Your long-term monitoring needs to be done at approximately the same time every year. During the spring flush is an ideal time for your main information-gathering session, but if you’re a little more ambitious, do it once during spring flush and once in late summer. The more data you gather, the better you’ll understand what’s happening on your land.
Once you select the monitoring points, mark each one permanently with a T-post, pile of rocks, or some other permanent fixture. One of the sites we’ve established now is where a power pole comes onto the land. The point simply needs to be some kind of well-defined spot that you can find easily.
At each of your marked points, begin by taking pictures of the landscape in all four directions — north, south, east, and west. If there are established features on the landscape — say, a big tree or a building — try to include them in a photo. They will give a sense of depth to the picture and will make it clear to anyone that views your pictures in the future that all the photos are of the same spot. The view should be established so you are really recording what’s going on with the land; don’t include too much sky.
Next, take a few photos that are pointing down at the ground a few feet away from your marker. Placing a ruler or a pen in these photos will give an idea of scale and perspective.
As you take photos, mark in your journal what they are. For example, “Picture 1 is at the permanent marker in the south pasture, and is facing south; picture 2 is facing north.” If your camera doesn’t have a date function on it, be sure to date and label your photos when they are returned.
Your photo records don’t have to be limited to your permanent monitoring points. On monitoring days, we take several rolls of film from all over the place. Just make sure you keep a record of what they are, so they can be labeled when they are returned.
Next, while standing at a permanent marker, take your hula hoop and wing it out somewhere into the pasture. Where it lands is where you will record information on plant numbers, type, spacing, soil cover, capping, and any living organisms you see in your journal. Make notes that describe the condition within the circle of your hula hoop as best you can, recording the information on Table 15.4. The following list will help you develop the information:
Ground cover. Make an eyeball estimate of how much bare soil is within the hula hoop. Estimate, too, how much litter (sticks, dead vegetation, manure) there is, and what type. For example, “At data point 1, in the south pasture, the cover is about 85 percent and there is heavy litter of dead vegetation and manure. At data point 1 on the hillside behind the house there is about 60 percent ground cover, and just a little litter of dead vegetation and no manure showing. Data point 1 on the bottomland shows almost 100 percent coverage, with little litter of any kind.”
Soil capping or pugging. Where the soil is bare, are lichens, mosses, or algae growing? These keep new plant seeds from sprouting. Or is the bare soil so compacted that water can’t penetrate? In areas that tend toward wetness, is there pugging? (Pugging is a condition caused by animal’s hooves — it’s like little hummocks or mounds that develop where the animals step.)
Plant numbers and types. Count the plants along the piece of rope that divides your hula hoop in half. For example, “Seven clumps of bluegrass, five clumps of orchard grass, three grass plants of unknown type, five white clover plants, two bird’s-foot trefoil plants, three forbs (taprooted weeds), one baby pine tree. . . .” To the best of your ability, identify the plants. If your hula hoop landed up in the air, suspended on a bush, assume the bush to be the middle of the circle and work out in a line on either side of it in the direction of the rope. Make notes about the age and health of plants — if the perennials are old and showing decay, for example, or if the brush is young.
Living organisms. Record any living organisms you see either within the circle itself or as you study the area around you. Look for insects, worms, snakes, frogs, birds, and mammals. Define what you see as specifically as possible if it’s directly related to your site. For example, a flock of geese flying overhead doesn’t relate to your site, but six geese nesting at the pond in the south pasture do.
Erosion condition. Record any evidence that the soil is washing in rain, or appears to be remaining in place; any evidence that there are flow patterns of litter and soil on the land; and so on. For this, use a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being highly erosive and 1 being resistant to erosion.
When you’ve completed recording the information, throw your hula hoop out again and record the information for that spot. Repeat this so that you have at least three data sets for this monitoring point. Then perform the same procedures for each of your permanent monitoring points.
After you’ve gathered all the information for your monitoring period, try to summarize it in your journal. For example, “The hillside behind the house is in poor condition, with lots of evidence of erosion, little diversity, and little litter.” That field would be a good contender for feeding winter hay!
Your long-term monitoring record will clearly reveal what is happening on your land. Use it to show others the impacts of your decisions and management, or use it for the best reason of all — your own satisfaction.
Table 15.4
LONG-TERM MONITORING RECORD
Appendix A
Animals
The following pages provide some basic information on the most common livestock species: cattle, chickens, goats, horses, pigs, and sheep.
For each species there is a sampling of some major and minor breeds, but these are not intended to be complete lists of all breeds available for that species. For instance, there are more than fifty recognized breeds of cattle raised in the United States.
