ADVENTURE'S DOWNUNDER OR FARMING IN PARADISE:An Old Rams view.

[The Old Ram-Australia]

G'day Gang and thanks for taking the time for another visit with us.Well they say around here that Spring is unpredictable and it has proved to be again in the last day or so.Market day(Thursday) was pleasant enough after a real good "frost" to start the day with................................Friday 's start was pleasant enough about +5C,because all of the tree's are starting come to life I decided to give them all a water(this task usually takes about 3hrs,but after 2 the wind was up ,blowing Nth of West and about 60 KPH,so I called a halt and went to check the water's for the sheep,I have to draft the ewe's off of the "mad 100" and give them a "narrow spectrum" BP drench,if the weather holds we are hoping to sell the top line next week.....................Saturday:We awoke this morning and it was "freezing",cloudy and very unpleasant.So got anything that needed doing early and by lunch it was "inside and light the fire".By mid-afternoon it was a heavy mist and tonight after dark it started raining and is still as I write.

Today I got an E-mail from my eldest sister's husband about the younger one ,seems she came across a Black Snake on her back porch and had to "take care of it".

Well its only a short one again tonight ,but the pic's make up for it ,so til next time regards to you all from,T.O.R..............................

 

[dragonlaurel]

She looks pretty brave with that one. I wont hold a toxic snake that still is intact. I think it's safer to behead it with a machete or something similar. Then I toss the head into a big ant pile and stir a bit, so pets wont accidentally get stuck with a fang from being too curious. It's probably not nice to the ants, but . . .
How common are those black snakes? They seem to be turning up frequently, but I don't know if the weather change is making them show up, or if there really are plenty of them around.

Fall is definitely started here. Cooler nights now, but the days can't make up their minds. Normal enough.

Good luck with your sale next week.

 

[~gd]

That is a right pretty snake and very fat for this early in the year? They do hibernate over the winter dont they? Do they tend to den up together like some of our rattlesnakes do in the winter? Never the less you can keep them down in Oz, I dont dislike snakes and if they leave me be, I leave them alone too but I wouldnt care to meet up with that snake anywhere. Do they make belts out of snakeskin there, that black and red would make a really striking belt (pun not intended) I left a novel back on page 33 so just this short note as I have to run out and buy some new cool weather gear since I have lost 6 inches from my waist since last winter and I now use braces to keep my pants up since my belts look funny after adding extra holes I should cut them down but if I do I might gain all of that belly fat back again. I guess it was that that made me think of snakeskin belts. ~gd

 

[The Old Ram-Australia]

G'day gang,welcome back and we hope you enjoy your visit..............This morning(Sunday)it was "still" raining and cold and not to "flash".We had 13.5mm overnight and when the sun comes out all of those paddocks resting will be away.Some of you will recall the "compost trial",well you will get an update pic in a week,it is looking really promising at the minute(still have to get started on that new bigger compost bin though)...Because of the "damp weather" I still have not got all of the "mad 100 " into their new grass yet and the dogs only got a quick run and were then fed between showers this "arvo".

Q & A:~gd..I guess some people would "tan " those snake skins ,but not I,I have a feeling that they only come together for "mating"(the snakes that is).Now you have got rid of that excess perhaps you should make an effort to keep it off?Hope your trip up North went as well as you hoped?
DL:..There are always plenty of the Reds about ,but we have yet to see any of the Eastern Browns this Spring(they are the real "bad guys").

That book I spoke about the other night is so thought provoking and I intend to start a conversation about in the next little while ,I'm hoping you will find it as interesting as I do(but I'm sure you will all tell me if its just "boring").

Well gang its another "short one " tonight ,but I'm sure there will be plenty of "news" when the rain clears,regards ..T.O.R.................

 

[The Old Ram-Australia]

G'dag gang ,glad you could stop by to visit once again,

Monday:So first thing this morning ,get the rest of the "Mad 100"up and pick up Ruby and Jack(my dogs for the benifiet of any new readers) to get them into the yards to be drafted.I split all of the ewe's off and "drenched "them with a narrow spectrum BP and liver fluke drench....Ruby and I then put them back onto the paddock to "clean-out" for a week,before they go to "fresh feed".Tomorrow after lunch I have to get the wethers in and make up a load to go to the sale Wednesday.

