don't usually see soil tests come back like that. They did put something in though, can't remember in the minute"
I suggested maybe a bit of moly to help boost the clover.. "yeah, that's what it was, moly! Gee you know your stuff"
Lol.
When we got there the pH was 5.3-5.5, the minerals weren't too bad and the P was off the bottom of the scale.
He's very happy though, in a bit of a panic to get everything done so the fencer can get to work, going back into 6 fields.
Has the "old stuff" to the eastern end of the main block tipped over and planted with oats moata and permanent pasture
Yard scraped up and rock waiting to be spread around when the piles of posts are gone, and all the wetter areas that grew feed all summer long have been drained to make sure that doesn't happen in future.
First thing I noticed was how ugly the place looked with flat pastures and wheelings, second thing was how good the gardens got after being weeded with a 12 tonne Caterpillar
Sacré bleu! Great news, and very well deserved!went to paris last week to receive an award for innovation in agricologie from thé minister of agriculture (1st place)
View attachment 1167948
there was a check involved (my main source of motivation). but thé récognition is nice.
especially as cows have been having such a Bad rep. in thé media recently its nearly always veg)/fruit/cereal producers who win.
perhaps politics and thé media will Côme around to what we're doing. but i'll admit I don't have much faith just yet.
many farmers just do not have the time, to watch their stock, sad, but true.Yes it is simply fascinating to observe them for a day, grass is what they lie down in after a day of weed-wiping.
Teacher told me I'd never get paid to stare out a window towards the hills - that was incorrect and misleading information
I bet schools don't have indepedent fact-checkers... they should
They have lots of time, just spend it doing other things.many farmers just do not have the time, to watch their stock, sad, but true.
l do, if it isn't raining, snowing, freezing cold, or icy. Getting fussy in my old age !
but its amazing what you can observe, what cows do, how they eat, how groups stay together.
and to be fair, its always been something l enjoy, used to spend ages to catch the bullers.
but it does p1ss some off, especially when you see 'things' others haven't
but that is the great drawback of modern farming, no time.
What if I suggested that farming 1 hectare can be more than a full time job, would there be much astonishment from you or Roy ?They have lots of time, just spend it doing other things.
(Most of them only have one business to run).
Same as a lot consumers out there, in a lot of ways; it can seem "better" to spend that half hour at work and buy dinner on the way home, but who's to say it's better?
It's just how it occurs, and how life occurs is very malleable by a change of perspective or circumstance .
It seems worse in a lot of ways... but if nobody cares, anything goes.
A point was nearly made on another thread that how much time you spend [ we were discussing time input per hectare ] only matters if you work off-farm and that justifies doing stuff the hard/slow/complicated way, somehow?
I can't buy into that, maybe if I didn't have family or friends or any other interests other than farming it could be so, but even then it's doubtful.
Sounds like a logical fallacy to me, or maybe a combination of a few of them heaped up into a "truth" ?
No wonder so many farmers jump onto the "no food" bandwagon, they don't manage to have time for a garden or butchering a lamb, because the sh!t-forking seems more urgent?
So if the supermarket shelves are empty, they're right there panicking with the rest of them - no farmers no food no future
Of course they could have a go, but alongside the first truth there's probably other ones... can't bring myself to do it, haven't got the time, job for an expert, haven't got green thumbs.
I just find it interesting what stops people, not so much what makes them tick, because clearly someone else wound their spring for them.
You only need to follow the astonishment when Roy or myself suggest farming a couple of thousand hectares can be part time. Oh it's "alright for him he isn't a stock farmer, now that's a fulltime job"
Especially if you do most of the work for a couple of hundred animals that seems equivalent to cutting the lawn with scissors before you mow it
Oh, I well believe it. I know how much time I can spend in a garage, mechanistic processes are the common denominatorWhat if I suggested that farming 1 hectare can be more than a full time job, would there be much astonishment from you or Roy ?
I notice I didn't get a from Roy, can't think whyOh, I well believe it. I know how much time I can spend in a garage, mechanistic processes are the common denominator
how many of us were told that!!Yes it is simply fascinating to observe them for a day, grass is what they lie down in after a day of weed-wiping.
Teacher told me I'd never get paid to stare out a window towards the hills - that was incorrect and misleading information
I bet schools don't have indepedent fact-checkers... they should
Great job!!! You will have to get a new pen to keep up with the autographs!!!went to paris last week to receive an award for innovation in agricologie from thé minister of agriculture (1st place)
View attachment 1167948
there was a check involved (my main source of motivation). but thé récognition is nice.
especially as cows have been having such a Bad rep. in thé media recently its nearly always veg)/fruit/cereal producers who win.
perhaps politics and thé media will Côme around to what we're doing. but i'll admit I don't have much faith just yet.