The feed chart for each species provides basic nutritional information, but these charts are based on “average” figures. Individual animals can deviate plus or minus 20 percent from these figures, depending on their metabolic rate, the weather, their general health, and the phase of the moon. But by using these figures — in conjunction with data in appendix B, Composition of Common Feedstuffs — to calculate a feed program, you’ll be well on your way to maintaining healthy animals. (See page 210 for basic metric equivalents.)
Cattle
Scientific name: Bos taurus (European breeds) or Bos indicus (Asian breeds — especially Brahman and Zebu types)
Terms:
Bull = Immature or mature male
Calf = Newborn
Calving = Act of giving birth
Cow = Mature female
Free martin = Heifer born as a twin, with the other twin being a bull (these heifers cannot breed)
Heifer = Immature female
Polled = Animal that naturally has no horns
Springer = Cow or heifer nearing calving
Steer = Castrated male
Reproduction:
Gestation = 305 days
Normal birth = 1 calf
Tons of manure produced annually per 1,000 pounds of stock: 15
Kilograms of manure produced annually per 1,000 kilograms of stock: 30,000
BREEDS
Major
Angus (beef)
Hereford (beef)
Holstein (dairy)
Jersey (dairy)
Limousin (beef)
Simmental (beef)
Common
Ayrshire (dairy)
Brahman (beef)
Brown Swiss (dairy)
Guernsey (dairy)
Highland (beef)
Milking Shorthorn (dual)
Texas Longhorn (beef)
Minor
Dexter (dual)
Dutch Belted (dual)
Galloway (meat)
Milking Devon (dual)
Normande (dual)
Pinzgauer (meat)
Red Poll (meat)
Anatomy of a dairy cow.
Top senses = Sight, smell
Fencing: Dairy cows can easily be kept with a single wire once trained. For stockers or cow-calf, plan on two wires for trained animals
and four wires for untrained animals.
Housing: Beef cattle are extremely hardy and require no housing unless calving will take place in winter. Provide a windbreak. Dairy cattle that will be milked through the winter will need some type of housing in the extreme North; however, alternative housing — like a hoop barn — should work. Through the central part of the country, a windbreak should be sufficient.
Other Thoughts: I love cows! We had cows that were as friendly as pet dogs. A good alternative for a homestead operation that just wants to produce its own milk and meat is one of the dual-purpose breeds, or a Jersey cow. Let the cow raise her own calf; milk her once per day for your own milk. During the early part of the calf’s development, you’ll get enough milk for making butter, cheese, and yogurt; when the calf is near weaning, you may only get enough for your coffee, or a couple of glasses of milk per day.
Table A.1
CATTLE FEED*
Chickens
Scientific name: Gallus gallus
Terms:
Broody = Hen that’s ready to sit on a clutch
Capon = Castrated male
Chick = Newborn
Clutch = Group of eggs
Cockerel = Immature male
Hen = Mature female (“Down Under,” a hen is a chook)
Molting = Regular shedding of feathers
Pullet = Immature female
Rooster = Mature male
Reproduction:
Gestation = 21 days
Normal birth = up to 16 chicks successfully hatched from one hen, though typical clutches run 6 to 8 per hen
Tons of manure produced annually per 1,000 pounds of stock: 4.75
Kilograms of manure produced annually per 1,000 kilograms of stock: 9,500
Top sense: Sight
BREEDS
Major
Brahma (meat)
Cornish (meat)
White Leghorn (layer)
White Rock (meat)
Minor
Barred Rock (dual)
Brown Leghorn (layer)
Jersey Giants (meat)
Wyandotte (dual)
Anatomy of a hen and cock, shown on
Gallus gallus, the “original” chicken.
Fencing: If you want to fence chickens into a small yard, chicken wire is the way to go. Electroplastic Net (Premier Fencing, Washington, Iowa) also works.
Housing: Chickens are one class of animals that does need some type of housing, primarily for predator protection. There are lots of designs for small chicken houses available — check with your local extension agent to see if he or she has some free material. Once chickens become accustomed to roosting in a particular building or portable shed, they will return there each night. If you allow your birds to free-range during the day, just close the door right after the last birds go in to roost right before it gets dark out.
Other thoughts: Chickens deserve a place on every farm. They are economical and relatively easy to deal with. Good, fresh chicken meat is a delicacy that has strong market appeal, but even if you aren’t selling chicken, keep a small flock of dual-purpose hens and a rooster (one rooster per twenty hens is a good ratio). You’ll be kept in plenty of fresh eggs most of the year, and at least one or two hens will brood up a batch of chicks for you to butcher in fall.
