Sustainable Hobbyfarming in Macclesfield, Victoria | Agricultural service

Sustainable Hobbyfarming

Locality: Macclesfield, Victoria

Phone: +61 408 129 671

Address: 223 Kirkpatricks Rd 3782 Macclesfield, VIC, Australia

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23.01.2022 Horses in Bushfires Workshop. Well wort attending if you have horses. https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/horses-and-bushfire-safety-

19.01.2022 Cross-grazing is a great management tool for small farmers that enables getting more production from the pasture and can help with pasture management for horses. In this example, Cross-grazing horses and cattle is discussed but similar benefits can be obtained from other stock combinations. Horses and cattle eat differently. Horses eat with their lips while cattle eat with their tongues. This allows cattle to eat long pasture down to a level more suitable for horses.... Horses and cattle have different preferences for plants. Cattle love dock and many others that horses avoid. This reduces the amount of weed management work for a great pasture Horses and cattle have different internal parasites so cattle will eat grass around horse poo and horses will eat grass around cow poo. This gives a more even finish to a paddock after a grazing rotation without a need to slash. One cross-grazing model for a six or seven paddock property is: - horses in paddock for a week - move horses to next paddock and put cattle in to clean up; After a week move stock again and harrow. Let paddock rest for a few weeks to grow again After six or seven weeks horses are back in first paddock with even spread of grasses. Horses and cattle are both herd animals so minimum numbers for this model is two of each. This model works best when total weight of horses is about the same as total weight of cattle plus or minus 50%. ie 2 horses, 2 cows. Miniature cattle such as Lowlines or Dexters provide greater flexibility. If you run out of grass, you can sell one or eat one.

18.01.2022 Macclesfield Landcare Event providing information on grants and other assistance to help with sustainable land management. 20 October 2018 at Macclesfield Hall. 10:00am start.

17.01.2022 Come and see how to tame mud. https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/free-field-day-managing-mud

16.01.2022 Fertilizer trial 1 Fertilizer is expensive and often out of reach of hobby farmers. This trial is intended to get some idea of the benefit of fertilizer on the poor Macclesfield grey soil. Both paddocks were slashed post grazing prior to application. 125Kg of fertilizer (NPKS rating 8,4,10,14) was applied to a U shape strip in two small paddocks. Cost of fertilizer was approx $1 per Kg. Total area covered was approx 0.2 Ha.... Good rain (120mm over 4 weeks) was received so grass grew well. Much better in the fertilized area than in the control. Result: Fertilized area grew approx 4 times as much grass as control. First photo shows fertilized are in the top and left whil control is in bottom and right. Second photo shown the taste test. Horses went straight to deeper green of the fertilized area. Same result occurred with cattle taste test. Cows went straight to fertilized area.

12.01.2022 https://www.facebook.com/events/288812595332382

11.01.2022 N vs PK fertilizer trial We have been told that if you have plenty of clover and other legumes, you don't need to add nitrogen as part of your fertilizer. Previous application of low N fertilizer was very dissappointing in terms of grass production. This trial applies just nitrogen (urea NPKS rating 46,0,0,0) to some areas, potassium and phosphorus (Mono Potassium Phosphate MPK NPK rating 0,23,28,0) to other areas and both to overlapping areas.... With 50mm of rain forecast over the next week, expectations are for some noticeable difference. Map shows area treated with MKP in yellow and area treated with Urea in pink. Rate of application approx 15 grams per square metre or 150Kg per Ha

09.01.2022 No Mud cattle feed area The aim of this project is to create an area to feed the cattle during the winter where they can have dry feet and avoid mud erosion and effluent runoff into the waterways. The plan is to establish a a stabilised area of about 8m by 8m with a cattle feeder in the middle. It need to be where we can easily deliver round bales or small square bales without getting bogged.... We have chosen an area within our existing cattle yard which got very muddy last winter. We are doing the work in summer as the ground is already hard. This is a trial of GeoHex. ref. http://www.geohex.com.au/ which we purchased from Pakenham Produce. This project was sponsored by Melbourne Water's Rural Land Program.

08.01.2022 Lowlines are such wonderful cattle. They are friendly, naturally have no horns, are better for the environment and easier to handle than full size cattle. Lowlines are about 60% of the size that Angus are today but are similar to how Angus cattle were a century ago. Their smaller size and no horns makes them easier on fences than large cattle. Their reduced weight makes them easier on the soil. They eat about half that of Angus and Herefords and a lot less than dairy cattle. Here come four of mine looking for me to see if I have any treats for them.

07.01.2022 Great Property Planning Workshop https://register.eventarc.com//expression-of-interest-in-b

05.01.2022 N vs PK one week on. A noticeable green stripe is emerging in the line of urea application.

02.01.2022 Dung beetles are just so great for the soil, pasture and animal health. These dung beetles bury dung up to 40cm below ground level. They create tunnels that bring water and air deep into the soil reversing compaction. The water and nutrients from the dung attract plant roots feeding grasses to grow larger and later into dry periods. Marianne, Tanya and Kerry are releasing 1,000 winter active Bubus bison into horse manure in Seville.