[Jacob-list] Renewing Pastures

[Robin Lynde]

Some of you might be interested in some articles that my brother has written. This one is about soil.
http://www.ranchmanagement.com/newsletter/newsarch/nl66.pdf
This one is more general--he speaks to the idea of sustainability and explains how we need to focus not on more production, but more profit (they don't necessarily go together)
http://www.ranchmanagement.com/newsletter/newsarch/news97/97-econology/97-econology.html
My brother, Dave Pratt owns Ranch Management Consultants and teaches a fabulous Ranching for Profit school. His website if full of well-written, easy-to-understand articles on all topics having to do with ranching, sustainability, grazing, etc. 
If you ever have a chance to attend one of his schools it is well worth the money. The usefulness of the school extends far beyond actual ranching and farming practices. Thinking outside the box has become cliché, but Dave shows how to think in and outside of multiple boxes that you didn't even know you were in.

By the way, my brother was the speaker at the AGM we held in CA a couple of years ago.
Robin Lynde
Meridian Jacobs
Vacaville, CA 
www.meridianjacobs.com 
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Neal and Louise Grose 
  To: jacob-list at jacobsheep.com 
  Sent: Wednesday, March 03, 2010 3:57 AM
  Subject: Re: [Jacob-list] Renewing Pastures


  Wet North Carolina is a long way from Utah, but I feel that you are on the wrong track with trying to plow in organic matter unless you want the soil to end up blowing away or running off into a stream. Every time I hear some of the new "agricultural gurus" urging us to go back to the way our grandfathers farmed, my blood pressure goes up several points. These idiots seem to have never heard of no-till farming. I have spent many years trying to heal the land from the effects of the way our grandfathers farmed. Bless them, they did the best they could, but we can do better. 

  Well managed pastures are a good way to improve soils, we don't improve the soil to grow pasture.

  Most pasture species are seeded shallowly. I have had excellent results from surface seeding alfalfa and grasses with nothing but a standard drill after a rain, pulling a roller to firm the clay to the seed. #$%& "organic farming" for THIS phase. Correct the pH of the soil and use fertilizer to raise soil fertility before seeding.  If you have any sort of organic matter, it can be scattered over the surface after seeding to protect the soil from drying, freezing and thawing. Borrow a manure spreader and scatter loose mulch thin enough to see the soil. Rotten silage and poultry liter are excellent for this.

  Neal
  North Carolina
    ----- Original Message ----- 
    From: Beryl Schwartz 
    To: jacob-list at jacobsheep.com 
    Sent: Tuesday, March 02, 2010 7:54 PM
    Subject: [Jacob-list] Renewing Pastures


    All,

     

    Well, I finally got a tractor (49 Ford 8N) and the following implements: blade, disker and cultivator.  So now I can work on my pastures.  I installed irrigation lines last summer, so I can also water them.  Not a lot grows in these pastures, so every bit helps. 

     

    I had them tested and they have very low amounts of organic matter (<0.5%).   So I was thinking about incorporating organic matter (wood chips, manure and half rotted compost) by spreading it on a 1 acre pasture, cultivating it in, disking it and planting seed.  I am going to do this in the fall.  I plan on planting a mixture of Ranger alfalfa and dryland pasture grass 

     

    I have some questions:

     

    Am I on the right track?

    Any tips on plowing?

    What is the best way to plant seed?

    How many weeks do I plant before the frost?

    What is the best way to fence out the animals the following spring and summer? 

     

    Thanks,

    Beryl Schwartz

    Stockton, Utah



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