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https://bioneers.org/decolonizing-regenerative-agriculture-indigenous-perspective/ We can shoot for mimicking nature, but the idea that we can achieve perfect replication is a fallacy. I think one of the most important lessons in indigenous epistemology is that natural systems have unknowns...

Spring is really not that far off. Next month I’ll be planting starts and getting ready, and then the soil will warm and the fall planted covers will put on all their growth. When they are ready, I’ll cut them and till them into the top three inches of the soil to fertilize summer crops. As I...

Since mud season is just around the corner I thought I’d share some ideas I’ve come across. Grazing wet areas is always a problem. Many times, the animals just avoid the area if there are better forages on the dryer sites. You can play with this a little and observe how the animals behave by...

Jenna Schueler of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation's Mountains to Bay Grazing Alliance sent me this newsletter and it has LOTS of good articles in it by some great farmers and educators in the Bay region. Check it out... especially Justin Proctor's Working Alongside Farmers to Bring Back Our...

A question from the Sep 15 webinar with Dale... What's your experience with ranchers on public lands? In your experience, what's been the BLM's / Forest Service's appetite for permittees/allotment owners moving hot wire and installing more drinkers to facilitate grazing of paddocks vs...

MCM writes: I really want my animals to be grazing as mush as possible in the winter. The hay producers all around me use Grazon, which essentially destroys the animal manure as a fertilizer for my garden. I want to keep grazon hay off of my farm, but it is nearly impossible to find unsprayed...

KM wrote to me recently after attending session I of the Advanced Grazing webinar and is interested in the percentages of each forage species that should go into a pasture mix for chickens on pasture. I put together a letter and thought Soil for Water folks might be interested as well... The...

TK is an Extension Educator interested in resources on small acreage rotational grazing and weed management in pastures that she can share with the small scale farmers she works with. We exchanged a few emails and then I followed up with further information on funding sources for rotational...

Does anyone have good resources on making compost tea? A generic formula to start with? How much compost, how much water, how long to aerate, rate of application? Thanks!

JT writes: Lee, I just read an article you wrote about multi species grazing. I have a 30 cow calf herd in Zanesville, Ohio. I’m interested in running sheep with my cattle. I currently have 7 wire lifetim fence with two hot wires. The hot wires are 12” and around 36” high. Do you have any advice...

One of the best parts of my job as an agriculture specialist is interacting with producers and offering resources and insights. Everytime I talk to or email a farmer or grazier I learn so much. Recently I had an email conversation with a producer on grass finishing beef cattle, and I thought I...

There is an aspect of biodiversity that is just as important as soil and plant organisms in agroecosystems. Livestock and wildlife compete for landscape resources, and they both put pressure on the forage available, as well as water, cover, and space. The concepts of resource supply and demand...

Every year Troy Bishopp, a grazing specialist with Madison County Soil and Water Conservation District in New York, creates a grazing chart that has become popular with graziers across the country. Included are several templates that are dated and undated, templates for pasture and crop...

I received a question during the Soil for Water Film Premiere with Panel Discussion on February 17, and I wanted to share some resources based on the question. IB wrote, “are there any tips or resources you can give us for those who are on hilltops for retaining water? If you are growing crops...

I recently received a question during the Soil for Water Film Premiere with Panel Discussion on February 17, and I wanted to share some resources based on the question. TH wrote, “what are some resources related to silvopasture protocols?” For silvopasture systems, listen to NCAT Sustainable...

I received a question during the Soil for Water Film Premiere with Panel Discussion on February 17, and I wanted to share some resources based on the question. TH wrote, “what are some resources related to carbon sequestration?” The ATTRA Publication Agriculture, Climate Change, and Carbon...