Filed under: November 2016 | Tags: cattle grazing, dairy steers, environmental stewardship, field clean up, land stewardship, multi specie grazing, water quality
November 6, 2016
After I finish picking the ear corn, I turn the cows into the field. I also turn the sows in there too. The animals eat the fodder and corn husks. They glean the field for any ears that I might have missed. They also eat the grass and clover on the field edges. There is a lot of feed in my finished field. I like to make use of every corner of my farm. The animals are also spreading their own manure, saving me some work and expending no fossil fuel in the process.
The animals walk up and down the rows eating whatever strikes their fancy. I don’t force them to clean up every dry stick. I just let them forage until the grass has been grazed off. They will then be moved off this field. They will however return many times this winter as will the draft horses. The field will be used as a sacrificial lot over winter for the animals to get exercise. They will graze the standing stalks, but mostly they will jump and play without poking holes in our meadows. This five acre plot will be plowed next spring.
There are grassy areas on both ends and both sides of the field to catch any muddy water or manure run off before it gets into the road ditches or small streams. This keep the nutrients where we want them…in the fields, not in someone’s drinking water! So, eat up gang, clean up in any aisle!
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