Written by Amy Lasley, Green Tree Python Breeder of Spruce Nubble Farm
Ultra-Intensive Grazing, or How to provide fresh
grass with very little pasture
The word pasture for me has always conjured up images of rolling, lush, green hillsides framed with perfect, white, three-rail fences all around and contented critters happily munching away to their hearts content. Since moving to our 85 acres of heaven in the western Maine mountains, I have had to get pretty flexible with my definition of pasture. You see, our 85 acres is covered in trees� lots and lots of trees. Only about 5 acres of the 85 are cleared, and these 5 are occupied by our house, barn, garage, sap house, driveway, garden, greenhouse, etc. By the time we get done subtracting the space taken up by all the stuff that makes up a farm, we�ve probably got 1.5 acres of actual, accessible grass.
Being the kind of person who will not take yeah right for an answer, I have spent the last couple of summers trying to figure out how to get blood from a stone. We have two gorgeous draft horses who eat as much as three regular sized horses, if not more. We also have over 100 meat birds we raise on pasture. Of course nothing less would do but to raise our own grass fed poultry, LOL.
The benefits of fresh pasture are too many to enumerate here, but suffice it to say that pasture in my opinion is natures perfect food for horses and many other herbivores. It is not easy to finagle with limited acreage, but here are a few guidelines that have helped us get the most of what we have.
1. Get Over It
Our pastures are never going to look like the storybook images I see in my mind. One of the biggest obstacles for me was to acknowledge the utilitarian nature of any grass growing land on our property. You might call it a lawn, but I call it a pasture. One advantage of using any scrap of grass growing land to pasture your animals on is that you only need to mow once or twice a year, just enough to keep undesirable plants in check. Just remember not to use any chemicals on your grass that might be harmful to your animals.
2. Temporary fencing
We are big fans of electric tape fencing and plastic step-in posts. These materials cost very little, last a long time and can be picked up and moved quickly. If your horses and other livestock have already learned to respect the electric tape, you may not even need to electrify it for your grazing areas. An animal with a face full of the green stuff usually will not be interested in escaping.
3. Rotate, Rotate, Rotate
We have 5 or 6 different areas, each less than 1/4 acre that we use for our animals. One key to keeping the grass growing is not to let it get eaten down too much. We rotate the grazing area at least once a day, sometimes twice. This gives each area a chance to recover before the next onslaught.
4. Pick up the Poop
It might sound obvious, but its important to either pick up the droppings or spread them thinly EVERY day. This not only keeps the grass under the droppings from getting burned, but also removes breeding areas for flies.
5. Do not wait for Rain
Remember that you are asking a lot from a small area. If the grass is looking dry, water it. During dry spells, we water ours every day. Its not that much area for a lawn sprinkler to cover, and the cost of watering is usually less than the price of the hay you would be feeding, assuming you do not have town water. Pretend the grass your animals are eating is just another garden crop and treat it as such.
6. Make do with what you have got
Even a couple hours a day of grazing can do wonders for the health and happiness of your animals. Grazing is a natural behavior. It relieves stress and boredom, while adding trace minerals and fiber to the diet. Do not worry about what your neighbors think of you, just do the best you can with what you have got.
These are just the major principles that come to mind, but I would be happy to answer any questions you may have about what has and has not worked for us. I am not an expert by any stretch, but would love to chat.
