From the Bay to the Baa-a-a-ck Country
Hill’s Hobby Farm is not easy to find. Located many miles off the pavement on the east side of Bull Shoals Lake, Glenn and Sheryl Hill and family share their home with 26 sheep, two Charolais heifers, one black steer, three dogs and some chickens.
Supplementing Requirements
When the pocketbook gets thin sometimes the first thing to get scrimped is the livestock’s diet. We glean a little bit more from the hay, a little bit more from the field, and supplementing becomes less of a priority. Whether it’s time or money that’s running low, how long can the cattle really go, lacking some of those essential nutrients, and still produce?
Flooding in Pastureland
Acreek running along your property is almost a guarantee that the land next to it will encounter flooding at some point in time. The effects of flooding on pastureland can be costly in terms of time, money and production. There are tips, though, to protecting your land from streambank erosion, as well as remedying current erosion problems.
Prevention is the top solution to the erosion problem, and really the only factor a person can control. As the saying goes, “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” The chief protective measure to preventing streambank erosion is to maintain a zone of trees, or a riparian zone, along the streambank. Riparian areas are a best management practice (BMP), reduce nutrient and sediment runoff, provide a wildlife habitat and maintain streambank integrity.
Prevention is the top solution to the erosion problem, and really the only factor a person can control. As the saying goes, “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” The chief protective measure to preventing streambank erosion is to maintain a zone of trees, or a riparian zone, along the streambank. Riparian areas are a best management practice (BMP), reduce nutrient and sediment runoff, provide a wildlife habitat and maintain streambank integrity.
Facts of Fencing
Producers use a rotational grazing system to keep pastures in better condition, and electric fencing is often used to effectively keep animals in specific areas.
Weighing Wind Energy
The hype is definitely around us. The idea of being “green” is in ad campaigns and merchandise sold everywhere. No doubt, as farmers, we love the land as much, or more than anyone. But in hard economic times, where is the value in “going green?”
Better Building
Depending on whether you’re looking at a new hay barn, a machine shop or a livestock shelter, you will be analyzing totally different types of structures and the location can vary greatly. Analyzing use and need must be the first step when planning a structure. If the “barn” will be a hay barn in the back, a machine shop in the front, and could even end up as a bottle calf shelter in harsh weather, doors, windows and preservation factors must also go into the planning process.