Farm and Ranch life

Baker said:
Been a tumultuous month! 2 hurricanes, 32 days without internet or computer, one throat surgery, and a list of unexpected additional tasks too long to count.

A recap of hurricane Laura shows we lost somewhere between 50-75% of the timber across most of the farm. The hardwoods in particular took a hit. It took nearly 100 hours with a skidder, cutter, and bull dozer just to open the roads to be able to travel the farm. There are still trees down everywhere in all the road right of ways and fields . We salvaged 50 loads of downed timber off about 75 acres before the crew needed to move on to more profitable opportunities. Have about a thousand acres to go. It will take years.

The two silver linings are from a deer perspective it will create a giant thicket to their liking. Course we may never be able to find them. The other benefit is as I have mentioned I am moving towards a regenerative ag program on the farm. The idea behind cattle grazing in the woods is to create a "savannah" landscape keeping underbrush at a younger succession. Well, Laura certainly thinned the timber to a savannah!!! May take me a couple of years to create the infrastructure and skill set to take advantage of this but the habitat is there.

Perimeter fencing is a disaster. A crew worked everyday from just after the storm [ August 27 ] till mid last week with chain saw , tractor and sweat and we still do not have all the fence back up. Probably need two more weeks. Is what it is and nothing we can do about it.

We were taking a break from fence repair to start belated planting. Then Hurricane Beto came along and dumped a bunch of rain on the farm stopping that in its tracks. Just Sunday it was dry enough to begin spraying but after one day a front has come thru with more rain today. The hope is we can finish spraying later this week and finish planting hopefully by early next week. I'm ok with the timing and certainly there is plenty of moisture to get things going but I haven't been able to experiment and play as I usually do.

While the woods are a disaster, as mentioned the deer couldn't be happier. Excepting a couple doe groups you cant find a deer now. I haven't seen a buck to speak of since the storm. Cameras are a luxury we simply don't have time for now. Hunting the woods will probably be impossible this year with all the downed timber and who knows if any deer will come to a food plot with all the fresh browse in the woods. Class B problem Guess it forebodes greatness next year.

I continue working with Dr. Allen Williams and Understanding Ag to transform the farm with a regenerative ag approach. We have the overall design outlined and I have taken soil samples across the farm for Haney and PLFA soil tests. New for me so keen to see what they reveal. I need a dozer to create r.o.w's. for electric fencing but every dozer in the south is busy with clean up. TBD if I can get that done before too wet this winter.

Enough for now. we are crawling out of the hole, everyone is safe, and as with all things habitat and wildlife oriented we do what we can and work with nature as she dictates.
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Sorry to hear about your losses, that sounds pretty devastating. Hopefully you can recover a lot of the timber that has value. In the early nineties we had an ice storm come through one spring and the following fall was our worst hunting in the history of our camp, as you said, the deer had food and cover, and it was too thick to hunt. FWIW on running cows in the woods; My uneducated observations over many years of seeing this practice done at many different locations is that running cows in the woods creates a wildlife desert in the longterm, open understory with closed overstory.
 
Glad to hear you're ok Rusty. I was thinking about you when I saw Laura coming straight at you and then seeing the aftermath from Lake Charles and north. A couple of customers over that way were out of power for a very long time. Not fun in the summer in south Louisiana.

On the cows, I've got a feeling you're not doing the old let the cows go in the woods at high stocking rates. That's what we're used to seeing, and like @Mennoniteman said, it devastates the understory and the root system. (it does make some really quiet trails to walk for access though). I believe what you're going to be doing involves moving them around alot since you mentioned electric fencing.
 
Thanks all.

Lets talk about cows in the woods.I certainly appreciate the concern and I have been anti cow for many years. But back in the 90's when I started studying the work of Alan Savory with Holistic range management I developed a curiosity that has stuck in my mind every since. Since then I have studied the concept of intensive rotational grazing a lot but generally been too lazy to do anything about it. Then I watched the film " The Biggest Little Farm" and at the same time came across the youtube clips on "Carbon Cowboys" and found Dr. Alan Williams. Noting that he went to Clemson, graduate work at LSU, then taught at La. Tech I realized I had found someone that understood the nuances of the south. I knew it was time to push forward with a new project; something that not only could improve every aspect of my farm but also in its own way make a contribution back to society by showing not only the outcomes of regenerative ag but also the economic potential of small family farm vs. industrial ag.

Like many I have seen the ravages of overgrazing herbivores all over the world. Disastrous! And a major contributor to anti herbivore beliefs. BUT what I have learned and seen from those practicing regenerative approaches with herbivores, multi specie grazing, multi specie cropping, all with an intense focus on soil health, this can do more in a shorter period of time to improve habitat ecology than any other known system. Regarding grazing herbivores, the key is high intensity short duration grazing with appropriate rest periods in between. Preferably multi specie. There is a science to that that is beyond my skill set to communicate here now.

