Post by Admin on Sept 4, 2005 23:31:47 GMT 12
Gidday
Due to the previous forums I had here being raided and many posts being altered and some entire threads being deleted I have started a new system which I hope is more secure.
The following is what I have copied out of the other forum and pasted here:-
Jack
Site Admin
Joined: 06 Jan 2005
Posts: 27
Location: Duntroon
Posted: 06 Jan 2005 10:21 pm Post subject: Sabbatical Fallow
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gidday,
I thought seeing as I have put this forum here I had better kick it off with what Sabbatical Fallow is.
SABBATICAL FALLOW
DEFINATION.
Sabbatical Originally meant, or referred to the seventh year when the land was given a rest. The word Fallow, had over the years had several diverse meanings, but most commonly means a period when the land lays idle, such as the period between harvest of a crop, and the establishment of the next. In modern New Zealand grassland farming, there is normally no rest period.
Therefore, the only way the land can have a rest, is for it to be shut up for a certain time. There are two systems of farm management that give some of the soil a rest, and they are Deferred-grazing, which means to shut up a portion of the farm for several months and the Sabbatical Fallow system,
which incorporates the ancient idea of resting all the land once every seventh year. As it would not be very practicable to shut an entire farm up on the seventh year, this system was developed where-by a different seventh of the farm is shut up each year to produce the Sabbatical year of rest.
HOW DOES IT WORK?
If you shut up a seventh of your farm mid-winter, when the growth is at its slowest, come Spring, the grass will grow up, seed, fall back down and rot while new grass comes up through it to seed and so on, several times in the year.
By LATE autumn, the final cover of grass will be quite high and carry on into winter, like autumn saved pasture.
You then shut up a different seventh of the farm and brake-feed the fallowed paddock. This gives a large amount of stored feed without the expense of putting hay or silage.
The brake feeding tramples the dead grass down to the soil, also adding to it the dung and urine from the stock, and this is the final stimulation and regeneration of the soil.
Many farmers, during the year, give the fallowing paddock, one or two tramps with a large number of stock, not to get a feed, but to push the tall grass down onto the soil to assist in the decomposing of the dead grasses.
However, care must be taken when brake feeding off the fallowed paddocks, not to cause pugging, as this re-compacts the soil, destroying much of the natural aeration of the soil that has been achieved during the year of rest.
For twelve months, you have had total cover of vegetable matter over the soil, holding in the moisture. The soil microorganisms have had a chance to reproduce unrestricted, utilizing the decaying vegetable matter. Some grass plants die while new ones are constantly replacing them. The roots of the grass that die then rot down leaving the soil more open to oxygen which also stimulates the life of the soil.
In an article in the N. Z. Journal of Agriculture, July 1987 under the Successful Farming series it reported on M.A.F. trials and stated that the control block (conventionally farmed) grew 1,3000 kg of dry matter/ha/year. In the fallowed paddocks, D.M. production produces about 1,000 kg/year more than the control.
Later the article goes on to say, quote:
“For example, taking a 400 ha farm and dividing it into seven gives a fallowed area of 57 ha. Say the farm normally carries 10 su/ha (that is 4,000 su in total), and it normally produces 11,000 kg/DM/ha/year. Subtract the loss to degenerative composting of say, 6.500 kg/DM/ ha and that leaves dry matter available as feed of 4,500 kg/ha. Write off a further 500 kg/ha trampled in by the stock, and we’re left with 4,000 kg/ha, or total for the 57 ha fallowed of 228,000 kg. If each stock unit eats 1 kg/DM/day, it’ll take the 4,000 su 57 days of the winter dormancy period to eat out the fallowed area.” End quote.
The converse to that is if the property grows 11,000 kg/DM/ha/year and only 4,000 kg/DM/ha is actually used, that leaves a total of 7,000 kg or 7 tonnes of dry matter has been composted down into the soil over the year of fallowing. A heap of good compost containing 7 tonnes of dry matter would be one hellava big heap to be spread onto a hectare of land.
