Grazing the Tall Grass
June 18th, 2014 · No Comments · Posted in farming
Temporary electric fencing has made grazing management vastly more efficient. I bought 80-foot lengths of sheep netting and build squares on our pastures for the ruminants to mow. The only problem: when the grass grows tall, you have to cut lanes before you can set up the fencing. Last year I wrecked both my elbows using a scythe to mow. Now we have a small tractor. It makes the job so much easier–and faster.
Every morning lately I drive out to the back pasture to offer our crew a fresh square of grass. I use the existing fence lines as guides to mow three new lanes, then pull the fence sections from a previous square to create the new one. Each length of netting has flexible plastic posts attached every 12 feet. The posts have steel spikes on one end to secure them upright in the ground. With seven sections of netting, I can easily move the sheep (and Jersey heifer, and boy goat) around the pastures, playing a kind of hop-scotch from one day to the next.
I’ve gotten pretty good at measuring 80 feet by eye. Once the lanes are mowed, I use one side of the square where the livestock are currently grazing as a starting point. In then lay out the fencing out for the new square one section at a time, making sure the corners meet before pushing the plastic posts into the ground. There’s a lot of walking involved–retrieving fence sections from two days ago and hauling to the new square. Once the fencing is erect, I secure the corners with string to separate plastic posts for more rigidity and connect metal fittings that allow electricity to flow around the entire square. Our high-tensil perimeter fence is electrified, making it pretty easy to run a spool of wire to the temporary sheep netting.
When the new square is ready, I open one corner and let the animals in. Usually, they’re waiting for me. They’ve been watching the whole process, watching my every move, anxious to get at the fresh grass. When the netting opens, they dash in with lots of bleating and thundering hooves, then quickly settle in to stuff their faces.
This time of year I’m just trying to keep up with all the new growth in the fields, wishing I had more animals to help eat it. By August, when it’s hot and dry, I’ll probably be wishing for more grass. We’ll find out soon enough.
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