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Notes From the Field
Spring brought some heavy rains this year. LSI Field #1 is a low field and borders Jahn Creek. When those rains came, the creek rose and field one flooded. A cover crop of barley served to retain the soils but became littered with debris from the creek and housing area. Prior to planting the debris was collected and hauled off.
LSI Field Tract Number's
Crimson Clover Planted as the fall Cover Crop.
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Jeff Petry, a partner from VUJC's maintenance dept. brush hogged the tiered dry dams of field #2(pictured left). Knocking back saplings and overgrowth was needed and will aid management in the spring. Additionally, it provides much needed visibility for monitoring tile and earthwork structures. Jeff has been busy on the property. Between fields #5 and #2 there is a low water creek crossing. Here Jeff has worked to ensure that it remains crossable. Jeff has spent time clearing brush along Jahn Creek and stated that there are some dead trees on the property he intends to remove as well. Barley was the cover crop planted in fall of 2023. Soybeans were planted green in Spring of 2024. Some of the challenges this year included drought, deer, groundhogs, and Brown Stem Rot. Fall cover crop for 2024 was Crimson Clover.
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Education and Demonstration |
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On November 19, 2024 VUJC hosted a workshop where Victor Shelton (author of Grazing Bites) and Scott Wagner (NRCS) came to speak to a crowd of nearly forty! Scott Spoke about many of the new ways to increase energy efficiency on the farm while helping to minimize those energy bills. The little things certainly add up, this is true of light bulbs and of grazing habits. Victor Shelton was the speaker on the pasture soil health. He said "the grass is like a solar panel" when you graze it to short of at the wrong time, the entire grazing season could be affected. Efficiency in grazing was all about respecting and understanding those stop grazing heights and how they effect the ability of the plants to recuperate. Victor also spoke about how soil nutrients could be purposefully moved throughout a field or pasture viz gazing practices. The cow eats grass here and then deposits those cycled nutrients elsewhere. Capitalizing on that process can help to place nutrients back into depleted areas. While Victor and Scott fed our minds, we fed our bellies with soups, pinwheels, chips, and desserts.
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