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Tag Archives: pasture management

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Building Fences, Part I

Walking in High Cotton Posted on April 20, 2010 by JamieSeptember 29, 2020 1
Post pounder

Farming is an art, folks.  Growing a product from scratch to skillet takes both skill and creativity.  And sweat.  And blood.  And tears.  (Just ask our middle son–he got beat up by a trailer taillight yesterday.) But the good news (great news for us, actually) is that a lot of it can be a learned skill.  If you didn’t grow up farming (or building things, welding things, driving machinery, tackling sheep, or shoveling manure endlessly from one location to another) you can learn.  Take fence building… Our farm is a … Continue Reading…

Posted in Farm Work | Tagged daily grind, pasture management | 1 Reply

Building a Mobile Shade Shelter (Part 2) The Roof

Walking in High Cotton Posted on May 15, 2017 by JamieMarch 30, 2020 2
Building A Mobile Shade Shelter (Part Two) The Roof...for pasture based, rotational grazing livestock via Walking in High Cotton

Well, it rained all day on Friday. It was raining, soggy, and overcast all day on Saturday and we had some special events with the kiddos. So we were up with the sun on Sunday and got a lot of things knocked off the TO-DO list, including finishing up the rebuild on our mobile shade shelter. I talked last week about completing the structural rebuild and throwing a tarp over it until we could get to the permanent roof. This weekend we got the roof done. Building a Mobile Shade … Continue Reading…

Posted in Farm Work | Tagged barns and buildings, pasture management | 2 Replies

How To Build a Water and Mineral Stand for Your Homestead

Walking in High Cotton Posted on July 31, 2018 by JamieMarch 30, 2020 1
How To Build a Mobile Water and Mineral Stand for your Homestead...via Walking in High Cotton

There’s always big projects and small projects on the homestead. It often bothers me that we have a 1,000 things going on and nothing is ever started and finished in one big swing. But I’ve learned that the farm is ALWAYS bigger than the man and it’s best to be flexible if you want to get anything done. And every once in a while you find a small project that you can knock out quickly and move on. Our recent mobile water and mineral stand project was one. Wood pallets used … Continue Reading…

Posted in Farm Work | Tagged barns and buildings, cows, mobile shelters, pasture management, sheep | 1 Reply

5 Benefits of Letting Your Pastures Grow without Mowing

Walking in High Cotton Posted on October 15, 2018 by JamieMarch 30, 2020 2
5 Benefits to Letting Your Pastures Grow without Mowing...diversity, wildlife, cost savings, and beauty! ... via Walking in High Cotton

Managing pasture is both an art and a science. And we certainly don’t have it all figured out. But when the pasture is pretty much your entire food source for 90% of the year, having “good grass” is an all-consuming part of the farm life. Animals don’t eat grass that gets too old. And if they do, it doesn’t have the same nutritional value that it has when it’s younger. When it’s young, the grass is focused growing leaves, which makes it tasty and full of good vitamins, nutrients, and … Continue Reading…

Posted in Farm Work | Tagged grass, livestock, pasture, pasture management | 2 Replies

Building a Mobile Shade Shelter (Part 1) The Structure

Walking in High Cotton Posted on May 5, 2017 by JamieMarch 30, 2020  
Building A Mobile Shade Shelter (Part One) The Structure...for pasture based, rotational grazing livestock via Walking in High Cotton

You might remember the twisted pile of mess Coal was always climbing on last Fall that was our mobile shade shelter for the animals. It had blown apart again and it was time for a real overhaul. So it sat around all winter as a pile of farm junk in the back of the field while we didn’t need it. Since we’ve had our first week of over 80 degree days, now we do, so we hauled it out of the field and got started on the rebuild last weekend. Building a … Continue Reading…

Posted in Farm Work | Tagged barns and buildings, cows, maintenance, pasture management | Leave a reply

