Over the last month we have seen the soil moisture lessen to where the ground is an insulator rather than a conductor. Our electric fence has not been able to deliver a shock, as grounding is required. Animals have been getting out regularly and that has added considerable stress for us managing them. Their condition has improved however, as they have had better forage selection, eating down the young grass shoots prematurely. This is not good for the pasture as the grass needs to set new roots after being grazed. We are altering our electric netting to install a ground wire traversing the whole length, to remedy this situation. This will enable a shock to be delivered independent of soil moisture conditions.

We are looking forward to a winter with very little hay on the market. We squeaked through last year amazingly, grazing deep into January. Then farmers who had stockpiled hay saw that they would be long on inventory, and good hay came out of the woodwork. This year will be different however, unless the weather is so warm that we can graze all winter. The drought has led to a severe shortage.  We will have to be creative to feed our animals through the winter.  So we are exploring  all feed  possibilities here.

One of the bright spots this summer ironically is how well the sheep and goats have done. They are critters that evolved in dry arid climates. The normally wet humid conditions are not ideal for them in many ways. Parasite load, hoof rot, and respiratory ailments issues have all diminished.

Looking forward to another farm tour and dinner next week. There is always a rush of excitement preparing for guests. Our first two events this year have been near perfect in every way. If you can make it you will be in for a treat!    

Harry