Rain is forecast all week and started off yesterday with a good 29 mls but the sun is out again today.
With our sandy soils and lack of rain the trick is too keep what moisture falls in that top layer of soil that supports the roots of the pasture. We notice after just a few days of no rain the sand is as dry as Summer and also becomes water repellent so the next rain runs off rather than soaks in. For the last six to eight months I have been adding Bentonite clay to our paddocks. It is sold in the shops as clumping cat litter and as we have two indoor cats my purchase has a double duty. I have noticed a difference to the health of the pasture and especially to those areas of Kikuyu grass out front of the house that are on a good slope that used to dry out very quickly. It can be bought in one ton bulka bags so now I am happy with the small trial areas I am considering a larger purchase. The Bentonite is a permanent fix for water repellent sandy soils so once you have the right amount in the soil you never have to treat this problem again. That's a big improvement on the liquid soil wetter that need to be applied every six to twelve months making them far to costly and labour intensive in a farm situation.
I have been advertising house cows lately that are mated to our Red, Polled, A2/A2 bull and have had a good lot of interest and several sales. Many people don't know about A2 milk so have enquired as to what it is all about. A lot of the people ringing are those that are intolerant to shop bought milk and remember (years ago) that they could always drink milk from their house cow without any problem. In my research I have found a lot of Jersey cows are A1/A2 like most Dexters. Our aim is to have most of our house cow line A2/A2 which may take a few years but at least they are all tested A1/A2 now so we are well on our way. At present we are mating to consolidate double polling in one line and concentrating on keeping polled and moving towards A2/A2 in our house cow line. The testing we have been doing has been a very useful tool for management as it allows us to select for features that you just can't see by looking.
Well you must have drunk your second cup of coffee by now and it has begun to rain a bit so I will sign off till next time. May it rain all night and shine all day and the grass grow up to your cows thighs, Cheers Gillian.