Managed grazing

Finally, finally we have the majority of our fencing in place so we can really begin to manage our animals on the pasture. Early this season we were able to graze a small paddock of winter wheat, which has now already come back to over a foot tall.



Later we turned the animals into one of our irrigation channels. This is nice in many ways--the channel is not wasted in terms of pasture production, and it does not need to be mowed or weeded. Our neighbors either spray, weed-whack, or burn their irrigation ditches. Why not make it work for the humans and animals on the farm? Of course it takes the right animals and the right fencing to do this. We are lucky now that our cows and sheep are mild-tempered enough to stay put and herd easily. It's easy to keep them busy eating when there is lush grass and clover available.