Experimenting on the Farm, Part 2

While 2020 has been a year of boredom, new hobbies, and time to catch up on reading for many house-bound folks, on the farm it's been a bit different.  Now that winter has arrived, I've had a bit of time to slow down and write, so I thought it would be fun to tell you, my readers, about some of the new things I've been working on at the farm.

My main objective on the farm is to improve the health and quality of the soil by building biology, rather than focusing on fertility.  A healthy soil biology leads to good soil fertility.

How am I working to improve the soil on the farm?  I have embarked on three experiments this year.  The first two are described in a previous post.

Experiment #1: Rotational Grazing

Experiment #2: Compost

Experiment #3: Cover Crops

A new experiment this year was to implement cover crops with my barley crop.  This experiment had a few objectives.  First, I wanted to increase the biodiversity in the field.  Diversity of plant life above the soil can decrease pest pressure on a crop.  A diversity of plant life below the ground contributes to more efficient nutrient cycling and soil building due the difference of plant needs and root structures.  

Second, I wanted to have living plants growing in the field after harvest for the cattle to graze.  These plants would give me extra grazing days, allow for efficient fertilizer spread (the cows put down the manure themselves), and hold the soil in place once the crop was gone.  

Third, I wanted to be sure to have useful plants (rather than weeds) growing in the field in case of a crop disaster.

The cover crop mix I used was 40% Italian ryegrass, 30% Berseem clover, and 10% kale.  I used this mix with barley in two different situations.  

In one field, we encountered a serious weed problem, as well as significant moisture in some low areas, which meant that we had to wait until late spring to seed most of that field.  The barley-ryegrass-clover-kale mixture was harvested as green feed (similar to hay), because the barley would not have had time to ripen having been planted so late.  After harvest, my cousin was able to graze his cattle on the stubble, as well.  In this situation, the cover crop was meant to add nutrition to the feed harvested.

The green feed mix next to the ripe grain (barley only) in the field that could only be partially seeded early in the spring.

In the second field, I planted the barley-cover crop mix at the regular time and harvested the barley as a feed grain (cattle feed).  The cover crop here was mainly meant to allow for post-harvest grazing.  As it turns out, we had a very wet spring and summer, which caused some crop failure in all of the barley fields in the community, including this one.  However, in every place where the barley failed, the cover crop (especially the ryegrass) thrived.  I was able to harvest some barley from that field, but the real value came from the post-harvest grazing allowed by the cover crops.

In the cut area, you can see the green cover crop growing underneath the golden barley.

In some areas, the kale outcompeted all else.

From a distance, it looked like I had allowed weeds in my barley, but most of this is cover crop peeking through the crop.

In some wet areas, the Italian ryegrass grew where nothing would.

Here are some things I had learned from this cover crop experiment:

• the Italian ryegrass out-competed everything else in wet or slightly wet areas
• the kale was a big hit with the cattle (not so much with my dad)
• the kale grew best in soil located where we had fed the cows the previous winter and tended to out-compete the crop in those spots
• the straw ended up with a lot of green plants in it, which will likely result in the cows eating most of their bedding

Let me know in the comments what types of experiments you have tried on your farms, in your homes and gardens, or in your businesses!

Experimenting on the Farm

While 2020 has been a year of boredom, new hobbies, and time to catch up on reading for many house-bound folks, on the farm it's been a bit different.  Now that winter has arrived, I've had a bit of time to slow down and write, so I thought it would be fun to tell you, my readers, about some of the new things I've been working on at the farm.

My main objective on the farm is to improve the health and quality of the soil by building biology, rather than focusing on fertility.  A healthy soil biology leads to good soil fertility.

To illustrate this objective, consider the photo below.  Both handfuls of soil came from my garden, from spots several meters apart.  The soil on the left has higher levels of organic matter and fertility than the soil on the right.  This can be seen in the difference in colour, texture, and the amount of roots present in the soil.  The problem with these two handfuls of soil is that I cannot figure out what I did differently from one half of the garden to the other to produce such different results.  If I had thought to take a picture of the difference in the crop produced, I would show that, too.  Suffice it to say, the plants grown in the soil on the left were far healthier and more productive than those grown in the soil on the right.

Two different handfuls of soil taken a few meters apart from each other.

How am I working to improve the soil on the farm?  I have embarked on three experiments this year.

Experiment #1: Rotational Grazing

I've been working for a few years to implement grazing programs that allow the land and plants to rest in between grazing periods (previously, the pastures were grazed continuously throughout the growing season).  There is still a lot of work to do, but we have been able to get the cows to graze more of the under-utilized low-areas.

In the future, I want to get every pasture appropriately divided up for rotational grazing and establish a more consistent pattern of movement.

The video above shows the herd moving from one section of the pasture to another (the sections being divided by an electric fence, which is turned off during the move). As you can see, the move is relaxed enough for a very wobbly newborn calf to keep up.

Experiment #2: Compost

My latest experiment is one that is for the benefit of next year's venture: a market garden.  I am planning to turn a small hay field in my backyard into a large garden for the commercial production of vegetables.  Since tillage is a major cause of soil degradation, I have been exploring ways to reduce tillage in the garden.  One way is to put down thick layers of compost on top of the soil and plant into that, rather than planting into the soil.  

In order for the compost to be free of weed seeds and germs, it needs to undergo rapid hot composting, a process that is very new to me.  I have begun an experiment with a pile of manure and straw bedding from last winter.  Using the tractor, I pushed the pile into rows and turn the rows every day or two.  Microbes with in the rows are supposed to grow rapidly and break down the material within a few weeks, creating enough heat to kill any germs and weed seeds.  

While I have witnessed the piles creating some heat, the pockets of heat are not evenly distributed throughout the compost.  I have my doubts as to whether this will work well in the winter with this older pile of manure.  I will try another round of rapid hot composting in the late spring of 2021 using a fresher pile of manure and straw.

The two piles of compost, freshly turned.

Partially composted manure/straw mixture.

Experiment #3: Cover Crops

As this post has gone on quite long enough, I will leave this last experiment to a later post.

Let me know in the comments what types of experiments you have tried on your farms, in your homes and gardens, or in your businesses!