ADVENTURE'S DOWNUNDER OR FARMING IN PARADISE:An Old Rams view.

[abifae]

I wonder if I could actually sell them if I called them that here? When people ask what they are, you could say "Oh, they're a special heirloom, organically grown sun-ripened French squash." What do you think... $5/lb?

Yes. DO IT!! Woot!

 

[aggieterpkatie]

I'm definitely following along with your journal, TOR! I am a sheep gal and can't wait until the day I can have more acreage and more sheep! Your stories are very interesting!

 

[The Old Ram-Australia]

WED .3pm
G'day ,howsyousgoin,well we hope.

Today looked like it was going to be pretty good just after sunrise,6C with about 2C of windchill,but by 10am it was cloudy and it only got to 10C with 4C of WC(my god ,that wind is as cold as a "mother in-laws kiss")....................First job today was to muster a "mob" of lambs(about 110) off the exposed paddock they were in. (hell they have grown,pictures when I have them in the yards)once the temp and the wind get that low they start to "burn" condition,regardless of how "good" the feed is...............I noticed while I was there that the kangaroo's had broken a wire in two fence lines(a job for after lunch),anyway got the lambs altogether and moved them to a wooded paddock out of the wind with a fresh pick........................Coffee time...

Fixed the fence lines and took the dogs to check the ewe's and rams(about 2 mile there and back),took note of the weeds I will have to start spraying as soon as I can.I like to walk as much as I can because you don't see much from the drivers seat in the "ute" .The one "big" lesson "we learned in the drought was, "if your going to farm stock,you had better learn to be a grass farmer first".

While I was walking I was wondering what I would write for today.Here's a couple of thoughts"around here you are not a real farmer unless you have at least 1000acs and your not a local unless you have got three generations in the local cemetery".

Questions and Answers:JRmom,cropping is the hardest game to be in ,where abouts is your friend ,sounds like Southern NSW or VIC.
Moolie:Our dogs are kelpie's,and you can get more help on the farm from them ,than two teenage sons(LOL).Whats the other half of the Border Collie?

We still have not got to "preparing for the next drought" ,have we?I am not sure if I covered all of "surviving drought"(well the detail anyway).......................So, tomorrow is "shopping day",no farm work!(I will have to give tomorrows post some thought)

..............Till next time,regards,T.O.R......................

 

[JRmom]

Yes, she's in Victoria, surrounded by a vineyard that has gone through hell in the drought.

 

[moolie]

Moolie:Our dogs are kelpie's,and you can get more help on the farm from them ,than two teenage sons(LOL).Whats the other half of the Border Collie?

They're beautiful. And I'm not a dog person, lol--I have cats

I'll have to ask my brother what Maya's other half is, she has shorter fur than regular border collies--this is Maya:

 

[The Old Ram-Australia]

Thur.8.45.

G'day gang,a special "hello",to forum members(if you are a visitor,why not join "up' and join in?)I'm so glad you could stop by...........Tonight is going to be a bit "rough and ready",as I said last night, today was shopping day.(left in the dark and got home in the dark)Its over 200kms round trip to go shopping for us.We do try to go weekly because its a day off the farm,and we get to see "people"and catch up with some friends or family..............

Years ago an old farmer told me the secret of "How to make a small fortune "................Well,he said,(with a wry smile)you start with a "big fortune"and you buy a farm....Wise words indeed,how often have you seen someone new to the land ,with "big plans" and no experience spend money like there is no tomorrow on items that spend most of there time in his "new shed",invest in stock which "may or may not" advance his flock breeding objectives,(just because you spend a fortune on "genetics",unless there is a well thought out plan to go with them it can soon end in disaster,both financial and emotional).I have heard more than once the phrase"What did I do wrong"................Here's another old saying(I know I'm full of them.LOL).."If you fail to plan ,you plan to fail".

I thought I might re-visit this subject and give a little more detail.(if thats OK with you all)


I thought I would address a question from gettinaclue,about the drought.I believe we "survived" because we "adapted" to a changing production environment.
1.We reduced stock numbers "early".
We used to carry cattle before the drought,we would buy weaners and sell them on at 12months,the first year of the drought we "fed "them through the winter,but with the approach of the second winter and no "Autumn break"we sold them .We still mad a bit of money even after we deducted the cost of feeing them,but we got nothing for "our" labor.

We also sold all the Goats and decided to concentrate on the Sheep.Our aim was each Autumn before joining to access how much feed we had to get us through winter and we would sell stock so that our numbers matched the available feed.We did this each year for 8years,keeping our "best"performing ewes and also selling the "bottom"25% of our ewe lamb drop.We sourced a new line of rams which assisted in reducing "lambing problems"(if we had to "pull"a lamb the ewe was "culled")
2.We adapted our grazing management to suit a "new 'set of circumstances.

We changed our grazing from "set stocked " to rotational grazing and split quite a number of our paddocks,so we could extend the "rests" between grazing's.
3.We set up a system of recording what was going on with regard to our pastures,looked for opportunity's to grow more "grass".

