Hello,
my name is robert and I have a farm in the US. I am very interested in your website and your farming ways. I just taken on another 30 acres. What is interesting about it is has been sitting in grass for 3 to 5 years. I live in North carolina where we have lots of clay soil .
Going over the property I can dig down 8 to 10 inches and the first 4 to 6 inches is a dark top soil after that the clay starts. But it hold worms also and the roots of the grass looks good.
So I want to change to a dedicated grass.
How can I go about changing over to a different grass, (hay crop) with ruining the top soil ??
Robert
New acreage
Moderator: webmaster
Robert
Thanks for your post and your question.
Right off let me say I have no real knowledge and undertanding of conditions in the US where you are.
But, I believe these universal nsf principles may apply.
Firstly, if you want to have a grass monoculture for hay to feed to stock, it is going to be detrimental to their health...they need biodiverse forage...see www.nsfarming.com and click References.
Two the black soil you see indicates high soil Carbon.
If you bale and sell the hay off farm you will be exporting and leaking your farms fertility.
Over time your fertility levels will fall and your grasses will change in response to the lowering fertility levels. You will start to get more unpalatable species.
On the other hand if you can raise or maintain fertility levels more naturally by mulching, manuring, planting deciduous trees and vegetation on the high ground, the water and increased fertility will find its way down into your pastures and the plants will change with each cycle.
It would be an interesting case study to make....photos and observations before and after are a great help.
Thanks for your post and your question.
Right off let me say I have no real knowledge and undertanding of conditions in the US where you are.
But, I believe these universal nsf principles may apply.
Firstly, if you want to have a grass monoculture for hay to feed to stock, it is going to be detrimental to their health...they need biodiverse forage...see www.nsfarming.com and click References.
Two the black soil you see indicates high soil Carbon.
If you bale and sell the hay off farm you will be exporting and leaking your farms fertility.
Over time your fertility levels will fall and your grasses will change in response to the lowering fertility levels. You will start to get more unpalatable species.
On the other hand if you can raise or maintain fertility levels more naturally by mulching, manuring, planting deciduous trees and vegetation on the high ground, the water and increased fertility will find its way down into your pastures and the plants will change with each cycle.
It would be an interesting case study to make....photos and observations before and after are a great help.