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Kevin Cunningham
ParticipantI have no experience with canary grass but I can tell you from experience that discing alone prior to planting winter wheat has not worked well for me. In fact discing alone prior to planting any grain crop winter or spring hasn’t work for me at all. There have only been a few cases where I have pulled it off. This spring I was able to disc in pasture and plant spring oats, but I use tractor tillage for all my farming still, and a pretty heavy, “cover crop” style disc. The only reason I did that is I ran out of time for plowing. Now the fields I plant are for grain seed production, not hay. If hay is the goal and you don’t mind the inevitable weeds that tillage brings, then maybe discing only would work.
Also, I mean no disrespect to Mr. Fukuoka, I have read his books and they are part of the inspiration for our farm, but his ideas have been around for quite a long time and I have never seen a long term working model of no till grain production using his methods. It might be the difference in climate, soil, culture(agriculture), or some other factor, but the fact of the matter is that in the decades since writting “The One Straw Revolution” there have been no westerners to fully replicate his results in a more temperate climate. I do not say this to stop the experimentation and innovation that new ideas can bring to farming but my personal experience has proven to me that sometimes it is best to not try to reinvent the wheel. I have shifted my focus over the years to developing rotations, composting, cover cropping, and fallowing in order to not only preserve my soil to improve it and still farm it more “conventionally.” Bear in mind our farm in anything but conventional, we plant about 10 acres of mixed grains (and save all our own landrace seed) in one acre fields, for sale in a grain CSA.
I hope I have not rained on your parade but I get it a lot around here. “Have you ever heard of the One Straw Revolution?” asks the wide eyed college kid. . Yes in fact I have, I have an old copy of the original printing of the book, and when I started experimenting years ago I found my way back to the plow.
ParticipantErika, thanks for the review. I am considering investing this next season and given all of those considerations it still seems like the best all around tool for the job.
ParticipantI am officially jealous at this point. I am glad that I can at least see the videos from the event. I heard there was going to be a pioneer homesteader at the event did anyone get a look at it. What do you think?
ParticipantWhen I teamed up my pair it was immediately obvious which sides worked with whom. I too thought I would switch sides but it has not gone well any time I tried so I gave up. I do work them single but not yet in a single yoke, that is this winters project. With my pair Tex, the solid rock, is nigh and Joseph, the eager, but easily frightened one is off. I wish Joseph would go nigh because Tex, who is dominant, is always one step ahead of Joseph. Which puts me in the position of having to always speed up the off steer. It would seem easier to slow down the off and speed up the nigh. And while Joseph is my “problem child” he is the one who when it comes down to putting it into a heavy load he gives it all. Tex has a tendency to give up. So with that is mind they are on the appropriate sides for pulling, because I am right there to goad Tex where as Joseph is already laying into the yoke. In my limited experience the steers kinda made the decision for me. One way it worked the other way it did not. I will be curious who ends up where with your boys.
ParticipantWe have State Farm out here and I believe we are covered with a general farm and ranch policy. We host school groups, have a public pumpkin patch, CSA distribution site, etc. I believe we had to get a 2 million dollar policy for all that. Honestly I think it is a bit much but I do know of a local farmer who got sued for an injury that occurred on his property. The poor girl cut her achilles tendon while playing on a tilt bed trailer while being supervised by her parents. The trailer was not a part of the farm event, but being a working farm it was there. Hopefully not one ever gets hurt but that is what an insurance policy is for.
ParticipantWell, looking at one of the charts from that article. It looks like all classes of ruminants consume more browse during the fall(of course this is a based in Texas so we have to adjust accordingly). So maybe that is the best time to do invasive species control. I am not familiar with the plants and seasonal cycles y’all have back east, but it seems to me if the shrubs are knocked back right before the winter dormancy then they might not have enough to make it through till spring. We have a herd of elk that runs though our property seasonally. I think that is key to hit on, seasonally, they spent the winter time down here in the low lands where the grass grows and then the summer time up in the hills when the grass browns out but there are plenty of shrubs growing. They instinctively know when the feed is best and where. If we can mimic this then not only could you control some nasty invasives but I wonder how the animals’ health might improve?