We attended field days so we could learn about the local species,how to recognize them ,their strengths and weaknesses and how to maximize the production value to the stock.We grew to understand that "diversity"in a key ingredient to stock health,that you need a balance of "warm season and cool season"grasses,the major part of the pasture is best made up of perennial species,take advantage of native species(after all they evolved on the site and are capable of with- standing the extremes of the site.


4.Gained an understanding of what we had and how to maximize its production benefits

I have learned that the "camera"is one of the best farming tools you can own....Last year we set up photo points in every paddock(at the moment we have 14)each month (usually the first week)I spend about 1/2 a day with the camera one shot is a general one of the pasture (always in the same direction),the other is straight down to access the "ground-cover".We recently received a Pasture Ruler,which measures the depth of grass and estimates the KGs of grass per HA...Once we get to August we will have 12months data and we will be able to compare year on year the condition of the pasture(are we going forward or losing the battle)and take actions if action is required.

We are also using 3 speadsheeets to track stock movements,paddock grazing's and "rest periods"and the number of sheep grazing days a paddock has returned....each paddock has been assigned a budget on how many grazing days it should produce...On a YTD basis so far with almost 30% of time gone we have only used about 14% of the budget(we are seriously "under-stocked").We now have paddocks that have not been grazed for over 6 mths,the result is the "seed bank" has been replenished and organic matter is being returned to soil.

I do hope this has been of value to you,and has prompted you to think about your production system and how you may improve it and reduce your overall costs...(I'm a 2 fingered typer,so this has been a large task).

Moolie: That looks like "one spoiled Border " to me.( if you have a look at POW,I posted a photo of a pup of ours.)

JRmom: I thought so, they have had a real bad time down there.

Well I think it must be just about enough for tonight(its 10.30),now don't forget you "guys",I need some "feedback"so that I am not" boring you all to tears".

The methods described above are different to the norm ,but they are a system that is working for us,history is littered with the results of experts advice and most of the damage inflicted on our farming lands came from the "so called" experts of the day.

We look forward to having you drop by again,so until then ,regards .T.O.R..............................

 

[TanksHill]

Fabolous read and wonderful information. Keep it coming. Rotational grazing, let the land rest, watch the grass grow. Got it.

"If you fail to plan ,you plan to fail".

This should be on an SS T shirt!!!

g

 

[moolie]

Moolie: That looks like "one spoiled Border " to me.( if you have a look at POW,I posted a photo of a pup of ours.).

Yeah, she's a city dog--my brother lives in Vancouver. But she goes for 2 long runs per day with my brother and plays hard with their kids. Once a year when they go on holidays she goes to a farm owned by friends of theirs, and is torn when it's time to go home again--she loves the space, but also loves her peeps.

 

[The Old Ram-Australia]

Friday,15th

G'day all ,well today has been on the quiet side,did a whole lot of Admin for the Tax Office,did all the maintenance on the computer,cleaned up Disc,Defrag,backed Up Files and emptied the recycle bin.

Took the dogs down to the "big"ewe mob(240odd head) and moved them to another paddock(next door),filled up the water troughs and moved their mix containers....Stood around for a while to see what was happening,the "boys" are hard at work and with a little luck it will be a tight lambing this year.

I'm starting to get a little concerned about the stock water position,most of the dams are only about 30% at the moment.We have been a little to successful at lifting the soil moisture profile and the result is that the run-off into the storages has been reduced.

Previous management had resulted in loss of top-soil and organic mater from our slopes and when it rained we were losing all of our "nutrient load" down the drainage lines and either into our dams or off our propriety all together............To illustrate this when the drought was at its worst the edges of this dam was so soft that the stock would "bog" trying to get to the water.When it dried up completely there was about 2ft of sediment in the bottom.Since the rain we have a water reed growing in the dam (and some others as well)these reeds do a couple of things that benefit the farm,sun and wind evaporation is reduced and the reeds provide a habitat that the wild ducks can breed in......Now in areas of damp there is a small native snail that carries the Liver Fluke and the wild ducks feed on them,SO, no spraying for the snail and no chemicals for the sheep.(this equals a saving in input costs)

But back to the run-off,since we achieved 100% groundcover on our slopes ,we now hold our manure in the grass on the surface of the soil and organic matter is again being produced.Heavy rain run-off now moves "very" slowly down the slope and almost all of it is absorbed on the slope and held in the soil profile so grasses can utilize.We also do not slash dry matter as it protects the fresh feed under it and reduces "wind drying"of the soil surface.

SO, I guess thats about enough for today and OH,before I forget there will not be any posts for a couple of days as we have to go up to our daughters place for our grandsons engagement party.

Til next time then,best wishes to you all(and don't forget the feedback)so long from ...............T.O.R..........................

 

[framing fowl]

I like what you said about the camera being a tool and how you utilize it. It also seems that keeping good records are a major part of your success. Even just having a small garden, I am wishing this year that I had taken more garden pictures last year.

What do you do to up your stock when you are understocked? Do you buy more or just keep more lambs?