Rotational Grazing on 5 acre Permaculture Farm
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 20 มิ.ย. 2021
- I use rotational grazing on my 5 acre permaculture farm to manage my sheep, cows and alpacas. In this video I explain why I do this and also show how I go about this using portable electric fencing.
Music Andy Ellison Wise_Spruce_Instrumental
Dreamlamp_The Next_Sunrise_Instrumental
Oh my Gosh Linda ! Your story SOOOOOO resonates with mine . My name is Deniz and hubby and I decided this year IT'S time to realize our lifelong dream and buy our dream property and move to Gippsland, this landed us on our 63 acre Off Grid homestead in Seaton . Would love to connect sometime 🤠
Love Deniz
PS I also run the Gippsland Homesteaders Network on FB.
Love your channel keep up the FANTASTIC WORK 👍
Hi Deniz - it is fantastic having a piece of land to love and call your own.Seaton - near Glen Maggie - been through that waywhen holidaying! If I were on FB I would join the page! Yeah maybe connect sometime in the new year!
Really great farm with only 5 ac you are accomplishing quite a bit. Nice to see the rotational grazing work on this acreage.
Thank you!! I’m doing my best - nothing perfect around here - but heading in the right direction! Thanks for watching 😊
@@huttonsvalleypermaculture How does Beau escape the netting?
He learnt to push under it - most of them don’t do that thankfully 😅
@@huttonsvalleypermaculture When he pushes under it he doesn't mind the shock?
The bottom wire is not charged so he learnt that he could push with his nose & not get hit. If the other wires touched him as he went under they got his fleece so I don’t think he felt that
Hello from Texas! I loved this video. Great information and beautiful illustrations. Well done!
Hello Charlotte!! I'm really pleased that you've enjoyed the video. My animals are still happily circling around and they are slowly improving the soils here - happy days!! Thanks for watching 😊
Awesome video!!!!
Thank you so much!! Pleased you enjoyed it!
Good system. Hope it develops well for you.
Thank you - I’m working hard hoping it does 🤞
Good information and demonstration. Do you use guard dogs? If not have you had issues with preditors?
Thanks Kyle! I have two guard alpacas who protect the lambs from foxes! Haven’t lost any yet!! (Electric netting helps too)
Hello, I’ve just come across your site and I’m finding it very interesting and encouraging because I’m a single woman on my own also and I’ve just purchased 100 acres and I really like the idea of the movable fencing for your sheep. Could you please tell me the name of this fencing also where you purchased it from and I think you also Put an electric wire on the fence also where do you get all that from please TIA I’m near Perth W.A.
Hi Dawn and congratulations on your purchase - very exciting!! I mostly use a net fences for my grazing crew that I bought from The Farmers mailbox online - they have heaps of stuff. I did start out using Gallagher pull out electric fence but found that wasn’t great. The net works for the lambs. I’ve seen people just use a couple of wires for sheep but I wasn’t confident they’d stay. I have a solar energiser which you could get at rural supply places or online. I’ve got a Hotwire around the perimeter of the property that I hook off as well - that was here when I bought the place - speak to fencing contractors about that if you need.
Good luck
Are you able build more permanent fences and create your mini paddocks?? Or will you continue with the netting?
I will continue with the netting because it gives you more flexibility with the paddock sizes which vary according to how much grass is present. In Winter when grass is growing slowly I'll have smaller paddock sizes and move around the property over 60 days but in spring, when grasses are growing extremely fast I would have bigger paddock sizes and move around the property in 30 days. I also just like the feel of the place without the permanent fences!!
I've read that it's as good as alfalfa but will never cause bloat and all species love it.
I know my alpacas like it - they have a nibble anytime it’s within reach!!
How bout followup the ruminant animals with chickens? They can interrupt the pest cycle...
I wish I could - have seen all the videos and read Joel Salatins books but my land is quite sloped and I would struggle to get them moved. Maybe if I was 30 years younger or if I had someone else to help!? My ducks do go through all the manures when the animals have moved through the pastures next to the dam so at least some area is covered!! Thanks for watching 😊
I love this! Did you say you move your animals every 3-4 days?
