Holistic Farming

[Carmen]

Another update on our Holistic Farming venture. Nature seems to be smiling on our venture. Where I farm is an area prone to drought. Summers are usually very dry. Some years you could follow a mouse through our fields! Not this year! Even the rabbits are finding difficulty trying to get anywhere in our thick dense sward of grass!

Cattle numbers are now up to 292 with a further 70 arriving this week. The cattle are living very contented lives. They are moved to fresh pasture every two or three days. No worming necessary. The worm cycle is short circuited by shifting the cattle. I've noticed more ground nesting birds around the farm, including hawks. When I part the grass the soil underneath is all worm castings, lose and fluffy. When the cattle are moved the grass is partially eaten, partially flattened and partially standing. The soil is always covered providing providing mulch for micro organisms and protection from the sun.

The world urgently needs this method of farming to revitilize desert areas. It's an obsolete myth that animals cause destruction of land . It's the modern method of farming that is the cause of desertification. The prairies of America used to support millions of large animals till man came alone and destroyed them, causing the dust bowl conditions and desertification. Research holistic farming and find out for yourself.

My aim is to successfully farm holistically here and show by example that it can be done. The fertiliser companies will be screaming as no fert is used. The vets won't be happy either as no drugs are necessary. The only costs I have in this operation are the minerals I feed to the cattle and the fencing. Mainly fencing repairs at this stage and temporary electric fencing. I have no tractor and make no hay. The winter feed is standing hay. (Saved grass). The cattle are sleek and fat and fit. Our old house cow Alex is still feeding three calves plus a cheeky adult steer that loves milk!

[Arrowwind]

thank you Carmen for this great thread that I just came across today. It gives me hope that eventually we will have our land restored as time goes by.

When we purchases our humble 8 acres it has no signs of life except for the sage brush and I seriously wondered if it could be healed. It felt dead and it was loaded with tumbleweeds also. At one time, maybe 15 years ago the land had produced sugar beets. Now three years since we've been here there's an abundance of bees in 4 or 5 varieties, many birds and things growing everywhere. We did make some mistakes but now that is even healing. Our plan is to have two heads of cattle, a milk cow and a couple of pigs to share 3 relatively small paddocks including a divided three acre pasture with abundant grass and a 1/3 acre pasture in an other area. This summer the first amimals will go on if we get our fencing done.

Grass fed beef is a growing preference here in the States. The farmers feed corn to finish off because they think it will make them more money as the animal weighs more... but the grass fed beef at this time brings a higher price if you are linked into good marketing connections.

the best thing about raising your own or getting meat from neighbors out in the country is that you never pay more than 2.50 to $3.00 US a pound wether your having prime rib or t-bone or hamburger and you know exactly what you are getting...you see the farm, you know how its managed. I paid 2.00 for lamb a few months ago. Pork runs about the same for grass fed. All them folks that live in the city have no clue on how well country folks eat.. I certainly didnt till I got here.

In my lasagna vegetable beds I found worms last summer. I didnt' put them there and the soil in general hasn't had any. I think they flew in and decided to stick around. I'll start looking for worms in the pasture this summer, we havent seen any yet, so I might even try planting some. When we started we cut the sagebrush, the machine pulverized it and turned it down into the soil, then we spread a hefty dose of manure then seeded. Next time we fertilize we will likely go with a fish hydrolized, sprayed on. Ive read that spraying on raw milk will increase the plant brix significantly also. Use about one quart minimum per acre diluted with water in a boom.

Ive got a ways to go before feeling confident that we dont need to fertilize. So far we have harvested our hay and sold it so that makes me think I have to fertilize. But soon hay harvest will end when the animals come. This is what we are planning to use next to fertilize with. I need to learn more about how to get minerals into the animals. Please write about that if you can.
http://www.neptunesharvest.com/hf-191.html

You say that you dont feed the animals hay in the winter and that they forage. I dont know that we have enough land to do that (and becasue of this we have thought about getting yaks instead-dont know yet) The plan was to purchase two angus or similar somewhere short of a year old, 3 head (one being a milk cow we keep long term) on 3 1/3 acres may not allow for it. Our plan was to slaughter in the fall and only keep the milking cow through the winter then start again with a near yearling in the spring.

Keep up the good work. Im wondering if there is a speciality market in NZ for grass fed, or if that is just what is normal there. Grass fed pork is uncommon here and we may turn to focusing on that.

[Carmen]

Another update on what is happening with my holistic farming venture. New Zealand is in a serious drought at the moment. The whole of the North Island has been declared a disaster zone. We are dry here in North Otago, but it's usually dry this time of year anyway. Well, this year I have plenty of grass in reserve even if it is dry on the top, the bottom is still green. My cattle are full and content and I'm really pleased with Holistic Management.

Allan Savory, the founder of holistic management has a wonderful Ted Talk out. It was recorded last month. Very inspirational.

My daughter and I attended attended a Joel Salatin seminar in Wanaka a fortnight ago. It was excellent. People came from as far away as Australia. This guy is a real practical supporter of the family farm. He farms in the Shanendoah valley in Virginia.

[sheddie]

Brilliant thread Carmen, thank you, I thoroughly enjoyed reading it... you're an inspiration.

Just shows how important it is to work with nature and trust your own feelings

[Carmen]

Had an inch of rain in the last two days! With plenty of grass cover on the property every bit of it soaked in, no runoff when there is no bare ground. The cattle get very quiet when they are being shifted and checked every other day. My horse gets thoroughly licked if he stays still too long! I'm in the process of buying some more land. One very big attraction to this new land is that it has a set of cattle yards on it and at the moment I don't have cattle yards.

I'm finding it very satisfying farming holistically. The people involved are free thinkers and innovators. I have lots to learn yet but it's one step at a time. I love the fact that holistic management is applicable everywhere, from African villagers to American ranchers. It's now being applied on five continents.