Newsletter

With the temperatures slowly rising, I feel justified in writing about the favourite topic of farmers everywhere.

In southern Australia our seasonal change is not as stark as in other parts of the world but there are signs that Spring is beginning to push Winter aside. The first of the fairy wrens are decked out in increasingly blue plumage, the wattles are blooming with gold and the deciduous trees are doing their best to follow.

It is raining as I write this which bodes well for the growing season ahead as the photosynthetic power of the grasslands increases with the length of the day.

We are often asked, don't your pigs ruin your paddocks? The answer depends upon how and when you look at the result. Because we move our pigs every week so their effect on the environment over time is easy to compare.

Unsurprisingly, the area they have just moved out of is a mess - fifty pigs rooting for grubs, roots and fun will turn over every square metre of soil that they can.

But look back through the weeks and green shoots appear with increasing density. Look back through the years and the grass growing in their former homes is greener and more vibrant due to the extra nutrients.

Everything, including pig impact, in moderation.

Not mine; I write this hiding from the weather, complaining through the tail end of another day care virus. The cattle and sheep on the other hand, are happily wandering past the window quite unconcerned by the rain or the temperature.

I have seen them looking uncomfortable when the wind really starts to blow on a rainy day but they face anything less than that with aplomb. They do not even seem to notice the type of drizzly weather we have had lately.

I am forever impressed by them - they are wonderful creatures.

The picturesque but unimaginatively named Top Creek splits our farm. We cross it using a bridge but it is all too much for the cattle so they simply crash through the water.

That is all well and good for the adults but it is daunting for their babies so we do our best to 'encourage' them. The best method we have come up with is to repurpose old electronet to sweep the bank clean, trawling for calves.

It is not electrified of course (we have to hold the thing) but it gets the job done, mostly. Calf with cow.

In their latest newsletter, Local Land Services offered advice on preparing for winter to ensure that sheep and cattle have enough feed to remain fit and healthy.

Obviously very important. What caught my attention was that the advice seems to assume that there will be a 'winter feed gap' where the available grass is insufficient for the animals attempting to graze it necessitating supplementary hay or grain every year, even in a good year (like we are having now).

Why is this the conventional wisdom? Winter comes every year and grazing animals thrived through many long before our species even considered leaving the trees.

Plan ahead, look after your grasslands and allow the animals to do what they do best.