Why We Take Pasture Walks…Even in the Rain

Walking in High Cotton Posted on April 25, 2017 by JamieMarch 30, 2020 2
Why we take pasture walks--what we see, what we do, what we watch for... via Walking in High Cotton

The weather’s been beautiful lately. Except for the days when it’s not. It’s been sunny, 80 degrees, shorts and tee-shirt weather. Except for when it’s a chilly 60 degrees, damp and raining. It’s been outside-all-day, work and play in the sunshine time. Except for the allergies, sinus migraines, and ear infections. (All me, this time!) The point is that it’s a normal spring in Virginia–and whether it’s sunny and 80 or drippy and 60, we’re out in the paths and pastures every day with the dogs. A regular pasture walk … Continue Reading…

Posted in Farm Work | Tagged barns and buildings, maintenance, pasture management | 2 Replies

Pros and Cons of a Hoop House Chicken Coop

Walking in High Cotton Posted on March 13, 2017 by JamieMarch 30, 2020  
Pros and Cons of a Hoop House Style Chicken Coop via Walking in High Cotton

Our latest chicken coop is a hoop house style made from an old greenhouse frame, with hog panel sides and salvaged tin for the front and back wall. We wrap it in 9 mil plastic for weather proofing. There are runner boards (or skids) along the bottom on both long sides. This means we can drag it around the field as needed–something we do weekly. That also gives us something to fasten the plastic to in the winter. At the top of the hog panel wall on each side are … Continue Reading…

Posted in Farm Work | Tagged barns and buildings, chickens, maintenance, pasture management | Leave a reply

Managing Winter Bedding Waste by Composting

Walking in High Cotton Posted on April 5, 2017 by JamieMarch 30, 2020 2
managing winter bedding waste by composting via Walking in High Cotton...large-er scale composting on the homestead.

We use a deep bedding system (also called “deep litter” for poultry) for all our different livestock around here in the winter. That means that instead of a regular schedule of removing waste from barns, sheds, and loafing areas, we continually add clean bedding material on top of the old bedding. It becomes a deep pile of material, which is cleaned out all at once in the Spring. We “clean” it up by composting it and eventually spreading it on the pastures. Here’s a more detailed look at how it works. … Continue Reading…

Posted in Farm Work | Tagged barns and buildings, pasture management | 2 Replies

10 Thoughts on Finding Land…The Dollars and Cents of Starting a Small Farm

Walking in High Cotton Posted on November 14, 2014 by JamieMarch 30, 2020 7
Finding Land...the Dollars and Cents of Starting a Small Farm {via www.walkinginhighcotton.net} How to think through your choices and creative ways to reduce or recoup costs.

So, in the back of our minds, I think all of us small-farm-minded folks have some kind of Old MacDonald, little patch o’heaven, green pastures and babbling brooks daydream going on when we first envision our place. Or maybe it’s wide open prairies with clear blue skies and rugged, snow-capped peaks in the background. Either way, it’s beautiful. It’s perfect. And when push comes to shove, it’s really expensive. Farming begins and ends with land, and these days land is hard to come by. Even if someone was to walk … Continue Reading…

Posted in Farm Work | Tagged barns and buildings, farm work, pasture management, sheep | 7 Replies

When the Weather is Gorgeous…the Daily Farm Adventures {90}

Walking in High Cotton Posted on July 27, 2015 by JamieMarch 30, 2020  
Zebu cattle enjoying the summer grass at The Lowe F arm (via Walking in High Cotton)

After a steamy week in the 100s, the summer has cooled off again and this past weekend was gorgeous! Beautiful! Sunny, high 80s, Virginia hot but not humid! At least not that we noticed, we have a higher tolerance than some folks. {smile} So naturally we got a lot of outside work done. We weeded and mulched all the flower beds. (And noticed a few spots that need a little more TLC.) We scrubbed and filled water buckets for everyone. (And enjoyed a few minutes just admiring the cows.) We … Continue Reading…

