Keyline Design at Markegard Family Grass-Fed
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- čas přidán 7. 09. 2024
- This video is a part of the Water Stewardship video series produced by the Ecological Farming Association. This video features Markegard Family Grass-Fed in San Gregorio, California, where Erik and Doniga Markegard have a 1000 acre home ranch as well as 6 ranches leased for livestock. They produce Grass-Fed beef, Grass-Fed lamb, pastured pork, and pasture raised laying hens. They are excited to share how they came to promote Keyline Design strategies on their farm. For more information, visit www.eco-farm.org.
Great video! Your explanation is simple and clear.
I appreciate you.
Outstanding video & farm family! So Simple & Logical it's hard to believe every farm isn't using Keyline methods!
Great video! Just one quibble @2:25, water doesn't actually move "slightly UP" of course. What she's saying is that with keyline design, water is moved OUT of valleys and ONTO ridges. Practically speaking, think of how you would gently walk out of a valley, down onto a ridge: the line you walk is a keyline.
Exactly, you need to move water to the ridge at a 1° decline from the moister keypoint are to the dryer ridge. Mark Shepard also puts swales at ridges if feasible.
Using Keyline Design instead of conventional irrigation not only saves electricity, but it alsp means that fossil water is not used for irrigation; and prevents salination of the land that occurs over time with conventional irrigation. This salting of the land can be seen in the southwest where cotton was grown using industiral agriculture methods on land that now will grow almost nothing.
Hi. By southwest, do you mean Arizona and New Mexico? If this lend is suffering from salination, what will it take to bring the soil back to a productive capacity?
I am not able to understand what is keyline design. Please help me
@@Humus_Farms
It's moving water to the ridge at a 1° decline from the moister keypoint (the head of a 'valley'on your land) to the dryer ridge. It use a subsoiler in American parlance, or a key line plow in Aussie farmspeak.
The subsoiler cuts a deep slit in the soil, rather than break up plant roots or overturn soil. The subsoiler breaks up an impervious, crusty soil surface allowing water to seep in, while also adding aeration. It also helps break up hardpan.
It can also ge ysed to keep tree roots manageable if you're trying to alley crop in between trees as well.
@@Reciprocity_Soils
Planting pioneering species such as mesquite. You also need to implement rainwater harvesting earthworks and techniques.
Brad Lancaster out of Tucson has recently updated his two books on rainwater harvesting in dryland. He has done amazing things to reclaim challenged land.
You need to get some trees in those paddocks - I know you're near the Atlantic but trees. There are enough sheltered areas to get them going.
The system and the stock will say thanks.
Maybe there is more to see - but the low bush scrub needs something above shoulder height.
Exactly! Cattle and other lose condition in high temp conditions, cool season grasses will stop growing as well. This is why planting pastures in a savannah-style can increase feed quality and reduce losses. Additionally there are trees that can also supplement livestock feed.
Look into that which is compatible. Make sure if you plan to have horses on the pasture that the leaves' protein content is low so the horses will not founder, other considerations such as plant toxicity...
Another management technique that really helps is regularly topping the grass and weeds with a batwing rotary cutter to keep weeds from reseeding, prevent pastures from becoming choked with brush and to keep the grass and forage in the vegetative stage and green and growing longer.It also spreads the manure somewhat. Always mob the animals to intensively graze them to make best use of the forage you have.
Beautiful farm and family! I'm envious.
If you want to increase the forage production and build soil, then adopt rotational grazing on small cell paddocks. Fence the dams for wildlife habitat. Move towards the more regenerative grazing practices.
Think you mean mob grazing...
anybody else get the GMO corn commerical .... pretty sad preface to a great video
You are a beautiful couple.
All the best .
I took a mower to the sedge in my field.
Very beautiful farm
I do have a question: You have a very beautiful ranch, but it is marred by all the bushes and unkempt
foliage. Is there any reason, other than economic, you don't bush hog it?
Kenneth N. Shortlidge Foliage helps to infiltrate more rainwater and keeps soil alive. Unkempt is an aesthetic value.
Plant diversity supports fungi, the latter of which distributes moisture and minerals.
Their pasture would be improved planted with compatible trees to add shade. Temperate/cool season grasses, as well as livestock stay healthy and growing when there is shade. It also reduces dessication from wind and sun.
Great video!
What is the steepest angle that you can plow across a hill slope, 30 degrees??
Read Mark Shepard's book on the subject.
anyone near Trinity Texas?
4:51 Nice forage... =-o
But my main question is: how often is the plow applied?
Typically once a year for 3 or 4 years.
Zero plows. Subsoiler instead...
good to see ! kraig, hand at Benmore Valley Ranch no. ca.
Can you say a lot of mulch and let the rain water your plants?
Where there is a lot of compaction/crust a subsoiler maybe the most efficient way initially. Crust makes it difficult for water to permeate even in flooding conditions.
You should farm bison
One. Thousand. Acres. Lol
$14,000.00 FOR A YEOMAN'S PLOW!!!
Mark Shepard talks about using a subsoiler...