Thank you!! I'm actually moving them all daily - keeps everyone happier. Or rather I open up a new section daily and leave the last days pasture open to them for sitting around in. Joel Salatin says you've got to give them the lounge room as well as the dining room haha!! Thanks for watching!😊
Too cute! Thanks so much for responding! 😊 We are planning to start in the spring with animals 🙏🩵
@MommyDiego while there’s lots to learn and get used to, there’s heaps of fun to be had - good luck with it all!
Do you use any tagasaste?
Sure do! Love it as a support species in the food forest - haven’t feed to animals as yet - perhaps should try!! If you look out for this weekends video you’ll see a beautiful tagasaste in full bloom!!
Thanks for watching 😊
How large are your paddock sizes? How frequently do you move?
Hi Jenny I move everyone daily and the paddock sizes vary according to a number of different factors. If the grass is growing quickly you move everyone quickly - so in spring I move around the 5 acres in 30 days, but in winter the grass is fairly dormant so it takes 60 days to get around so paddock sizes are smaller. Some areas recover quickly & some take longer - all that needs to be taken into account. With the cows now I’m finding I do feed some hay in winter to make sure I move slowly enough. Sorry I can’t give an exact size - they vary everyday!
Thanks for watching
@@huttonsvalleypermaculture I would love to pick your brain if you're willing. We are moving to a farm with a pasture size of only about 5 acres until we clear out some wooded area for more room. It will be a big change for us to move from AZ to PA and farming with snow and colder winters. Not sure where your farm is, but I guess my question is do you ever use an enclosed structure during weather issues and if so how do you manage that? We rarely get extreme weather in arizona aside from heat and that just means more shade and water. Any tips would be so much appreciated.
My farm is in south east Australia- cool temperate, no snow but very wet winters -2 to 10 Celsius. I only use structures for extremes cold, wet, windy or very hot and this generally is very short term. I’ll use them briefly for calving or lambing as well. It does throw rotation for a bit but I still try not to overgraze. Two steps forward one step back it feels like at times. Joel salatin manages animals in barns over winter & Justin Rhodes does that too. Perhaps check out some of his older videos on the subject. Greg Judy moves animals twice a day & is in Missouri- I learn a lot from his videos as well
Richard Perkins in Sweden has some good videos on holistic management and grazing - again some of his older videos
Sorry don’t know why line is thru most of this??
What is your dung beetle population like?
I do have a dung beetle population but I suspect it could be better. I don’t really have anything to compare to. I know a couple of weeks ago when collecting manure for the compost I left half of each pile just to support the beetles that were there. I did notice when we weren’t getting much rain that they weren’t as obvious. Hopefully numbers will be increasing over the years as the pasture improves
Could rotational grazing work where summers are hot and dry and grass dies back without irrigation?
That’s what I’m working towards! At the moment I’m trying to move them quickly to make the most of the spring growing. Excess grass will be trampled to build the soil. Once soil has good structure it should hold moisture through the drier times and slow or stop grass dying off. I released a video last week that kind of went through my thinking on this!
Thanks again for watching
@@huttonsvalleypermaculture Where I live, we get no rain for three months during the summers, the grass goes to seed and dries up without mowing or irrigation. I’m guessing it won’t provide enough nutrition? I’m new to this so just trying to understand how/if I can do it. I don’t have enough animals for grazing yet (about three acres of meadow/pasture). I noticed this year that where I mowed just before the dry season, the grass stayed greener longer. Does that mean spring grazing would be beneficial?
Did you mow and leave the cut grass on the pasture - may have helped the soil keep the moisture in place longer! Watch Greg Judy videos - he talks a lot about moving animals and how it benefits the soil and then the grass. Also take a look at soil food web videos which will give you a better understanding as well. I have a soil food web video in which I try to explain it all a bit better!! There’s a lot to get your head around but worth the effort!!
And maybe by mowing it you kept it in the growing phase longer which is greener than when grasses go to seed! Joel Salatin goes on a bit about that
@@huttonsvalleypermaculture Yes that makes sense