During our intern weekly connection on Monday, we had the opportunity to hear from Steve Darcy about soil, water, and natural resources conservation. We learned about precision agriculture, conservation practices, preservation, programs, and more. Not only did his presentation inspire me, but working in UME has as well. In the first few weeks, I mentioned how much I have learned about pasture management. Using this knowledge, along with other things I have learned, I have been able to recognize areas in my own life where better management practices can be applied. Because of presentations like this, and the education that UME provides, myself and others are better equipped to be aware of the impact we have on our environment and how to preserve it for future generations.
This week consisted of long days working in the pastures. Before our connection on Monday, I spent the morning building and reinforcing temporary fencing for our animals. As I mentioned last week, our annual group has become escape artists. This week, we added a fourth strand of electric fencing in hopes of deterring the cows from jumping over.
It became clear on Tuesday that this addition had little effect on the animals' determination, as we arrived to find both sheep and cattle out when we got to work that morning. Despite the disappointment, we set up an alleyway and walked the animals into the barn to get started collecting samples. Thankfully, the group decided to cooperate, and we got them all in calmly with no problems. This week, we collected weights on all the animals and placed two fly tags in each of the cow's ears. Additionally, we treated a few of the sheep that had been limping due to the wet ground.
With our mentors out of the office on Wednesday, Rylee and I held down the fort and worked on some necessary pasture fixes. With the help of our farm crew, we tracked down some issues with the fencing. We disconnected each section and narrowed it down to a few problem areas. We came to the conclusion that our temporary fencing, combined with the thick grass around it, was pulling the voltage down, preventing the fence from delivering a strong enough shock to deter the animals. To address this, we disconnected any the fencing that wasn’t essential and mowed strips so the grass touching the fence was minimal. While it wasn’t perfect, we did get the voltage up higher and hope this will keep the animals in.
On Thursday, Rylee and I rotated the animals to their next pasture and finished up our work from the day before. The pastures are starting to get a lot of thistles, so we went through and sprayed everything that hadn’t bloomed yet. Next week, we'll have to set up more fencing and mow some of the thistle patches that have already bloomed.
This week consisted of long days working in the pastures. Before our connection on Monday, I spent the morning building and reinforcing temporary fencing for our animals. As I mentioned last week, our annual group has become escape artists. This week, we added a fourth strand of electric fencing in hopes of deterring the cows from jumping over.
It became clear on Tuesday that this addition had little effect on the animals' determination, as we arrived to find both sheep and cattle out when we got to work that morning. Despite the disappointment, we set up an alleyway and walked the animals into the barn to get started collecting samples. Thankfully, the group decided to cooperate, and we got them all in calmly with no problems. This week, we collected weights on all the animals and placed two fly tags in each of the cow's ears. Additionally, we treated a few of the sheep that had been limping due to the wet ground.
With our mentors out of the office on Wednesday, Rylee and I held down the fort and worked on some necessary pasture fixes. With the help of our farm crew, we tracked down some issues with the fencing. We disconnected each section and narrowed it down to a few problem areas. We came to the conclusion that our temporary fencing, combined with the thick grass around it, was pulling the voltage down, preventing the fence from delivering a strong enough shock to deter the animals. To address this, we disconnected any the fencing that wasn’t essential and mowed strips so the grass touching the fence was minimal. While it wasn’t perfect, we did get the voltage up higher and hope this will keep the animals in.
On Thursday, Rylee and I rotated the animals to their next pasture and finished up our work from the day before. The pastures are starting to get a lot of thistles, so we went through and sprayed everything that hadn’t bloomed yet. Next week, we'll have to set up more fencing and mow some of the thistle patches that have already bloomed.
This is a photo of our perennial pasture on Thursday. As we finished up that afternoon we could see a storm in the distance. If you look closely you can see the rain in the distance. We packed up our stuff and just as we were returning to the office it began to pour!
We try to keep our rotations on a schedule. Here is a tentative plan for the week that could change based on the weather and how the pastures are looking.
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