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!