| Farm News! |
April 2008: we use the sheep to
mow the lawn around the house.
They did a great job!
mow the lawn around the house.
They did a great job!
In March of 2008, I drove down to Montague, CA
to pick up 3 Murray Gray Heifers from my good
friends Carol and Maggie of Tawanda Farms.
Murray Grays are Australian beef cattle that are
renowned for their ability to produce tender,
marbled meat on grass. They are also known to
be good mothers and a gentle breed. In June,
these girls will be artificially inseminated with
semen from a top rated Australian bull. So
begins my venture into grass fed beef. Meat will
be available in 2010! In the mean time, Lavinia,
Wanda and Agnes will be rotated through the
pastures. Cows prefer to eat longer grass while
sheep eat the shorter blades, making them an
ideal team for a pasture rotation system.
to pick up 3 Murray Gray Heifers from my good
friends Carol and Maggie of Tawanda Farms.
Murray Grays are Australian beef cattle that are
renowned for their ability to produce tender,
marbled meat on grass. They are also known to
be good mothers and a gentle breed. In June,
these girls will be artificially inseminated with
semen from a top rated Australian bull. So
begins my venture into grass fed beef. Meat will
be available in 2010! In the mean time, Lavinia,
Wanda and Agnes will be rotated through the
pastures. Cows prefer to eat longer grass while
sheep eat the shorter blades, making them an
ideal team for a pasture rotation system.
If you look closely, you can see the
cows in the front pasture and the main
ewe and lamb group in a pasture
behind them. After 3 days in a pasture
or "cell", they move on to a fresh
paddock. This allows the grass to
recuperate from the grazing process
and keeps the animals from grazing
over their own manure, thereby
reducing parasite load and maximizing
forage production.
cows in the front pasture and the main
ewe and lamb group in a pasture
behind them. After 3 days in a pasture
or "cell", they move on to a fresh
paddock. This allows the grass to
recuperate from the grazing process
and keeps the animals from grazing
over their own manure, thereby
reducing parasite load and maximizing
forage production.