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Thread: Holistic Farming

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    New Zealand Avalon Member Carmen's Avatar
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    Default Re: Holistic Farming

    Yes, Joel Salatin is one of the people I have been reading about. In my experience with growing and managing a vineyard I learned about weeds as indicators. Also I have a compost tea maker that we to make tea and spray it on the vines. I think I will reserect it for my pasture. The wine we produced from completely organic grapes is a very nice drop. So, Blufire, I will be doing a lot more observing and interacting with my animals, my vegetation on this farm.

    9eagle9, I am very keen to learn how horses fair on the mob grazing regime. I'm running most of them together at the moment, all accept two. It will be ten in one mob when I put them all together!! They are learning to respect electric fences at the moment. When the grass gets really growing here which is September, I will need to use something like you suggest to flatten the grass where I put the new electric fence otherwise it will be shorting out on the Long grass.

    This farm I am on was the retirement block for my husband and myself. We had a large dairy farm down the road which my son now owns. So, this farm, was never considered or required to make any money. It is 230 acres and gets very dry in the summer. I have always run it very under stocked to insure I always had plenty of feed for the animals I do have. Now, with this new idea of how to run it I think it can make some money. It's very healthy stock country and I never drench my sheep or cattle, just horses occasionally.

    I am going to take some photos now and regularly to keep a record of progress with this system. Also a journal to record my observations. I'm re-reading Fukuoka's 'The One Straw Revolution' at the moment.

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    New Zealand Avalon Member Carmen's Avatar
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    Default Re: Holistic Farming

    Quote Posted by 13th Warrior (here)
    Interesting thing about earthworms; they are not a native species where i live and believe it or not they are upsetting the natural balance of our forests because of how they alter the soil.

    I've seen a program where in Europe there is an invasive flat worm that is consuming all the earthworms. This is causing the sheep yards to turn into swamps because the sheep compact the soil with there hooves. The earthworms effectively aerate the soil thus improving the soil drainage.
    I think we have a species of worms here in New Zealand that eats other worms. The ones I don't have enough of, are very beneficial for the ground. They need a good cover to exist on pasture land. Dry bare ground will not work, they disappear when it's dry. They are also a good indicator of the presence of other micro-organisms in the soil. My son has been working his dairy farm with a biological system for some time now and his soil is a wonderful consistency with many earthworms present. He has irrigation. I never thought that I could work my farm along the same lines because of the summer dry conditions but this mob grazing I'm getting into has changed my thinking completely and I'm really excited about the possibilities.

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    Avalon Member 13th Warrior's Avatar
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    Default Re: Holistic Farming

    Quote I think we have a species of worms here in New Zealand that eats other worms.
    This sounds exactly like the problem in Europe; it's called a flat worm which looks more like the animal parasite tape worm, then earthworm.

    It only take a couple of these flat worms to decimate acres of earthworms.
    Last edited by 13th Warrior; 2nd August 2012 at 21:00.
    “Bundinn er bátlaus maður”

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    New Zealand Avalon Member Carmen's Avatar
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    Default Re: Holistic Farming

    I'll need to do some homework on this worm 13th Warrior, I think this predatory worm is a native and I don't think it is a problem. In my experience of this, which is reasonably limited, when we work with nature it all balances out. The presence of one particular problem will be indicative of an imbalance in the whole system. Humans are inclined to focus on one little thing, such as one particular bug or disease instead of looking at the whole ecological system for a cause of imbalance.

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    Avalon Member nomadguy's Avatar
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    Default Re: Holistic Farming

    That is highly curious 13 Warrior... Does your area have a lot of mushrooms?
    Why not now?

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    Avalon Member 13th Warrior's Avatar
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    Default Re: Holistic Farming

    Yes, we have many types of mushrooms that are quite plentiful.

    Why do you ask; what is the connection?
    “Bundinn er bátlaus maður”

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    Default Re: Holistic Farming

    Worms through their digestion make available many minerals and nutrients. So does the Mushroom, it could be, that this particular need is filled where you are.

    So then, adding the Worm quickly becomes redundant and causes problems to the natural cycle. Then Nature responds and provides a fix to the problem and something moves into feed on the invader, in your case, the worm.
    Just a thought...

    To note, In dryer environments, the mushroom is not as prolific and so worms help build soils immensely and are quickly accepted into the cycle of life.
    As an analogy, here is an example, plants can also jump into this action as well. doing their job so-to-speak.
    > Mullein can cause a dry gravel / sand soil-less area into a nice loam. This plant brings up nutrient and minerals from deep down and then provides food for worms and microbacteria. This could be seen as the plant Mullein doing it's job.
    > https://youtube.com/watch?v=4putIxHsNCk

    Often time the response that nature creates seems at first to be a problem, only it is also a clue.
    Why not now?

