I have been busy on the farm with little time to write a blog. All is going well.
I have almost gotten the new terraces completed to keep the soil from eroding around the shelter for the horses. Since our pens and shelters are build on the hillside and the pasture is flat, there is erosion from the hillside to the pasture. Water moves soil, and I want the soil to stay in place. I have done small measures to slow the water down such as putting manure and straw in these low areas.
In April, I purchased a small tractor with a front end loader. A much needed piece of equipment on the farm. I purchased the size that would fit into my shelters, allowing the tractor to do the work of removing animal manure instead of me with a shovel and wheelbarrow. I am also able to move large heavy portable fence panels and other items much easier and safer than before.
The purpose of the terraces is not to hold the water from flowing down hill, but to slow the speed the water flows. Terraces are formed flat to allow the water to spread out and not create a trench in which the water can move faster. Terraces give the water time to sink downward into the soil where it can be used by grass and other plants.
In building the terraces, I used recycled wood poles from my once raised garden area to from a solid wall to hold the soil in place when the rains arrive. With the aide of my small tractor, I was able to do a really good clean out of the horse shelters, and fill the bottom of the area being terraced with the compacted manure. Where the soil had collected when the water slowed down at the edge of the pasture, I was able to remove and place on top of the manure in the newly formed terrace areas. Since some of the soil I was moving back up the hillside already had some grasses growing in it, I was able to replant in areas. Once the dirt moving part was done on the terrace, I planted winter wheat. The winter wheat will sprout and hold the soil in place until the areas of planted grass can take off and spread next spring. When the winter wheat is six inches tall, I will be able to graze sheep on the terraces.
The pasture has been seeded with winter wheat using a no-till drill. I will be able to graze the pasture in a month or two when the winter wheat is six inches tall. I have not been able to graze sheep on the pasture since last April due to the drought conditions. Hopefully with rain, I will be able to graze this late fall and winter.
I am a sheep farmer. In being a sheep farmer I also need to care for the land I raise the sheep on. The care of the soil to provide nourishment to the grass the sheep graze. Protecting the grass from being overly grazed, so there will be pasture next year. While trying to feed and raise sheep and still try to make a profit.
This year has been difficult due to drought conditions. I have kept my sheep in pens, feeding hay and some supplements. If I over graze the pasture, it will take years to recover and feed the number of sheep I have today. By restricting the grazing I will have pasture in a few months to graze the sheep on, provided the rains come.
Sheep farming is more than just caring for the sheep, it is caring for the land and environment as well.
Granny
Granny's Homestead 