Producer Kate Tarrant
ProducerForum Replies Created
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I’m thinking of starting to feed lupins soon as like a lot of others our pasture has dried off much earlier than last year. What do people recommend as a maintenance volume / head / week .. not trying to fatten lambs. @gemma_justin @ben-mcdonald @kylie-silverthorne
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Doesn’t the selective grazing really only happen when the stock density is too low? Be great to see a pic of what your paddock looks like when you are ready to move the stock off ..
So are you saying that to leave 5 to 7 cm of fodder behind is too much, better to graze it hard then not come back for 90 days(Eric) or until the bottom leaves are yellowing (Mark).?
Having learned with RCS, Dick Richardson, & Judi Earl they all are a bit different but it sounds to me like what you are describing is more like what Dick advocates.
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Thanks Mark, fascinating, I have to admit I do find it a bit complicated to wrap my head around the Eh-pH thing but in my view it really does confirm that the principles behind regenerative agriculture are absolutely underpinned by science. For me the key points to note from your article is more about what we do with that science – and that is as you say:
Firstly, we need to find ways to minimise the use of practices that have an oxidising effect on the soil and/or damage soil life.
This involves moving towards conservation/minimal/no tillage, biologically considerate nutrition, pest, disease and weed management methods, keeping the soil covered to avoid exposure, etc…
Simultaneously we must implement strategies that provide soil microbes with more fuel to drive beneficial activity.
These include the growing of cover crops and interplanting companion species, increasing plant diversity, mulching with organic residue, composting, targeting nutritional applications to optimise photosynthesis, managing grazing to improve pasture growth, etc…
I did find this review (uploaded to the documents tab in the as well in case the link doesn’t work ) by the same guy (& others) for those that do want to take a deep dive. https://johnkempf.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Soil-and-plant-health-in-relation-to-dynamic-sustainment-of-Eh-and-pH-homeostasis-A-review.pdf
Also if you want to listen to the podcast Mark is referring to check it out here.. https://investinginregenerativeagriculture.com/2023/09/19/olivier-husson/
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The trick in our short growing season with annuals is to try to keep the pasture in a vegetative state- that can be a challenge if you don’t have enough livestock.
What do you think about leaving some paddocks to ‘stockpile’ for summer standing feed and focus on the remaining paddocks for quality. By that I mean moving slow enough to ensure recovery but fast enough to keep it vegetative.. at the moment I reckon that’s leaving for only around 40 days, that will speed up as it warms up. A bit of a combo of Dick Richardson’s method with Judi Earls.
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No soil air, no soil life.. no soil life, no soil structure .. in the paddocks spread with dam soil that is.
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Next time I move the sheep I’ll have to see how that compares with the graze at beer can height analogy (ie are the lower leaves also yellowing at beer can height, or 10cm) or does it need to be higher)
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Thanks Justin, great advice and will do!😀
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Great use of a waste product Darren!
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Thanks Eric, exactly what I wanted to know & pretty much our experience as well. Interesting about the perennial rye – good point. Fine for irrigated pastures I guess.
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Great work Eric! I’m really interested in how you got them established.. what sort of paddock prep, seeding timing & method?
Also not sure why not going into dormancy is a problem ( perennial rye)?
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Does the same yellowing indicator apply for annuals?
