Fwd: Pasture walk and No-till drill demo Saturday April 10th
Bouressa, Rachel
From: Paul Daigle <Paul....@co.marathon.wi.us>
Date: Tue, Mar 30, 2021 at 2:51 PM
Subject: Pasture walk and No-till drill demo Saturday April 10th
To:
Saturday April 10th 2021 – 10:00 a.m. to noon
Zachary and Sandra Sawall farm, 224700 County Road B, Marathon, WI 54448
New Start-Up Beef Operation – no-till drill demo
The Sawall Family has a start-up cow/calf operation unique in that they plan to use nurse cows to raise up to 4 calves per cow…Now that’s getting your money out of a cow! They also plan to be diversified using boer goats to graze behind the beef.
They purchased their farm in 2019 and began transitioning the cropland to pasture in fall of 2020. Their plan is to ramp up the beef operation across a three year period, over which they intend to incorporate the use of cover crops into their fall and winter feeding strategy. Building their infrastructure began last September with the installation of the fence and water system across 24 acres. The initial step was to install an all-weather 2 hole jug waterer with a concrete pad. A 4 strand exterior fence was installed around the perimeter. The pasture includes a 1.5 acre area in which to isolate cattle when the pastures are unfit to be grazed or out wintered. The remaining pasture is divided into a 12 acre paddock and an 11 acre paddock which will be further divided into smaller paddocks during grazing. In the fall of 2020 the pasture was seeded down with winter trit. In the spring of 2021, the 12 acres will be seeded down with annual Green Spirit Italian rye grass which can be grazed aggressively during the first year to allow the perennials time to establish. The perennial side will be divided up into 2 acre test plots to evaluate sustainability through winter hardiness and yield. The varieties will be cloverbelt blend from short lane ag, milkway, beef master, stock master, dairy master all from Barenburg. The best variety will then be seeded into the old Italian rye grass sod spring of 2022. The established perennial side will then be grazed more intensively to allow the new seeding of perennials to establish.
Marathon County has three no-till drills available for rent that can be used for both practices. If you plan on renting one of the drills, please come to receive training on the use of each drill and the new multi-county rental policy.
Directions: From Wausau head west on County Road N about 10 miles to County road B. Go north about ½ mile on County Road B. The farm is on the west side of the road.
COVID-19 restrictions will be recommended, masks will be available. No reservation required. Event is outdoors, plan for the weather.
Paul Daigle
County Conservationist
Marathon County Conservation, Planning and Zoning Department
210 River Drive
Wausau WI 54403
Phone 715-261-6006
Fax 715-261-6016
cell 715-573-1435
email paul....@co.marathon.wi.us
http://www.co.marathon.wi.us/Departments/ConservationPlanningZoning.aspx
Conservation, Planning and Zoning Department: Protecting our community’s land and environment…to ensure Marathon County has healthy people, a healthy economy, and healthy environment today and tomorrow.
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