The result of this system is a completely new layer of rich living humus with enough stored energy to last another seven years. This may be too simple for most scientists to understand, but it does work here in New Zealand, even in this day and age even though this system was first about four thousand years ago.
DISADVANTAGES.
*One seventh of the farm out of production every year.
*Therefore a reduction in the stocking rate is needed at the start.
*The visual aspect of untidy looking paddocks most of the year.
*The social aspect that you are different and not farming traditionally.
ADVANTAGES.
*Improved aeration, drainage, water holding capacity and structure of the soil.
*Increased root depth.
*Increased root mass.
*Increased microorganism and worm activity and numbers.
*Natural reseeding.
*Increased soil nitrogen.
*Improved animal health, including all metabolic diseases and facial eczema.
*Need for artificial fertiliser greatly reduced, many farmers have not used any fertilisers for years.
*No need for hay or silage making.
*There has even a noticeable increase in wildlife such as birds.
THE HISTORY OF SABBATICAL FALLOW.
It is first recorded in the Bible about 4000 years ago, in Leviticus, chapter 25. The system continued to be used for centuries in Hebrew people. It was also the main stay of English agriculture, right up till about 50 or 60 years ago. I have met several old farmers who still remember the fallowing. The practice was brought to N.Z., and mainly used in the South Island. However, over the years, fallowing was generally associated with cropping or mixed farming.
The first person I know of, who developed the Sabbatical fallow system of farming to straight all grass hill country farming in N.Z., was Ian Stephenson at Te Akau near Raglan. Ian Stephenson started the Fallowing in the early 1970’s and for many years he farmed with the complete exclusion of any form of fertilisers. I believe he now uses a small amount of straight rock phosphates.
THE ORIGINAL ORGANIC FARMING.
Sabbatical farming is the original organic farming system, being used for 4000 years before any chemicals were used. Whilst on my property on the Kaimai’s I did not use any fertilizer for ten years, and the very poor run down pastures that I started with where still improving beyond recognition. I had a Massey University Student come to the property to gather information for a thesis. She found that in the paddocks that had been Fallowed, the active root depth was up to 600 mm whereas the depth in most of the un-fallowed paddock was only around 50 to 100 mm.
When I first bought that property I farmed very conventionally, and poured on the fertilizer, and fill a 30 foot offal hole with stud sheep in three years with facial eczema when our neighbours only had a very minor outbreak. No profit in that. After a few years fallowing my neighbours had a bad outbreak of facial eczema, and when I counted the spores on my place, they were not even high enough to worry about.
I do not say you shouldn’t use any fertilizer if you wish but strongly suggest that for phosphate you use only rock phosphate and not super phosphate. I do believe that the use of super phosphate has caused more problems with animal health and adverse affect to the environment than it has been worth.
Unfortunately, I sold that property in 1993 and have not had a suitably fenced property since but am now in the process of fencing the one I have at the moment so that I may be able to once again star Sabbatical Fallowing.
Cheers
Jack
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WannaB
Joined: 30 Mar 2005
Posts: 1
Posted: 30 Mar 2005 08:41 am Post subject:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gidday Jacky, cool wee site you have here.
Id like to try to fallow our 2 1/5 acres (a bit at a time), as its a bit of a mess weed wise, and want to try and sort it out without spraying. Since we moved to our block in November last year, we have applied only organic lime & dolomite in the spring, and now vermicase and fish as well as soon another dump of lime and dolomite for the autumn.
We have a wide range of weeds, every conceivable nasty you could possibly (not) wish for ... I had thought about composting the block next summer, but will fallow sort the weeds out?
Look forward to your wisdom on this topic.
Cheers
Andrea
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Jack
Site Admin
Joined: 06 Jan 2005
Posts: 27
Location: Duntroon
Posted: 01 Apr 2005 01:07 am Post subject: Sabbatical Fallow
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gidday
Where abouts are you?
