Filed under: June 2016 | Tags: cows and sows, grass, managed grazing, multi specie grazing, Small Farming
June 21, 2016
Cows and sows graze white clover. This pasture was getting a little ahead of the sows. I turned the cows into it so as to slow the growth down a little bit. I guess manage is a better word than slow it down. I am making the best use of the pastures as they grow. Multi-specie grazing gives me a great advantage when it comes to pasture management.
The cows also help to keep the permanent horse pasture under control. The grasses grow faster than the horses can eat it. The cows stop by from time to time and spend the night there. They eat what the horses leave. I will soon mow the rest. This early summer with very little rain, makes pasture management a delicate job this season. If i graze the grass too short, I will pay all season as it struggles to grow. If I leave it go to seed, it also stops growing.
The trick is to use as much of the grass as possible before mowing to keep the weeds at bay. So far so good, but it is only the middle of June. There is a lot of summer left for our grass. Hopefully, herd management, timely mowing and multi-specie grazing will maximize natures bounty….all while letting the animals spread their own manure!
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