Farm Journal April 22, 2020

Farm Journal April 22, 2020: 

This winter we started feeding the cows by ‘bale grazing’. Instead of feeding them in one spot all winter we would drop 2-3 days worth in different spots throughout the field. This moves the cows, their poop and hoofs around the field. We also picked area to put bales where we have a lot of sage brush we’d like to get rid of, the trapping of the areas has already reduced the brush and we are seeing more grass coming up. The left over hay will also provide coverage for the soil during the spring as we are waiting for the new growth to come in. 

One of the biggest principles of regenerating soil to to never leave the ground bare without ‘armor’ to protect it from heat, cold, rain fall and runoff. Also as the hay breaks down it will start the feed the microbiology in the soil. Over the next few seasons we will also start rotational grazing of the cattle to more closely mimic the way big herds of grazing animals used to make their way across grassland, never staying long enough to overgraze and area. We are excited to watch how this changes the soil and grass. ~Aila