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    Default Re: Holistic Farming

    worms are great!
    here is a lengthy thread about them, http://www.aquaponics.net.au/forum/s...ighlight=worms
    its aquaponics related, but loads of great info....
    I have thousands of worms in my aquaponics system....they are entirely beneficial....

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    Default Re: Holistic Farming

    Cool thread! Thanks to all! Walking the talk.....good deal!
    "Vision without action is merely a dream.
    Action without vision just passes the time.
    Vision with action can change the world." Joel Arthur Barker

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    New Zealand Avalon Member Carmen's Avatar
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    Default Re: Holistic Farming

    An update on the progress on applying Holitic Management on my farm. Last week I attended a one day seminar by a guy called Greg Judy. He raises grass fed beef on his farms in Missouri. He was an inspiring speaker and obviously passionate about what he does, cos it works! Seemingly farmers in America think that cattle have to be grain fed to 'finish' that is to fatten up enough to go to slaughter. That is a fallacy propagated by the corn producers. Greg Judy applies no fertiliser, he has no health issues and every year this system grows another inch of topsoil. Water ways improve and wildlife is enhanced.

    On my own farm we have had good summer rains over the past two years which has ment a lot of grass grown. In the old way of farming this would be thought of as bad. To allow grass to grow high and seed is not considered good farming practice in conventional farming. In the Holistic Management system, to cover the ground with foliage, have animals densely graze, eat some and trample the rest is ideal. The animals are moved on each day to a new spot and the grass is then left to recover fully again. The soil in this system is never exposed to the sun and remains cool and moist compared to conventional ways. It stands up to drought very well. Anyway, what is happening on my farm is that springs are appearing that I haven't experienced before. The springs in one paddock are so prolific that they are forming a small stream! This is fabulous. If I keep the stock off these areas of springs and allow the grass to grow round them, they may be permanent. I doubt this has happened before in the history of this farm as where the previous farmers placed gateways is now through where the stream is flowing!

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    Default Re: Holistic Farming

    On my large front lawn which took a lot of mowing I now have pigs and lambs! I shift them to a new spot once a week and they seem to be quite content. Two of my pigs are grazers and one (a large black) is a rooter. Where she has rooted I am going to plant spuds and cover them with hay. I will keep part of my garden mown and neat but the larger part will be gradually transformed by raised garden, forest garden interspersed by animals. I am very much inspired by Sepp Holzers wonderful permaculture farm high up in the Austrian Alps.

    At the moment I am studying Allan Savory's book Holistic Management. It is quite a tome of a book, but a wonderful resource. Next year I will buying cattle to start my mob grazing. At the moment beef shorthorn are my breed of choice to purchase but that may change. I will be getting eight Hereford cross heifer calves to rear soon so that will keep me well occupied for some time. I'm quite happy to be keeping stock off the majority of the farm at the moment and watching the grass grow. We have had over seven inches of rain the past month and springs are popping up everywhere.

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    New Zealand Avalon Member Carmen's Avatar
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    Default Re: Holistic Farming

    Okay, it's been awhile, but an update on the progress of my holistic farming venture. I now have 101 yearling beef cattle on the property. They are Charolais and Angus with a few Herefords. I've yet to decide the deal. I haven't any money to pay for them at the moment but the owners can finance me to buy them, I can share farm them or I can just graze them for a fee. At the moment the share farming deal seems the most attractive. I graze them and when they are sold the profit is split half and half. I may decide to buy the heifers and if I do that I'm best to buy them sooner than later or I will be paying for my own effort!

    The grass is lush and plentiful at this time of year and I'm shifting the whole mob about every three days on to a new paddock. They are mowing through the mineral mix I'm giving them. It contains lots of seaweed, salt and also diatomaceous earth which is a natural wormer.

    One problem I have encountered is that some of these animals have only been on flat land and moving all over my hills the first few days has left some of the Charolais with sore hips! All the animals have settled down really well. I check them and familiarise them to me every day. My horses have been horribly neglected and they are getting pissed off!

    I have an old guy fencing for me. Till I get some money coming in he is just hanging gates, fixing holes, hooking up disconnected water troughs and finishing off small yards. He is great, is over 65, has two artificial hips which he reckons are nearly worn out also, but he fences well, is totally reliable, doesn't charge too much and is inventive. We get on well and the work is progressing. I'm really enjoying farming. My second youngest daughter is coming home to join me in this farming venture so that makes it more worthwhile.

    To me holistic farming is the future of agriculture. Former grasslands can be restored, water returned to dry land, soil built up and carbon returned to the soil. This week four of my family plus some neighbours are attending a holistic farming seminar led by a qualified holistic farming teacher. There is much to learn but I feel as though I have made a start.

