Well, much to everyone’s surprise we are still farming after 5 years! Someone said our act of faith in starting a dairy farm at a low time in the industry was like “attempting to jump over 50 cars in a Harley Davidson without any practice”. Its true we bought a going dairy farm but we…
Category: Sustainable farming
Water quality – its Basic!
Its December and in South Gippsland our creeks have slowed to little more than a trickle. Like many rural properties we have to rely on water stored in dams to get us through to Autumn. Our garden and nursery stock put extra demands on our supplies, and of course the cows are always thirsty! Around…
Farm soil testing – acidity and phosphorus
In a previous blog entry, March 11 2014 I described some of the physical factors in a pasture soil in Gembrook that I had tested. The soil was very acidic with a very low proportion of fresh organic matter. Exchangeable acidity results from prolonged leaching of good nutrients from soils. The pool is considerable larger…
Sustainable farming – what is it?
Yesterday as a guest of Trevor and Anne-Marie Mills and the Western Port Catchment Landcare Network I attended a field day on the Mills’ dairy farm at Drouin South. Amongst the principles of sustainable agriculture are that farming should: – provide an amenable lifestyle for the farmer & family – protect and enhance the productive…