What I know about silva culture in the south and have observed directly is after thinning timber, the first year has tremendous high value regrowth of weeds, forbes, sprouts, brush all tremendously benefitting the deer. But after about 3 years the benefits begin to diminish and losing most of the value in short order until timber is thinned again in about 10 years. This is where grazing herbivores can provide value . By dividing the timber tracts into smaller paddocks controlled with electric fencing , the cattle, sheep et all are only allowed short controlled intense grazing periods then moved to the next paddock. Done appropriately this keeps regeneration in the early most valuable stages. At the same time it has measurable soil improvement qualities from manure, urine saliva hoof action etc.

Thats the overview. I hope to document the project over the long haul with video . Lastly I'll add that Dr, Williams was smart enough to quickly understand that all this better help the deer or its over.
 
Rusty, I don’t know what to say. Certainly devastating to your place and a giant pain in the keester. Best of luck getting the salvageable timber out and getting your fences repaired.
 
I admire your attitude, I'm not sure I would be as up-beat. I hope your farm recovers to be better than ever.
 
Rusty...about the only thing that came to mind immediately after reading of your trials and tribulations is the old adage - Stay calm and carry on. Like swat said, I'm not sure I would be as up-beat. Hats of to you on your attitude of dealing what Mother Nature has dealt you. Look forward to following your progress in the aftermath of what you've been dealt.
 
Sorry to hear about the horrible storm damage. Post storm cleanup always seems so physically and mentally demanding, but your attitude is terrific and will see you through it. I love to read about the rotational grazing and enjoy watching the Joel Salatin videos so please share your experiences here when you have time.
 
75% loss of timber!! Wow. We had a Derecho pass thru few years ago and did just that. Deer loved it but dang near impossible to drag out a deer if one was found.
As for the cattle... and I watched that movie biggest little farm, follows much habitat managers on here do it can be done as you say. And you might touch base w dgallow who used to post on here and still posts on FB regenerative grazing page. I’ve seen his Savannah’s grazing within woods on poor OK soils in person and what you say can be done. Certainly not the typical over grazing seen in past years. I don’t think he thought much of climbing my steep hills tho. Flatlanders!!
Good luck and whatever the dang throat surgery was for I hope you heal well.


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dogghr said:
75% loss of timber!! Wow. We had a Derecho pass thru few years ago and did just that. Deer loved it but dang near impossible to drag out a deer if one was found.
As for the cattle... and I watched that movie biggest little farm, follows much habitat managers on here do it can be done as you say. And you might touch base w dgallow who used to post on here and still posts on FB regenerative grazing page. I’ve seen his Savannah’s grazing within woods on poor OK soils in person and what you say can be done. Certainly not the typical over grazing seen in past years. I don’t think he thought much of climbing my steep hills tho. Flatlanders!!
Good luck and whatever the dang throat surgery was for I hope you heal well.


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I have great respect for Doug and he and I communicated regularly in the past. He was one of those guys in the background of my mind nudging me to step up. Anyone that has dung beetle research on his desk needs to be listened to. I've lost touch with him over past couple years but your suggestion is solid and I'll reconnect.
 
Baker said:
I have great respect for Doug and he and I communicated regularly in the past. He was one of those guys in the background of my mind nudging me to step up. Anyone that has dung beetle research on his desk needs to be listened to. I've lost touch with him over past couple years but your suggestion is solid and I'll reconnect.
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Beetles (not necessarily dung beetles) are my favorite bug. Any micro critter that makes a living eating weed seeds on the soil surface is a-ok in my book.

Ok, cows. Here's the one piece of advice I'll offer: Keep them out of your wetlands. I've been in too many swamps, including my place, where cattle were run in mud holes. That ground gets beat up and rutted up something awful, the kind of terrain that will claim ankles and knees. That situation coupled with low chances of being able to get in with equipment to fix it make me want to just avoid that problem.
 
If you are interested in the cattle thing then certainly join the Regenerative Grazing page on FB. Ask questions and you'll learn a ton. I spend about as much time over there as I do on plotting forums (lurking in the background). You've been exposed to know enough about saliva and plant relationships, know that multi-species grazing can target specific goals, and that plants need grazed for palatibility... You are ripe for learning!

Sorry you've been dealt this card though with the storm and damage... really sorry you had a health problem of some sort. I hope things keep turning the right direction for you.
 
Time for a sanity break. WE ARE PLANTING TODAY!!!

Drill is loaded and in about 5 days we will have it all done. Appears to be a break in weather, plenty of moisture, fields all sprayed [ I didn't have time to be creative } and off we go.

For the fields I double crop planting into a thatch of sunn hemp, soybeans, cowpeas, sunflower, buckwheat, milo, and sorghum sudan,I'll be planting:
100 lbs/ acre elbon rye
25 lbs/acre wheat
3 lbs acre daikon radish
1 lb/acre turnips
These fields all have a solid base of reseeding crimson that is already sprouting

For the clover fields:
50 lbs wheat/ acre
3 lbs radishes
1 lb turnips
2 lbs chicory--the clover fields already have chicory but I add a little more each year
and for those that need freshening--5 lbs/acre MRC
5 lbs/acre Durana
Adding 10 lbs/ acre of winter peas to several fields to play

Not sure how much deer utilization will happen with the woods so opened but should amp the soil anyway.
 
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