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    New Zealand Avalon Member Carmen's Avatar
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    Default Re: Holistic Farming

    Not only is the Holistic Farming a new venture for me, the way I'm implementing it is entirely new to me. I have stood aside my personality self and I am making all my descisions and actions from the promptings, inspiration and assurances from my inner Self, or in spiritual terms, the God Within! There is a "flow" to my life that wasn't there before. Fear and insecurity have mostly gone and every day I am surprised and delighted by the ease with which things are happening. I have "tests" to face which I recognise as "tests". I observe from a slightly detached perspective my personality looking for attention and recognition in social situations. It doesn't like not being noticed and appreciated!! What's really important to me at this stage is the quality of my interactions with people. I listen more and try to just do that instead of thinking what I want to say next. Any argument or judgement of those around me fractures the relationship. To give people the opportunity to relax in my company gives them permission to be themselves with no defensive walls.

    There is a building of inner energy that is powerful and blissful. Alone times are very important. To sit in the lush grass of my highest paddock surrounded by curious cattle this morning was just magical.

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    Default Re: Holistic Farming

    The fertiliser companies that supply farmers with artificial fertilisers will not like Holistic Farming. The drug companies that supply farmers with poisons to kill weeds and parasites, will not like Holistic Farming. Actually many advisors that set themselves up to give advice on a myriad of topics will not like Holistic Farming as it is a system that requires farmers to plan and think for themselves and also to closely monitor and observe the systems that they are implementing.

    Artificial fertiliser is not used. Free choice minerals are and the animals distribute the minerals themselves through their own gut. The animals are moved often so that the parasite cycle is interrupted. Some dependant animals can not cope with this system and should be culled. One should not drench for parasites when only one or two animals look like they need drenched. Get rid of the weaker animals and don't cause the healthy ones to become dependant by drenching them. Nature knows what it is doing, copy her!

    I have an abundance of bird life on my property with this system. I also found a wild bees nest yesterday so it must suit the bees.

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    Default Re: Holistic Farming

    One of the leading proponents of Holistic Farming is a South African guy called Ian Mitchell-Inness. He farmed sixteen thousand acres in South Africa. He has leased half of his farm now as he needs a whole lot more cattle to mob graze it and he already has four thousand! He has attracted eight different species of big game back to his land through his Holistic Farming methods. Animals that hadn't been on that land for decades. He also has resident preditors that keep the grazing animals mobbed as nature intended them to do. This system from all accounts,is working well for black African farmers in both SA and Zimbabwe. It can be applied to any farming, whether you have thousands of animals or just one!

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    Default Re: Holistic Farming

    A wee update for you on the progress of my holistic farming. We now have 160 cattle, (that includes eight calves). Our house cow, a large friesan matriarch called Alex took on two more calves as well as her own. She didn't mind a bit and there is plenty of milk for three! When we move the herd Alex gathers up her triplets and keeps them all together!

    The Charolais cattle came from flat land and some of them are suffering from crook hips from negotiating our hills. I will make sure in future that brought in cattle come from hill country.

    The cattle are really going for the mineral mix we are supplying them. It's a natural mix containing dolomite, salt, kelp and diatomaceous earth. The diatomaceous earth is a natural wormer. The cattle are really fat and shiny and look great. I just love working with them. They are getting really quiet now. I love shifting them onto new pasture, it's one of the pleasures of my life, milky cow breath, fresh grass, contented cattle. We are going to sell the Charolais heifers at the beginning of December and put a couple of bulls out with the other heifers, mainly Angus. Most farmers put bulls out for about six weeks, then bring them back in. We intend to leave the bulls with the cows. There is nothing worse than male animals deprived of female company, they are so damn destructive to fences, troughs, people and each other!! We learned this well with our stallion. He is a bloody nuisance when kept on his own but an absolute sweety when he has female company.

    Natural herds always include a dominant male so we a replicating nature by leaving the bulls out. Our winters are not that harsh (no snow) so it should be fine the odd out of season calf. Well, that's the theory anyway. I'll let you know how it works out! Also leaving bulls out staggers the breeding season and we should have more of of a spread out of finished (fattened beef).

    Our land is in fine fettle. The grass in some places is up to my waist! Although that's not saying much, I'm only 5'1"! We seem to have lots of bird life and I have discovered a wild beehive in a tree, so I was really pleased to find that. It's a great season as the rains are very consistent for our area. We've been so dry some years you could follow a mouse over the paddocks! My lovely, lovely fencer man is fixing fences, hanging gates and fixing water troughs. It's very satisfying getting my farm up and running again. It will be a while before we get a return on our cattle but we are building an asset in the meantime and learning heaps. Trouble is I'm getting so fond of my cattle it will be difficult to part with them!

