snow

[freewheat]

I want to know more about these management practices that alleviate 44 inches of rain in a year, but only so ling as it is a holistic approach.

I would love to know about the holistic approach, in regards to a ten year stretch of WELL above long term normal precipitation levels, which fills lakes with no prior outlets, which then overflow and erode land into unrecognizable fields.

How about a holistic approach to ruts? I would love to know how one approaches rut avoidance and repair, with a holistic ideal.

Finally, how does one holistically approach drowning crops? What should I have been doing holistically of course, to prevent my crops from dying while the rains fell? What about my pasture and grass? Holistically speaking, how did I go so wrong???

Maybe I should move to another area, in a holistic fashion? Leave behind one of THE most productive historically farming areas in western Canada.

Provided I leave holistically, all should be well.

Gotta go out and feed my sheep. Holistically of course...

[grassfarmer]

Thank you Braveheart for a sensible post.
Freewheat although you are mocking HM I really suggest you take a course - you are young enough and prepared to think outside the box enough that it would really benefit you. As Braveheart said you can influence and mitigate the effects of too much or too little water on your land if you have the tools (knowledge).

SF3 maybe you should heed the saying "better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove any doubt"

[SASKFARMER3]

Grass like I said before you know shit all. Brave I agree with free I'm not going to mock your course but 30 to 40 inches of rain every year for years created the problem. When creeks run like mountain streams all summer and never quit . Some thing is feeding them . It's called rain we have no mountains for run off.
Grass I'm sure Manitobans will like you!

[freewheat]

I am not mocking HM. I have been an HM manager since I started farming, I have read deeply about it, and need no course. I did HM before the government subsidized the courses.

The point of my post, is that a guy who is generally starving for moisture, has little idea about fighting moisture, and losing money to moisture. For you, rain grows grass, and you have the choice to manage that to your benefit.

For us, rain DROWNS grass this last while. When this happens, no amount of HM is ever going to offset it.

THAT is my point. I do HM management in a lot of ways. But it does not stop flooding, erosion, or rainfall from hell.

[SASKFARMER3]

I travel to Hilo hawaii every year and that is weird rain area. One of the wettest in the world. The last 8 years were getting way more rain than ever. It's not ditching like some say are causing issues. This last summer witnessed for my self water running north to big quill lake cutting through fields itself. Dah is that normal or God ditching.
A drought ends with one good rain and another a few weeks later. Mud is mud.

[Braveheart]

Freewheat, if you've been doing HM for a while your land should be covered and erosion should be reduced. Also, if it's too wet for grass, plant succession would find the plants to grow in your conditions.

I know your conditions. We've had them. When it was so wet that neighbours had two quad tracks hooked tandem to pull one drill, our cows were harvesting stockpiled grass. HM and a grazing plan made a difference for us.

[jake550]

Did someone mention you're from the UK grass? Perhaps that explains it all. Not the same experience the rest of us that have been here for 5 generations would have. You can take all the courses in the world and read all the text books you like. Sometimes good old fashion experience still outweigh what some bloody expert can teach at some course.

[grassfarmer]

SF3, those would be the 30-40"' rainfall years that there is no official record of? Show us the proof! should be easy enough if it happened.

Freewheat I don't live in an area that is starving for moisture, I live in what is historically one of the highest and most dependable precip. areas of AB. Around 23" on average.

Bravehearts comments were true, managing holistically through such a wet cycle grasses like reeds canary should have been taking over. Nature always has an answer because it abhors a vacuum and will not allow species to die out.

You mentioned ruts before freewheat which reminds me of an experience a friend had here. Was trying to make grass silage the first June after he bought a new place and was making ruts everywhere. He took a second cut off in the fall driving between the ruts from the first cut that still had water lying in them. After four or five years of managing his grazing/cutting and water cycle he never ruts that land. If he gets a 2" rain in one day now he can leave it for a day to dry out and can be silaging the next. That is what we have found on our place too - get the water cycle working properly and its amazing how much moisture you can handle.

[Klause]

You are right... eventually plants will grow that adapt.


How exactly is foxtail good? Because here that is all that will grow in water logged alkali soils.


When native pastures have water runs 7 feet deep what ya going to do to holistically manage those?


Grass you continually said we didn't get 2 or 3x the normal rainfall... till I showed you ag canada maps... you don't have a clue till you go into sf3's area.



2 inches of rain and be out there the next day? Wouldn't that be lovely. Try 6 inches and not able to do anything for 3 weeks because every day is another half inch.

[Klause]

Btw Reed canary grass doesn't grow well in sask.


I know because we grew and harvested it for seed in MB... Planted 10 acres for the horses in a wet spot it never caught and turned to foxtail in a few months.

[freewheat]

Braveheart, my soil is never ever exposed. Except in the areas where torrents of water have made their own, not before seen, creeks in slight runs in fields. When the water won't stop running for years at a time, there is no chance to regain and fill in, and seed down those runs, that become 4 feet deep, and 8 feet wide, in previously very productive, barely there runs.

Nothing will grow where water never stops running.

Part of my plan, is that when it is wet, you simply do not try. Pulling a drill with two quad tracks, is just stupidity.

When it is that wet for 8 out of 10 years, it is not comprehensible by those who maybe saw this one or even two years.

Outside this area, it is not easy to comprehend. Not many areas never seeded crops for 4 years out of 10. I mean no crops, not half, not 2/3 of normal acres, I mean ZERO acres...

[freewheat]

Grass, NOTHING grows in water that is running hard for four and five years straight, over land which you would never even assume there was a water run...