Our property is 22 acres and the back 10 have been a hayfield since we got here 12 years ago…but not, because we’ve had so many issues with finding reliable people to do the hay for us and the field just got in worse and worse condition.
Learning about building soil and carbon farming, we decided we’d turn it over to rotational grazing and just buy hay from someone else. That 10 acres already looks better! You can see how green the grass is in the foreground of the photo above…despite the hot, dry summer we’ve had.
We’ve had the cows on two sections of it, about 2+ acres each. Why didn’t we use the whole 10 acres? Because the north end is in such sad shape, there’s no point in putting them out there. And we only have three cows right now (technically two cows and a heifer), so we had enough grass with only using half of it.
And oh, do they love it! For example, when we moved the cows to a new patch in mid-July, we hardly saw them for several days. They only walked back toward the barn for their morning and evening grain and for water then went right back to grazing…as they should do!
This has meant mowing (brush hogging) the field too, and that alone has made a huge difference. It made us aware of the extent of our tansy ragwort infestation…but more on that in another post on pasture management.
Mowing stimulated grass growth as did the grazing. On the section that is so poor, we will rent a seed drill and borrow a bigger tractor and get cover crop planted that will start the process of building soil which in turn will help the plants we do want to outcompete the weeds. Plus it will provide better, healthier forage for our cows.
I stand in the field and I look at the green grass and the fat cows and I think, “This is right.” We can buy hay. We can’t buy healthy soil.
(And honestly it’s cheaper to buy hay than to go through all the hassle of trying to find a trustworthy person to cut and bale ours for us.)
So this is right. The animals tell me it’s right. The grass tells me it’s right. My gut tells me it’s right.
This is right!