Posted in Farm Work | Tagged cows, daily farm adventures, pasture management, sheep, summer | Leave a reply

Spring Fence Work and Fence Maintenance Supplies for the Small Farm

Walking in High Cotton Posted on April 3, 2017 by JamieMarch 30, 2020 4
A post about mending fences and a list of regular maintenance supplies for fence work on the small farm via Walking in High Cotton

One of the things good spring weather means is that outside farm repairs can get going again. While I was moving lambs last weekend, Mr. Fix-It and Speedracer were fixing and replacing fence posts and adjusting gates. Some of our woven-wire fence is in bad shape these days. Cows and horses are tall enough to reach over and get grass on the other side. When they leannnned on it, it sagged. Running a strip of electric around the top will fix this problem, but we caught on a bit late … Continue Reading…

Posted in Farm Work | Tagged barns and buildings, chores, pasture management, trucks and tractors | 4 Replies

Figuring Out Food and Water…the Dollars and Cents of Starting a Small Farm

Walking in High Cotton Posted on March 24, 2015 by JamieMarch 30, 2020 3
Figuring Out Food and Water...the Dollars and Cents of Starting a Small Farm {via Walking in High Cotton}

By far the biggest line item (other than a mortgage) that you’re going to run into with a small farm is the food bill. Poor Mr. Fix-It goes to sleep at night muttering about “more mouths to feed.” Food and water are the bottom line in your small farm enterprise. If you don’t have them, everything else needs to go! Sometimes I feel like we’ve tried everything at one time or another! {smile} Here’s some of our experiences, which might help you evaluate your own options moving forward. Here’s a few feeding basics … Continue Reading…

Posted in Farm Work | Tagged chickens, cows, maintenance, pasture management, sheep | 3 Replies

The Dollars and Cents of Starting a Small Farm

Walking in High Cotton Posted on November 10, 2014 by JamieMarch 30, 2020 7

My post a few weeks ago, when I said that raising your own meat is not really “frugal”, got an interesting response. A lot of folks agreed, and said farming is not cheap. Some readers disagreed and said that “frugal” and “cheap” are not the same thing and that the long-term, intangible benefits make it a frugal choice regardless of the up-front costs. The idea of quality vs quantity. {shrug} I think both are right. It’s expensive, but it has priceless long-term benefits–they’re just not monetary. And obviously we agree … Continue Reading…

Posted in Farm Work | Tagged barns and buildings, chickens, cows, maintenance, pasture management, sheep, trucks and tractors | 7 Replies

Is Raising Your Own Meat Really Frugal?

Walking in High Cotton Posted on October 19, 2014 by JamieMarch 30, 2020 2
Is raising your own meat really "frugal"? Not really, but it can at least be affordable. Some thoughts on REAL costs of raising livestock. {via Walking in High Cotton}

I read an article recently about how much it costs to run a small farm, and I have to admit, it hit me all wrong. I love homesteading and our small farm and would never want to discourage anyone from trying it–but I also think that it doesn’t help people to be successful by making it all sound easy-peasy, no big deal, throw some animals in your backyard and suddenly you have organic food for a quarter of the price of the grocery store. Because the ugly side of that is … Continue Reading…

Posted in Farm Work | Tagged barns and buildings, chickens, cows, maintenance, pasture management, sheep, trucks and tractors | 2 Replies

Moving Lambs to New Pastures

Walking in High Cotton Posted on March 28, 2017 by JamieMarch 30, 2020  

With the nice weather this past weekend, part of our outside chores included moving the lambs (and their mommas) to new pastures. There’s grass coming up, so the goal is to keep the animals on fresh, green grass as much as possible. That involves a lot of moving animals around from one pasture to another, from one side of the farm to the other. The older animals do fine with it. They’ve moved before and they understand the typical routes. They also know there’s good grass at the end of the … Continue Reading…

Posted in Farm Work | Tagged lambing, pasture management, sheep | Leave a reply

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