Table A.2
CHICKEN FEED
Goats
Scientific name: Capra hircus
Terms:
Billy or buck = Mature male
Chevon = Goat meat
Doe or nanny = Mature female
Kid = Newborn
Wether = Castrated male
Reproduction:
Gestation = 150 days
Estrus cycle = 21 days
Normal birth = 1 to 3 kids per doe
Tons of manure produced annually per 1,000 pounds of stock: 9.00
Kilograms of manure produced annually per 1,000 kilograms of stock: 18,000
Top senses: Taste, smell
Fencing: Goats are about the hardest animals to fence. They can climb, they can jump, they can crawl; and if they can, they will! I’ve seen goats climb up on a parked vehicle to jump over a fence. The best approach is four to five strands of permanent electric fence, very well grounded, and with nothing (such as a parked vehicle) near the perimeter. If you only keep a few goats, Electroplastic Net (Premier Fencing, Washington, Iowa) will work well.
Breeds
Major
Angora (fiber)
Boer (meat)
Cashmere (fiber)
Nubian (dairy)
Saanen (dairy)
Spanish (meat)
Toggenburg (dairy)
Minor
Alpine LaMancha (dairy)
Fainting goat (meat)
Nigerian Dwarf (dairy)
San Clemente (meat)
Note: The distinction between major and minor may be a fine one in goats. Since goats have never developed into a large-scale commercial product in the United States, their numbers are fairly low, currently estimated at 4.5 million animals total.
Anatomy of a horse.
Housing: Goats are scrappy little things that only need a building if they’ll be kidding during the winter. Otherwise, they’ll find some little nook or cranny to wait out bad weather on their own.
Other thoughts: We’ve never kept goats commercially, though we’ve had a couple of pet goats over the years. They are fun, in part because they are so clever, but they can be a challenge. Our first pet goat, Giles, was an abandoned Nubian wether; I’m not sure if we adopted him or if he adopted us. Either way, Giles learned to open the back door to the house and, until we devised a better latch, would let himself in to have a party while we were at work. And goat parties are a messy situation.
Goats have real market potential if you live near a city with a large variety of ethnic populations, because in many cultures goat meat is a delicacy. We also know several small-scale, commercial goat-cheese manufacturers who do quite well producing and direct-marketing their product from a relatively small herd of dairy goats. (See the story of Lanie Fondiler on page 67.)
Table A.4
GOAT FEED
Horses
Scientific name: Equus caballus
Terms:
Stallion = Mature male
Mare = Mature female
Filly = Immature female
Colt = Immature male
Foal = Newborn
Chunk = Cross between draft horse and saddle horse
Reproduction:
Gestation = 11 months
Normal birth = 1 foal
Foals are generally born between 3 A.M. and 6 A.M.
Tons of manure produced annually per 1,000 pounds of stock: 12
Kilograms of manure produced annually per 1,000 kilograms of stock: 24,000
Top senses: Smell, sight
Fencing: A horse that’s been trained to electric fencing and knows where the fence is located can easliy be kept by a single strand of polywire. Avoid barbed wire with horses — we know of several people over the years who lost a horse when it became entangled in barbed wire and cut itself so badly it couldn’t be saved. If you purchase a farm with existing barbed-wire fencing, run a single strand of polywire inside the existing fence to keep the horses away from it.
BREEDS
Major
Arabian
Belgian (draft)
Morgan
Percheron (draft)
Quarter
Thoroughbred
Minor
American Cream (draft)
Canadienne
Cleveland Bay
Clydesdale (draft)
Hackney
Shire (draft)
Anatomy of a horse.
Housing: Horses are some of the hardiest creatures alive and require no housing at all, just a windbreak. Horses wintered outside put on a really thick coat, so owners who plan to show horses during the winter may need to keep them in a barn so they keep that slick, shiny coat that sh
ow people look for. Otherwise, don’t baby these big, strong critters.
Other thoughts: Pet horses can be a large expense, so if you’re planning on making a living at farming, either figure out a way to make money with equines or don’t get one. If you really want horses and you want to make a living farming, then the good news is that there may be several ways to make money — using them for work, breeding and selling young animals, providing stud service, developing a lease agreement with townfolks who want their child to ride in shows or 4-H . . . use your imagination.
Table A.5
HORSE FEED
Pigs
Scientific name: Sus scrofa
Terms:
Small-Scale Livestock Farming Page 32