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The magic of grazing…
This photo by son-in-law Curt Humphreys captures the harmonious relationship among soil, grass, animals and sky that is an on-going process on the pastures of Thistle Hill. There are no losers in this kind of farming…the soil, the grass, the cows and the environment all prosper. And the farmer does, too. It’s easy to lose sight of the Big Picture but every once in awhile we come across a kindred spirit, such as Suzanne Nelson Karreman in North Carolina, who puts it into words better than most of us can. She deals with the holistic nature of this kind of husbandry…yes, including the ultimate death involved. https://reverencefarms.com/ruminants-make-more-life-than-they-take/ David
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It’s official…
…Spring is here! We know because the interior portable electric fencing has gone up and our cows have begun their strip grazing. From now through the first of the year the main herd will be allocated about an acre of pasture at a time. To tide them over the summer slump when grass nutrition value declines, we’ve seeded in a heavy stand of clover…three types of clover…including a red and white variety we’re experimenting with and a New Zealand white clover we’re used before. So far this year we’ve been blessed with favorable growing conditions. The clover had plenty of time to establish before the grasses came on. David
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In support of a 50-year farm bill…
…by a giant in the field of regenerative agriculture. No one has better captured the beauty of farming in sync with nature than Wendell Berry. The Kentucky farmer, poet, writer and environmentalist writes in the Atlantic in support of the 50-year farm bill. https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2012/11/the-50-year-farm-bill/265099/ While Berry may stand alone in his wordcraft, I do want to mention an even earlier writer I think qualifies as the father of the sustainable ag movement: Louis Bromfield. His Malabar Farms had a big impact on even my city anchored family in the 40s. I still recall my mother and father reading aloud from Malabar Farms at our dinner table. Still on my personal…
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One man’s legacy…
…the inspirational story of a retired businessman in Texas who is leaving quite a legacy. It reminds me of Louis Bromfield…whose tales of Malabar Farm in Ohio got us interested in regenerative farming before it was cool. Thanks to Shannon Kincaid, an artist friend in Dallas who suggested the link. David
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Our namesake…
…and a stubborn little plant! The Canadian Thistle dominated our pastures 20 years ago…along with Rosa multiflora. It’s taken a long time (and many grandchildren serving hard labor) to get both weeds to manageable proportions. We simply keep cutting them to ground level and eventually the plant gets the message and quits trying. The multiflora was an earlier brainchild of someone who wanted to duplicate European hedgerows on this property. While neither is considered edible, we’ve heard of people successfully training their cows to consume thistles. They simply spray the plants with fish oil, the cattle love it and eventually the fish oil isn’t necessary. David
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Caution…grass at work…
…it may look like resting and that’s what graziers call it…but this grass is hard at work! The trick in grazing isn’t how much grass the cows eat…but how much they leave. Ideally we like them to bite off about a third…and trample a third…and leave the rest for regrowth. That’s what’s happening here. The cows have left…we’ve topped off the weeds and seed heads…and now the roots which have died back to mirror the amount of leaf surface above ground…are regrouping. It’s that new growth which is most nutritious and the cows will be returned in 45 days for another pass across this pasture. Not only will there be…
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An excellent explanation…
…of just what holistic grazing is all about. About seven years ago we were introduced to the concepts of Alan Savory and even hosted a session here with Michael Mitchell-Innes. It was a milestone in the history of the farm, particularly for Wooz, who had grown up here. In sum, holistic grazing puts the land into the perspective of the entire ecosystem. It can be pretty heavy stuff so I was delighted to come across this short video…just three minutes…by Blaine Hitzfield of Seven Sons Farm in Indiana. In everyday terms Blaine describes what it has meant for their farm. The experience Blaine describes…raising organic matter from two percent to…
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Strip grazing…
…and the main herd has settled in…changing paddocks with no more than a whistle. I’m sure you could set up an automatic gate opener and they’d move themselves. There are 33 pregnant cows in this group. The section already grazed is in the foreground. By enlarging the picture you may be able to see the single strand of polywire which is all we need to keep them together. The grass as we began was about a foot tall, and we’ve taken the top half before moving on. In recent years a technique has developed called “mob grazing”…or “high intensity grazing”…that is jamming the equivalent of 500 to 700 cows into…
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Couldn’t have said it better….
…mostly I ignore the rants of vegans and the extreme animal rights people…because they’re beyond reason. But I was tempted to sound off after Joaquin Phoenix used his Academy Award victory to launch a diatribe against those who eat meat. In fact commercial farming of vegetables is far more destructive of the earth and its environment than responsible grazing. But Joel Salatin, a neighboring cattleman who is a leader in the grass fed industry, did the job for me. https://www.thelunaticfarmer.com/blog2/2/14/2020/joaquin-phoenix-hates-you-nbsp
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Not an approaching storm…
…but an approaching lime truck. Our pH averaged about 5.8 across the farm and we decided to bring it back up over 6.0. We’re adding one to two tons of dolomitic lime per acre…depending on what soil testing revealed. I think this is the best investment you can make in a pasture. It not only kicks up the yield and feeds soil biology, I’m convinced it is one of the reasons Thistle Hill beef and pork just tastes better! IMHO Good timing too…if we can get it all down. Two days of rain coming to soak it in. Incidentally over the years we’ve found some difference among soil tests…with the…