There are only a few weeds that nothing will eat, but 2 1/5 acres is a bit small to run too many diferent types of livestock. Weeds also seed when fallowed, but it will depend on what the weeds are and what you are farming as to what sort of effect they will have. The likes of what are called flat weeds by dairy farmers are very important herbs to other forms of livestock.
Can you give a bit more info about these weeds.
Cheers
Jack
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Guest
Posted: 01 Apr 2005 10:05 am Post subject:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thanks Jack, we are in Tauranga, and have 2 horses, and 3 wiltshire sheep to munch the herbage. We have loads of "flat weeds" but these dont concern me as the animals are still happy enough to eat them, and provide ground coverage for the soil.
Biggest amount of weeds we have is dock - the sheepies dont seem to be able to eat it fast enough, but I should give them a chance - we've only had them 2 weeks!
Other than dock, we have ragwort (which we are happy enough to pull), 3 different varieties of thistle, deadly nightshade, tobacco weed, "prickly pear?", and something else with a lovely bluey/purple flower thats flowering at the moment? Oh and of course gorse, which I think we will have to cut down and paint the stump with something noxious. Ive probably missed a few weeds, as am still learning the names etc of them. Does that help?
Cheers
Andrea
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Jack
Site Admin
Joined: 06 Jan 2005
Posts: 27
Location: Duntroon
Posted: 01 Apr 2005 09:29 pm Post subject:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gidday
The tobacco weed should be treated just like you said you were going to treat the gorse and the same chemical would do the job.
The docks and ragwort can be treated in the rose stage by pouring some salt into the centre of the crown. Your sheep should be ably to help with these too, but if you have huge amounts of dock and ragwort they may need you to help.
The thistles, can be treated by grubbing them out, with exception of Californian thistle which needs to be kept cut and that is best done when it is raining.
I am sorry but I have never seen prickly pear as a weed so haven't a clue about that but you could try treating it like any other thistle and grubbing it out. I would suggest the deadly nightshade also be grubbed.
I am suggesting these methods knowing they are quite labour intensive, mainly because you have such a small block.
I hope this is of some assistance.
Cheers
Jack
Due to the previous forums I had here being raided and many posts being altered and some entire threads being deleted I have started a new system which I hope is more secure.
The following is what I have copied out of the other forum and pasted here:-
Jack
Site Admin
Joined: 06 Jan 2005
Posts: 27
Location: Duntroon
Posted: 06 Jan 2005 10:21 pm Post subject: Sabbatical Fallow
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gidday,
I thought seeing as I have put this forum here I had better kick it off with what Sabbatical Fallow is.
SABBATICAL FALLOW
DEFINATION.
Sabbatical Originally meant, or referred to the seventh year when the land was given a rest. The word Fallow, had over the years had several diverse meanings, but most commonly means a period when the land lays idle, such as the period between harvest of a crop, and the establishment of the next. In modern New Zealand grassland farming, there is normally no rest period.
Therefore, the only way the land can have a rest, is for it to be shut up for a certain time. There are two systems of farm management that give some of the soil a rest, and they are Deferred-grazing, which means to shut up a portion of the farm for several months and the Sabbatical Fallow system,
which incorporates the ancient idea of resting all the land once every seventh year. As it would not be very practicable to shut an entire farm up on the seventh year, this system was developed where-by a different seventh of the farm is shut up each year to produce the Sabbatical year of rest.
HOW DOES IT WORK?
If you shut up a seventh of your farm mid-winter, when the growth is at its slowest, come Spring, the grass will grow up, seed, fall back down and rot while new grass comes up through it to seed and so on, several times in the year.
By LATE autumn, the final cover of grass will be quite high and carry on into winter, like autumn saved pasture.
You then shut up a different seventh of the farm and brake-feed the fallowed paddock. This gives a large amount of stored feed without the expense of putting hay or silage.
The brake feeding tramples the dead grass down to the soil, also adding to it the dung and urine from the stock, and this is the final stimulation and regeneration of the soil.
Many farmers, during the year, give the fallowing paddock, one or two tramps with a large number of stock, not to get a feed, but to push the tall grass down onto the soil to assist in the decomposing of the dead grasses.