Jenny and I (and TOM, the Rabbit hunter)went to check on some weed spraying I had been doing and to check on some "new" fox baits I had laid(2 had been taken the first night),as we were walking along quietly ,Jenny all of a sudden "jumped" sideways ,because there "sunning" itself was a 4 ft Black Snake,in a instant it had disappeared down a rabbit hole. That was "enough" for today,its "hometime".

I did have visions tonight starting to chat about the" book ",but its too late and I'm too tired,maybe tomorrow night,maybe.I must confess that I have been "moonlighting" over at BYH, I started a thread over there on the subject of feeding stock,for the stock people it's worth a look as there is some interesting "stuff" coming out on it,anyway ,regards for now ...T.O.R................

 

[~gd]

G'day Ram, Monday morning here, I was working on my books trying to figure where the money goes, usually I do that on weekends but... A Church lady came to my door and tried to convince me that the End of Days is upon us so to heck with the books!
Q&A So how many dogs are on your station? Ruby and Jack are herding dogs and Tom the rabbit hunter and Tess the house dog. Any more stashed? No Boar hound or a really fast snake dog? How about the old English country favorite a ferret for the rabbits or the upper crust pack of fox hounds? You know those Red bellied black snakes look big enough to eat rabbit and fox kits, do they?
Well it is back to the books, I wouldnt want the world to come to an end with me owing on my bills.

 

[The Old Ram-Australia]

G'day Gang,as i had a little time on my hands this afternoon I thought I would open the topic of that book I have been reading.

To introduce the subject Systems Thinking for livestock Production I think it would be of value to examine some basics. The Farm in a natural state is a closed system it is kept stable by disorder.ie: diversity of plants and animals with no inputs and no outputs, Nature uses the weather to manage the environment..So along comes the Farmer; the first thing he does is to try to establish some order, so there can be outputs to cover the inputs ,but to also deliver a return for his effortsNature has lost control, the farmers decisions impact the ecosystem(for better or worse) and in the latter case Nature rebels, delivering effects like soil erosion ,poor stock health and waves of weeds.. Heres the thing Nature is always trying to re-establish disorder to bring stability back to the ecosystem, so the objective of the Farmer should be to bend Nature just enough to achieve a desired outcome, but not enough to cause a revolution.

A bad outcome would be something like the following. The Farmer achieves this by making decisions and the effect of the decision on the whole ecosystemEG:The Farmer doubles the stocking rate without adjusting the amount of pasture first. Nature reacts to the loss of groundcover by germinating any dormant seeds (which will be mostly weeds, in the view of the farmer).The Farmer reacts by spraying out anything he considers to be undesirable. The result is that the earth, now bare and open to wind and sun losses topsoil and organic matter to every little breeze and when it does rain any remaining is washed into creeks and off of the property.

So, what would be a more acceptable series of events .The farm is based on 3 separate but interconnected segments,
The Farmer..Management
The Pasture.Responds to the management (for better or worse).
The Livestock.Thrive or Die, based on the condition of the Pasture).
The Farmer has now replaced Nature, but if he is to succeed he must take account of Her to avoid a revolution and ensuring failure of the project...The key to the projects success is the knowledge base of the farmer ,his understanding of the land and its capabilitys, so how is this knowledge gained.
1. By observing the seasons
2. By recording events.(I have found that a camera is the most valuable tool in the shed)
3. By developing concepts and testing them and analyzing the outcomes (not every concept will be a success, hence the testing first).
4. Be prepared to question concepts with what ifs to try to second guess outcomes.

In the scenario above the first question should have been. Is there excess capacity in the Grazing System?

I do hope the above has prompted some thought on the subject and as always any questions or comments are welcome,I look forward to hearing from some of you on the subject ,regards T.O.R.........................

I forgot to credit the book and author."CHANGING AGRICULTURE"by JIM WILSON...note.I have simplified much of the text as it was designed for students attending University..........................T.O.R....................

 

[dragonlaurel]

If they are more of a threat, I hope those Eastern Browns stay away. Those redbellies are enough to watch out for.

I read your other thread on BYH. Very cool. I didn't post to it, since I don't have any livestock, but there's lots of good info there. I will be trying to "guess-timate" how much the expenses will be to raise the ones I want. That thread will make it easier to do projected costs.

That book makes sense. I want to start off right when I get land, so I don't ruin anything or have to make big corrections later.

