Farrow Land
GailR
I own a 20 acre unused pasture that borders my house lot. At one time, this
was a pasture used by my family's dairy farm for over 60 years. Sometimes
used to grow field corn or hay or used for cattle grazing. My family retired
from farming and now I am living on the property. I rented out the pasture
for cattle grazing for a few years and had it brush-hogged once a year,
usually in July. In 1998 I decided I was tired of having it used as a
grazing pasture -- tired of the cattle getting out of the fences, waterline
problems, smells and flies, chasing tennents for the rent money, dodging
bulls, all those sort of annoyances.
This pasture has been unused since 1998 and I am thinking of letting it
revert back to a more natural state. I enjoy watching the birds and other
wildlife and the wildflowers that are springing up. Currently, I am doing
nothing at all as far as maintenance on this pasture. I am wondering if I
will come to regret this and since it could be easily brush-hogged still (no
large woody type growth yet) I am undecided as to wether to mow it, or not?
And if so, how often and when??
Has anyone else let a pasture go fallow? Any ideas or suggestions would be
appreciated. Thanks!
GailR
John Gilmer
>
> Has anyone else let a pasture go fallow? Any ideas or suggestions would
be
> appreciated. Thanks!
If you just drive around you will see what happens when you let land go
fallow. If you pay attention you will be able to distinguish among land
that has only gone a few years to land which has gone 10+ years to land that
has gone 20+ years.
If you want, you can speed or slow down the process at whatever stage you
desire. Just go around killing off the vegetation corresponding to the
stage you don't desire.
Alternatively, you can let things go "native" and just blast through
pathways for your own and the local fauna's enjoyment.
CAVM
your dept of natural resources. In some place they will give you advice on
seedings and plantings to make a wildlife habitat. Some will even pay for part
of it.
Sometimes you can interest groups promoting wild turkey or Ducks Unlimited or
other groups to help ou out in this.
Cornelius A. Van Milligen
Kentucky Enrichment Inc
Goedjn
Where is it?
Plant pear trees. Let someone else manage the
lot in return for the pears, and in 50 years,
your grandkids can put themselves through college
by selling them as veneer logs.
JeB
wrote:
along those lines ... valuable timber crop like black walnut.
Quiller
advice. You can't find better specialists on what grows best where you are.
--
Respectfully, Quiller
The Q
the European Economic Community are paying for farmers to take land
out of production, as there are too many mountains of produce sitting
in warehouses.
Most of the land is left till after the wild flowers have seeded and
then mowed once, that way the wildlife gets if for most of the year
but the land is still easily recoverable should it be needed. Many
farmers have also planted corners, edges and soggy bits of land with
trees, to get paid for that by the governments. Sadly you won't get
that pleasure!
Personally I'd plant a wide variety of fruit and nut trees in the
areas as mentioned above, that way you'll get the pleasure of those
and the wild life will get some too. You will then get a variety of
open land and tree living wildlife.
The Q
Larry Caldwell
theqno...@yahoo.co.uk writes:
> Most of the land is left till after the wild flowers have seeded and
> then mowed once, that way the wildlife gets if for most of the year
> but the land is still easily recoverable should it be needed. Many
> farmers have also planted corners, edges and soggy bits of land with
> trees, to get paid for that by the governments. Sadly you won't get
> that pleasure!
If you plant self-seeding cereals and legumes, like wild oats, field peas
and soybeans and then release game birds like pheasant and partridge, you
can get some good hunting going. The birds will also need brush piles
for cover, access to water and gravel for their gizzards.