Monday, September 17, 2012

Mulch and more mulch...tromped forage

My ranch manager, Nathan, has done a fantastic job of mob grazing the 400 head of (formerly) open cows this summer. With virtually no rain fall, he was able to add at least 3 body condition scores on nearly every cow, and we still have the entire pasture across the road (180 acres) that we haven't even grazed yet this year. The mob did an exceptional job of tromping down the standing forage creating a 1"+ layer of mulch over the entire ranch. I pulled back some of the mulch to find tons of worm castings and, even though it hadn't rained in over a week, wet soil! The ponds are virtually dry, but the grass is simply exploding. I was blown away by how great the grass looked even though it has been record dry. Every drop of rain is being held in place by the mulch...to the detriment of refilling the ponds! I always felt mob grazing would really pay the MOST dividends during a drought and I think I am being proved right.

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