What I've Learned About Quality Pasture-part III

Well, I made it to chapter three of "Quality Pasture" by Alan Nation. I am learning a bunch. I don't want to mislead people into thinking I am an expert on the subject of grass, I am not. I am simply trying to learn how to grow and manage the best pasture we can, then end product being stewardship of God's land. All we have belongs to Him, and it is our job to take care of it. My hope is to share and, maybe, bless someone else. So, here it is, installment three.

A major misunderstanding, or mistake, on my part is to graze a paddock too long. I have learned that grass has roots that are as long as the grass is tall. Why is that important? Because short grass has a short root system and takes quite a bit longer to turn green in the Spring. Not only that, but if we let the grass grow to 6-8" and manage the grazing through paddocks and rotation, graze it down to 3-4" an amazing thing happens. The grass goes into "shock" and the roots die off underground to match the remaining leaves above ground. This is the fastest way to build organic matter in the soil. You see, it is the dead, decaying roots that give the soil the needed organic matter.

It is important to study the lay of your land. To know and understand the slope and which side of that slope gets the most free energy-sunlight. It is that side that will grow the best grass. How about run-off? The top of the slope will get the most benefit of the rain. The middle of the slope will get the least due to run-off, and the bottom of the slope will get too much as the rain water collects there. The top will be lush, the middle will be suseptible to drought and the bottom will be soggy and subject to pugging. So now, I am beginning to take pasture walks. Just walking through the paddock with my eyes to the ground. For the first time, I am noticing how our land lays. Where the best grass grows (not that we have much) and where it is dry. There is no snow on the ground here so I can still see traces of little green grass in areas and not in others. Interesting.

I also learned in this book, the idea of taking a little bag of grass seed with me on these walks (although I haven't done this yet, it is part of my plan) to sprinkle some seed in bare spots. Bare spots don't make any money.

Thatch on the soil prevents oversowing and indicates a poor earthworm population. This is a problem here. In my walks, I have noticed a good deal of thatch. Thus, in the past, the seed that I broadcasted didn't grow. This seems obvious, but I totally missed it.

Spending a little money on your pasture annually saves a bunch in feed costs. It is necessary, as Alan Nation states it, to feed the pasture before you feed your animals. Let the animals do the work.

What needs to be in the works is a small scale renovation plan for our small farm. The land really needs to be in a constant state of renovation. My friend with Fertrell recomends Fertrells Aragonite instead of lime due to the sometimes unknown proportions of calcium and magnesium. Fertrells product costs a bit more, but you use less and it has a good supply of calcium to magnesium. Too much magnesium can prevent trace minerals from entering the plant. The Aragonite is 60% usable immediately because it comes from pre-digested sea shell and corral. (Click the links to the side for more info from fertrell.)

So, when was the last time you took a pasture walk?