    Next year I want to run pigs with the cattle. I'm told they go really well together. Love to run my sheep with the herd also but not sure about that. We shall see how the pigs and cattle go first. With this system only 10% of the farm is grazed at any one time, the rest is just growing grass. This enables grass nesting birds to nest undisturbed. It also allows grass roots to go ever deeper with far greater water holding capacity. The water table is replenished and the land becomes more able to withstand periods of drought. When I part the grass on my farm the soil is covered with worm castings. I need to do much more monitoring of worm numbers and other indicators of fertility or lack of! On really healthy pasture dung should disappear quite quickly. This would I indicate a high level of worm and microbe activity. This is not happening yet. Hopefully by next year I should see changes.

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    Default Re: Holistic Farming

    I love reading this thread of yours, Carmen. Your passion, intelligence and wisdom shine through. I am not surprised that you are getting good rains and springs. Nature is attendant and wise. Humans create deserts and then She does not water them as there is no point. The work you are doing has Her attention and you will have what you need. I can feel the life and vitality returning to your farm. It is thriving. Your point about culling the weak ones also shows the integrity of Nature. It is not about survival of the fittest but the survival of the fit. Just make sure that the healthy ones stay a little challenged or they will go soft too.

    I look forward to your next posting.
    Last edited by modwiz; 16th November 2012 at 19:15.

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    Default Re: Holistic Farming

    Great Thread Carmen

    TM
    "Seek the Truth.....and the Truth shall set you free!!!"

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  36. Link to Post #39
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    Default Re: Holistic Farming

    Thank you guys. I was wondering how appropriate rabbiting on about farming beef was on a forum where many people are vegetarians. This enterprise of mine is about farming beef but its also hugely about healing land and using animals to do it. Monitoring is very important. This includes looking over the fence and seeing how well my neighbours are doing in comparison. I followed my neighbours ewes and lambs down the road the other day and I was shocked at how poor his lambs were. He usually has excellent stock and is a good, (conventional farmer). His lambs were not blooming and looked like they were arthritic! Stock around here are used to dry country and wetness does not suit them, but something was wrong. My sheep have dirty bums at the moment because they are way overdue to be shorn, but they and their lambs are blooming, (meaning fat and healthy). My sheep have unlimited access to the same minerals the cattle get and they have plenty of scope, (meaning room to graze and roam). I haven't put them in my mob grazing regime yet, they are kinda a law unto themselves. They have a small forest they use as a house. It's where they sleep and also where they go to have their babies. I have been toing and froing as to whether or not to keep my particular sheep. One option is to get rid of them and buy sheep that naturally shed their wool which would solve the problem of having to shear them. These particular breeds (Dorper, Wilture, are handsome animals but they do look very messy when they are shedding and your fences are festooned with wool! Also I've had my motley crew (42 ewes) for a long time and they have survived well through neglect and no worming so I am thinking that I will keep them, cull out the old girls, get rid of my old rams and get a young ram later on. Some of my sheep are black wooled as I do some spinning and like the black fleeces. One of my rams is a real character. We call him "Rogers Jersey". I spun the wool and my daughter knitted a jersey from his wool hence the name! No fences contain him. He goes wherever he wants in spite of his huge set of curly horns. Apart from tupping (mating) time he hangs out with the neighbours rams. He prefers male company! Sounds similar to many males I know. I thought to turn him back up the road on meeting him moving down to his mates one day. Forget it!! He would have knocked me for six!! I quickly got out of his way. He did get his horns tangled in a fence one day and I spent ages getting him untangled. He will go though. He left quite a few very little twin black lambs, but they were not robust and many did not survive. I have one I reared as a pet and its going to have a fine set of horns too.

    The conventional way of farming sheep around here is that lambs have to be drenched regularly and kept on short grass or they will not do well. Drenching kills internal parasites but it also kills the worms and other microrganisms when the lambs poo on to the ground so drenching is very detrimental to the land. Also internal parasites become drench resistant and cease to work after a few applications. Lambs are also tailed, meaning their tails are cut off so they stay cleaner around the bottom area. Conventional farming is starting to question the idea of tailing but it is still widespread in practice. It really checks the lambs progress. Well it would wouldn't it! Having an appendage cut off!! I don't tail and if lambs are good and healthy and getting good tucker and the right minerals they don't get ****ty tails. My pet lambs (three) are huge and healthy. They are on very long grass, have mineral access and they are very clean. So that kinda flys in the face of conventional thinking on lamb rearing.

    Well, I've rambled on enough today.

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    Default Re: Holistic Farming

    Modwiz, what you say about nature being in support has become quite evident to me also. I kinda just whisper it but nature seems to be working in my favour. All the factors seem to line up because there is a 'rightness' to what I am doing. I'm very definitely getting answers from within as to the steps I should take. It surprises and delights me.

  39. The Following User Says Thank You to Carmen For This Post:

    modwiz (16th November 2012)

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