Monitoring What’s Left Behind In Your Pastures

Here's part three in this series of videos by Dave Scott of Montana Highland Lamb (Home Grown & Happy) in Whitehall Montana and ATTRA's National Center for Appropriate Technology in Butte, Montana. Sometimes things don't go as well as you'd hoped even though you were trying your best to manage and meet a particular pasture growth goal.  In this case, Dave is managing his pastures to leave a 6 to 8 inch residual. That's good for grass regrowth and good for the soil. For the most part, things go really smoothly and he meets his goals. But in one paddock, there's one little 20 x 100 foot patch that grows differently, and the sheep graze it and hammer it. The good news that comes from this is that it provides an opportunity for you to see the difference between Dave's successful management and overgrazing. He shows you how there's no litter to feed the soil microbes, and no shade to keep them from getting too hot and dying. So take 5 minutes, check out the video, and then ask yourself, "Do I have some areas like this that need a little more attention?" Enjoy! Here's the link for our tablet readers. This is the second in the series.  If you missed the first, here it is!