ParticipantThat is a great article indeed. It really enforces the decision making process that we have gone through in making the transition of our animal herd to cattle. Prior to moving to our farm we kept goats which are great for the small space and intensive management style we had (suburban lot). Now we have more open grassland and honestly not much browse, so cattle seem to make the best fit. It is a commonly mistaken notion of browse being lower “quality” feed, but in reality it is high in easily assimilable nutirents; “browsers are animals that eat plants and plant parts high in easily digestible cell contents (forbs and browse).” This is reinforced from my experience with goats in that they are not “easy keepers.” Every body still thinks goats can live off of tin cans and cigarette butts, the reality is that they need higher quality hay, grain and mineral supplements to be healthy and productive in an enclosed farm system. If they have access to large areas of brush and can pick and choose then they would flourish, but we don’t have that. The other interesting aspect of the article is the seasonal difference in feed preferences. So it might mean that using cattle to clear brush might be more affective at certain times of year.
ParticipantWhen I raised my calves last year we started with four of them and early on I decided to train two of them for oxen. That is what started me down this path. I halter trained all of them with basic commands from day one because we were bottle feeding them. I had one, Red, who was my favorite. He was the most responsive right away, seemingly the healthiest of the bunch and I liked his coloring the best. Another one, Joe, flopped over and became sick, and he is just another black steer (he’s black like a cuppa joe). But I kept training all of them because I had read that it is better to train several and choose the best. But I did not make my decision until at least 4 or 5 months into it. I even then I paired them up in seemingly good pairs and trained them together for a while even before yoking them. It probably wasn’t until six months that I made a final decision. And it turns out that Red my favorite from the begining is the most obstinate and wild of the bunch, and Joe is the most responsive (and affectionate). And in hindsight I might have chosen, Star, another one instead of Joe, but now I am attached to him and we have a lot of training into him already. You never know who will be the best pair, so I would make sure to work them all for a while so you can make the best decision.
ParticipantI remember trying to get my boys to eat some grain early because I thought it might be good for them to get a little extra, but they were always more interested in the grass growing around the bucket of grain rather than the grain itself. So I just decided that it was best to graze them and supplement with some good quality clover hay. I think that if they had the chance now they would quickly scarf up a bucket of grain, but now I want them to just eat grass. I can see supplementing some grain when they start working harder but mostly I want them to be grass based traction.
ParticipantGreat looking calves you got there. I really have enjoyed raising steers from calves. It is a lot of work but it has leveled out some this summer which is good because the farm has me going non stop. Now you need a little 4 or 5 inch yoke to start training the little guys.
ParticipantMost livestock dogs I know will easily kill a skunk and probably get sprayed in the process but they don’t seem to mind. Our dog lives outside full time so not so much an issue except when we go out for the pasture moves. After some trapping and the dog getting a few I have not seen a skunk on our place in a while. When we bought the place they were everywhere, but now the population is under control. Acidic substances take away skunk smell, whey, tomato juice, vinegar, etc. Nothing like skunk smell!
ParticipantI am really curious to hear what you come up with. I can envision what you are talking about. I see light lines attached to the yoke maybe with pulleys that run back and steer the cultivator but not the steer. If the adjustments needed were only slight the tension might even move cultivator enough to not need wheels. Interesting idea, I need to find a way to cultivate with my steers. Every thing on the farm needs weeding right now pumpkins, corn, potatoes, onions, the possibilities for work are endless!
ParticipantI used to store a lot of grain in barrels because I got them cheap(free) from the creamery where they make ice cream. Like Tim said the only issue I had was when it was stored flat on cement then the bottom condenses. Stack on pallets and problem solved. I then moved up to the large poly totes, that hold a ton of feed. These were great because they are larger and I was quickly running out of barrels but they don’t keep the grain as good, more bugs than barrels. Last year I built a bunch of wooden bins with ply wood and I am very please with the quality of the grain in storage. Wood is the perfect container form grain because it has a drying effect on it. I have even heard of sinking a wooden post in a large metal silo to regulate moisture. My ideal grain bin is made from tongue and groove cedar, has a latching lid, and can be moved with a forklift. Someday I’ll have the cash for those bins but simple ply and 2×4 bins work great. Andy I can post pictures if you want.
ParticipantLapses happen sometimes but the best thing is to not push how much time she gets unsupervised with the animals. She is still so young and may not be fully trustworthy for a long time, two years. Keep up the good work and just remember to take the time needed.
ParticipantI have used a Planet Jr at a farm I worked. I liked that one a lot better than the Earthway but have not found one yet. The newer “Plenet Jr” type seeder is still cost prohibitive for me and I have heard the same about the Jang as well. I think what we need is something in between. I would spend $300 for a decent hand seeder but if I have to spend $800-$1200 I might as well make one for the tractor or better yet one for horse or oxen.
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