Our cows did a great job cleaning up the long grass in the front paddock, but they are heavy animals, and have ended up damaging the soil on some of the steeper parts of the paddock. In those areas, the vegetation has been trodden away completely, exposing the bare soil beneath. The problem was exacerbated by all the rain we have had lately.
Becky plants seeds on the steep area of the future goat paddock
Obviously, we need to avoid erosion and loss of topsoil in areas like that. Here are some of the strategies we are using (or planning to use) to improve the situation.
1) Ideally, we wouldn’t have the cows in that area at all. At the moment, we are trying to arrange to get a couple of goats. Since the goats are lighter, they will be better suited for grazing very steep areas.
2) Whether we are grazing goats or cattle, we obviously need to be especially vigilant about conditions in that paddock. Things can get messed up very quickly in there if it starts to rain heavily, as was the case when the damage occurred.
3) If an area gets broken up by the feet of the cattle, we can plant seeds on it in order to regenerate it and turn it into useful pasture again as soon as possible. The new plants will help to hold the soil and prevent further erosion.
4) Eventually, we hope to plant trees on the areas of the Farmlet that are very steep or otherwise problematic for grazing. This is the best longterm solution for preventing erosion. We could choose to plant trees that will provide forage for the animals and/or food for us, in order to maintain or even increase the productivity of our land. This is a very popular permaculture method.
Yesterday I sowed seeds on some of the damaged areas in the front paddock. I sowed chickory seeds, as well as a mixture called “herbal ley for grazing animals.” We hope that these plantings will eventually provide more varied and healthy forage for our animals.
Bummer….land that steep will always be problematic for cattle, unless you watch it really closely.
A couple of other strategies for your toolbox….
-Install new fencing on the contours, or slightly off of them (a la keyline). The trampling of the livestock will create channels that allows water and sediment to be captured and stored. It looks like the fence in the picture is close to contour, though, so that may not be enough. You can run a polywire around the slope of that part to keep them from walking up and down the slope, rather than across
-When you beat up an area more than planned, toss in the seed while the stock are still in there…trampling in the seed gives you a much healthier stand, and saves you on seed cost. Feeding hay up there, too, helps hold it all together, and brings in seeds.
-Lastly, bring in the goats, and be prepared to round them up. “A fence that holds water will hold a goat”
Good luck!
Rich
Thanks, Rich.
The fence is basically on contour, but a polywire could be a big help . . . and now I wish we’d thought to toss the seeds on while the animals were still in the paddock! We’ll certainly keep those tips for future reference.
I really enjoyed taking a look at your website, by the way.
Best,
Rebecca