However, care must be taken when brake feeding off the fallowed paddocks, not to cause pugging, as this re-compacts the soil, destroying much of the natural aeration of the soil that has been achieved during the year of rest.
For twelve months, you have had total cover of vegetable matter over the soil, holding in the moisture. The soil microorganisms have had a chance to reproduce unrestricted, utilizing the decaying vegetable matter. Some grass plants die while new ones are constantly replacing them. The roots of the grass that die then rot down leaving the soil more open to oxygen which also stimulates the life of the soil.
In an article in the N. Z. Journal of Agriculture, July 1987 under the Successful Farming series it reported on M.A.F. trials and stated that the control block (conventionally farmed) grew 1,3000 kg of dry matter/ha/year. In the fallowed paddocks, D.M. production produces about 1,000 kg/year more than the control.
Later the article goes on to say, quote:
“For example, taking a 400 ha farm and dividing it into seven gives a fallowed area of 57 ha. Say the farm normally carries 10 su/ha (that is 4,000 su in total), and it normally produces 11,000 kg/DM/ha/year. Subtract the loss to degenerative composting of say, 6.500 kg/DM/ ha and that leaves dry matter available as feed of 4,500 kg/ha. Write off a further 500 kg/ha trampled in by the stock, and we’re left with 4,000 kg/ha, or total for the 57 ha fallowed of 228,000 kg. If each stock unit eats 1 kg/DM/day, it’ll take the 4,000 su 57 days of the winter dormancy period to eat out the fallowed area.” End quote.
The converse to that is if the property grows 11,000 kg/DM/ha/year and only 4,000 kg/DM/ha is actually used, that leaves a total of 7,000 kg or 7 tonnes of dry matter has been composted down into the soil over the year of fallowing. A heap of good compost containing 7 tonnes of dry matter would be one hellava big heap to be spread onto a hectare of land.
The result of this system is a completely new layer of rich living humus with enough stored energy to last another seven years. This may be too simple for most scientists to understand, but it does work here in New Zealand, even in this day and age even though this system was first about four thousand years ago.
DISADVANTAGES.
*One seventh of the farm out of production every year.
*Therefore a reduction in the stocking rate is needed at the start.
*The visual aspect of untidy looking paddocks most of the year.
*The social aspect that you are different and not farming traditionally.
ADVANTAGES.
*Improved aeration, drainage, water holding capacity and structure of the soil.
*Increased root depth.
*Increased root mass.
*Increased microorganism and worm activity and numbers.
*Natural reseeding.
*Increased soil nitrogen.
*Improved animal health, including all metabolic diseases and facial eczema.
*Need for artificial fertiliser greatly reduced, many farmers have not used any fertilisers for years.
*No need for hay or silage making.
*There has even a noticeable increase in wildlife such as birds.
THE HISTORY OF SABBATICAL FALLOW.
It is first recorded in the Bible about 4000 years ago, in Leviticus, chapter 25. The system continued to be used for centuries in Hebrew people. It was also the main stay of English agriculture, right up till about 50 or 60 years ago. I have met several old farmers who still remember the fallowing. The practice was brought to N.Z., and mainly used in the South Island. However, over the years, fallowing was generally associated with cropping or mixed farming.
The first person I know of, who developed the Sabbatical fallow system of farming to straight all grass hill country farming in N.Z., was Ian Stephenson at Te Akau near Raglan. Ian Stephenson started the Fallowing in the early 1970’s and for many years he farmed with the complete exclusion of any form of fertilisers. I believe he now uses a small amount of straight rock phosphates.
THE ORIGINAL ORGANIC FARMING.
Sabbatical farming is the original organic farming system, being used for 4000 years before any chemicals were used. Whilst on my property on the Kaimai’s I did not use any fertilizer for ten years, and the very poor run down pastures that I started with where still improving beyond recognition. I had a Massey University Student come to the property to gather information for a thesis. She found that in the paddocks that had been Fallowed, the active root depth was up to 600 mm whereas the depth in most of the un-fallowed paddock was only around 50 to 100 mm.