 

[~gd]

Gday Ram! Im confused is this book a practical guide for stockmen (grazers) or a Green theory book? Nature usually tends to over graze locally but keeps the herds moving so to give the land time to recover. Just about any grazer I can think of delivers young ready to move on with the herd in a short time and they are usually are born while the graze is in top condition. Most of the great herds follow the weather. Wintering over in the warmer part of the range and moving with the temperature and rain fall to the better range as they graze out the current range. If there are no top predators the condition of the range is what controls their population. Under the Natural system soil erosion is a natural process that only really happens when there is excess water to carry off the soil to another location (usually flatter) where it produces excellent graze. What I havent figured out is why the range is not taken over by weeds defined as plants that grazers will not eat. The only conclusion I have come to is that the weeds must provide feed for strictly local animals like rodents and insects or highly mobile animals like birds.
It is my understanding that native Australian grazers became highly mobile to deal with local conditions. It is also my understanding that natural preserves in the USA usually dont work very well for grazers and their predators because of the limited size of the preserves. The range becomes overgrazed and the grazers want to move onto managed range and tend to bring their predators with them which find the unnatural (farmed) grazers much easier prey than the wild stock so the natural grazers continue to over populate and ruin the range. You yourself have photographed the difference between natural range and your managed range. Your population is not controlled by those few foxes but by you sending the less preferred stock to market. The difference is you are producing food for humans while the natural system produces food for predators and any overstock starves to death. Of course sheep are not a native animal. So am I missing something here?~gd

 

[The Old Ram-Australia]

G'day gang,Oh ~gd ,you will be the death of me!(I shall return to your most recent post later)

Tuesday:First thing was to go around all the fox baits and see what has been happening,replaced another 4, one of which I had only put out the afternoon before.Rang the ranger to organize to pick-up another 40,the type I am using at the moment are from" animal control technologies",they are a manufactured type and in the past I have been really disappointed with them.I had tried them in the really cold weather and had no "take up" of them,but now with the warm weather it seems that heat makes the "attractant" more "volatile" and so is more readily taken by the foxes.(you beauty)....So late in the afternoon I take the dogs and we get the wethers in to draft off the sale ones,I end up with 15 to take and by the time I got the car and trailer set-up,fed the dogs and got back to the house its almost dark.Opps I almost forgot while the dogs and me were getting those lambs ,we came across our first Eastern Brown,over 4 ft and shiny "as",Ruby must have herd it as she suddenly jumped up and sideways in one motion,when I saw it it was in the long grass ,but was travelling along with its head about 18ins off of the ground.

Wednesday:Its sale day we have to "get-up" at 3.30am,have "breakie" and walk over and load the sheep,4,40am and we are on our way.we arrive about 8.15am and unload and settle down to wait for the sale to start(9.30am)

Auction Action!
Now since we sold earlier in the year the market has "come back" by about $70 a head,our sale price was down by $40 a head ,so we cannot complain to much,still it was a good day for the "bank balance"........When we got home and I was "cleaning out the trailer " I hear this "HUGE" shout from Jenny ,now I'm 1/2 a km away,when I get there she is trying to "extract" an Echidna from under one of the dogs kennels.Now these things can "dig and fast",so while she is lifting it with a crowbar,I get my hands underneath it and we lift it clear of the ground,I head over to the bush and set it down ,it will be off as soon as it knows I'm gone.

Q & A:..~gd.That visit from the Church lady must have been funny ,my reaction would have been if the "end of the world was nigh",how would she like to get to "heaven" with a smile on her face?......... You are such a "worry".......The book is about "decision making",in other words how a decision made in isolation ,can effect the whole project.The examples were ones I dream-pt up to illustrate the difference between Nature and the Farmers effects on the ecosystem(when I first read your post I thought you "were having a lend of me"(LOL)).But if you want me to explain it in another way and address your comments ,I will be more that happy to do that too.

DL:As you can see the Browns are up and awake now,but still no Tigers or Copperheads though.I'm so glad you were able to see the point of the book and was able to make "sense " of my way of presenting it.The feeding topic over on BYH,is unearthing some interesting "stuff" and I am learning a lot about US feeding regimes,such a difference to ours downunder.

ANYBODY:Were you all able to see the point I was trying to get across,If you did not please post and say so.I really think this method of Systems Thinking in relation to farm decision making is "such" a useful tool as a predictor of likely outcomes.

Well its been a long day and its "market day " tomorrow(if its not pouring with rain in the morning.),so thanks for spending some of your time with us and we hope to see you back again in the future,regards.T.O.R.................................