Every 2 – 3 days our cows are moved into a new paddock, which is smaller than a conventional paddock. The idea is to let them graze intensively in a cell (whilst fertilising that particular patch as well) before moving on. The difference in fertility and growth this system has made is substantial, as now the cows go into paddocks that have grass coming up to their armpits!
Cell grazing electric fence through the high grass
It takes a bit of time and effort to split the existing paddocks into cells with electric fencing before they are put into the cell. Yesterday Iris and myself had to wade through grass taller than us in order to put up the electric fence, but the cows were extremely happy to be put into a new cell this morning!
Happy cows in their new cell!
This morning was an extreme mess in the cow yard, as our cow Anna came on heat and tried to mount all the other cows in the yard. The result was poo trampled everywhere, and our young calf Bambi hiding in with Toffee who is in a separate area. It was challenging to get our 30 kilos worth of manure this morning for the biodigester because of the mess, but we got there! It was Iris’ turn to get splashed by the biodigester manure mix this morning, as she has happily taken over that job. I think everyone doing the biodigester feeding has to be splashed at least once, just to know to drop the manure into the bucket gently… 😉
Tom is coming home from Jordan on Sunday, looking forward to having him back! It has been a challenging couple of weeks for me, and it probably was an interesting few weeks for him. He has had irregular internet access, the flu and was teaching the course, so hence not many blog posts from him, hopefully more next week! Have a great weekend!
©2016 Zaia; permeco.org, incorporating Permaculture Research Institute Sunshine Coast, simplicity, permaculture, self reliance, self sufficiency, sustainability, food, health and homesteading, cell grazing in action at Maungaraeeda on the Sunshine Coast.
Author: Permeco Inc.
Not for profit organisation and charity based in Queensland, Australia, focusing on permaculture education and environmental research. Please note that all articles and recipes written under this label on this website prior to 2025 are written and copyrighted by Willa Sevenstern (previously known as Zaia Kendall).