When I first bought that property I farmed very conventionally, and poured on the fertilizer, and fill a 30 foot offal hole with stud sheep in three years with facial eczema when our neighbours only had a very minor outbreak. No profit in that. After a few years fallowing my neighbours had a bad outbreak of facial eczema, and when I counted the spores on my place, they were not even high enough to worry about.
I do not say you shouldn’t use any fertilizer if you wish but strongly suggest that for phosphate you use only rock phosphate and not super phosphate. I do believe that the use of super phosphate has caused more problems with animal health and adverse affect to the environment than it has been worth.
Unfortunately, I sold that property in 1993 and have not had a suitably fenced property since but am now in the process of fencing the one I have at the moment so that I may be able to once again star Sabbatical Fallowing.
Cheers
Jack
Back to top
WannaB
Joined: 30 Mar 2005
Posts: 1
Posted: 30 Mar 2005 08:41 am Post subject:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gidday Jacky, cool wee site you have here.
Id like to try to fallow our 2 1/5 acres (a bit at a time), as its a bit of a mess weed wise, and want to try and sort it out without spraying. Since we moved to our block in November last year, we have applied only organic lime & dolomite in the spring, and now vermicase and fish as well as soon another dump of lime and dolomite for the autumn.
We have a wide range of weeds, every conceivable nasty you could possibly (not) wish for ... I had thought about composting the block next summer, but will fallow sort the weeds out?
Look forward to your wisdom on this topic.
Cheers
Andrea
Back to top
Jack
Site Admin
Joined: 06 Jan 2005
Posts: 27
Location: Duntroon
Posted: 01 Apr 2005 01:07 am Post subject: Sabbatical Fallow
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gidday
Where abouts are you?
There are only a few weeds that nothing will eat, but 2 1/5 acres is a bit small to run too many diferent types of livestock. Weeds also seed when fallowed, but it will depend on what the weeds are and what you are farming as to what sort of effect they will have. The likes of what are called flat weeds by dairy farmers are very important herbs to other forms of livestock.
Can you give a bit more info about these weeds.
Cheers
Jack
Back to top
Guest
Posted: 01 Apr 2005 10:05 am Post subject:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thanks Jack, we are in Tauranga, and have 2 horses, and 3 wiltshire sheep to munch the herbage. We have loads of "flat weeds" but these dont concern me as the animals are still happy enough to eat them, and provide ground coverage for the soil.
Biggest amount of weeds we have is dock - the sheepies dont seem to be able to eat it fast enough, but I should give them a chance - we've only had them 2 weeks!
Other than dock, we have ragwort (which we are happy enough to pull), 3 different varieties of thistle, deadly nightshade, tobacco weed, "prickly pear?", and something else with a lovely bluey/purple flower thats flowering at the moment? Oh and of course gorse, which I think we will have to cut down and paint the stump with something noxious. Ive probably missed a few weeds, as am still learning the names etc of them. Does that help?
Cheers
Andrea
Back to top
Jack
Site Admin
Joined: 06 Jan 2005
Posts: 27
Location: Duntroon
Posted: 01 Apr 2005 09:29 pm Post subject:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gidday
The tobacco weed should be treated just like you said you were going to treat the gorse and the same chemical would do the job.
The docks and ragwort can be treated in the rose stage by pouring some salt into the centre of the crown. Your sheep should be ably to help with these too, but if you have huge amounts of dock and ragwort they may need you to help.
The thistles, can be treated by grubbing them out, with exception of Californian thistle which needs to be kept cut and that is best done when it is raining.
I am sorry but I have never seen prickly pear as a weed so haven't a clue about that but you could try treating it like any other thistle and grubbing it out. I would suggest the deadly nightshade also be grubbed.
I am suggesting these methods knowing they are quite labour intensive, mainly because you have such a small block.
I hope this is of some assistance.
Cheers
Jack
