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Grazing Cattle
We have been custom crazing cattle for the past couple of years. We wanted to give you an idea of how we improve our soil through grazing. The cattle are moved twice a day to new pasture. As they eat they trample down grasses. The trampling covers the soil and acts as a mulch. The mulch works much the same as in a garden, not letting water evaporate. This also gives shading for the soil so it doesn’t get as hot, and eventually is broken down into organic matter. This is helpful in improving our pastures and forages.
We are seeing more dung beetles, they tunnel and lay their eggs in the dung. It is encouraging for us to see them. They will be hatching and flying in late April and May. The beetles help quicken the mineral cycle, making nutrients available to the plants sooner. When our pastures are more nutritionally dense our livestock look and grow better.
Another way that we are improving our soil is the use of compost teas. When we apply aerated compost tea to the soil we add beneficial microbes to our pastures. They in turn break down and make nutrients available to plants. We look for these symbiotic relationships that will improve the quality and quantity of our pastures.
We have been custom crazing cattle for the past couple of years. We wanted to give you an idea of how we improve our soil through grazing. The cattle are moved twice a day to new pasture. As they eat they trample down grasses. The trampling covers the soil and acts as a mulch. The mulch works much the same as in a garden, not letting water evaporate. This also gives shading for the soil so it doesn’t get as hot, and eventually is broken down into organic matter. This is helpful in improving our pastures and forages.
We are seeing more dung beetles, they tunnel and lay their eggs in the dung. It is encouraging for us to see them. They will be hatching and flying in late April and May. The beetles help quicken the mineral cycle, making nutrients available to the plants sooner. When our pastures are more nutritionally dense our livestock look and grow better.
Another way that we are improving our soil is the use of compost teas. When we apply aerated compost tea to the soil we add beneficial microbes to our pastures. They in turn break down and make nutrients available to plants. We look for these symbiotic relationships that will improve the quality and quantity of our pastures.
