pasture cropping - profitable regenerative agriculture presented by colin seis
TRANSCRIPT
‘Pasture Cropping’
Profitable Regenerative Agriculture
Colin Seis
WinonaMyself and son, Nick
2000 acres (840 Ha)
Gulgong Central Tablelands NSW Australia
• Granite soil, Ph 5.5-6.0
• 26 inch annual Rainfall
Winona Enterprises 2014
4000 Merino Sheep (wool & meat.)
Working Kelpie Dogs
Native Grass Seed
500 acres of CropsWheat, oats, cereal rye.
Cattle trading
Merino ram sales
• My Great Grandparents, Nicholas and Catherine Seis were some of the original pioneer/settlers in the district in 1860.
• Produced merino sheep and wool• Started growing wheat in 1868
Due to poor sheep and wool prices, wheat production expanded on Winona
in the 1930s.
Growing wheat was very profitable in the 1930s
Within 20 years major damage to soil and grasslands had occurred
Ploughing and sowing wheat destroyed
Winona’s grassland and contributed to soil health decline, erosion and salinity
Same paddock5 years later
Traditional cropping methods.Ploughing or Herbicides
• While this paddock is being prepared for sowing.
• How much stock feed is produced• How much pasture is destroyed.• How much structure is destroyed.• How many nutrients are lost.• How much carbon is lost• How much soil is lost to erosion.
Industrialized, high input, farming methods From 1950 to 1978 on ‘Winona’
• All sown to introduced pasture (clover ryegrass, etc and regularly re-sown)
• Annually fertilized with 112 lbs/acre
• Ploughing and cultivating soil to sow crops
(high rates of fertilizer & pesticides)
• Set stock grazing
This high input system was very
productive during this era
• Winona became weedy and unproductive.
Over time, industrialized agriculture was doing
serious ecological damage to Winona These high
input methodswere costing usover $80,000
annually(2014 values)
High input, Industrialized Agriculture started to crash on “Winona” during the
1970s• Fertilizer costs became too high• Cost of sowing pasture became too high.• Rainfall no longer infiltrated• Soil lost structure• Soil became acid• Salinity problems• Trees dying• We were going broke
Modern Industrial Agriculture simplifies and destroys farms and the
planet’s ecosystems.
• Monoculture crops.
• Poor animal management.
• Agriculture should mimic natural systems
How and why did I change??
During the 1970s the cost of production was becoming too high and it was more difficult to be profitable
BUT !
Major bushfire destroyed Winona 1979
• 3000 sheep killed• All buildings destroyed• 30 miles of fencing burned• No money
How did I change• Looked for low input agriculture methods.(1980s)
• Stopped using pasture fertilizer and pesticides (1980)
• Focused on 100% ground cover. (crops and pasture)
• Started ‘time control grazing’ in 1990
• Developed ‘Pasture Cropping’ in 1993
• Combined ‘Pasture Cropping’ and ‘time control grazing’ (Holistic planned grazing) in 1995
• Focused on restoring Winona to grassland.
Mixed farming ///
How do we combine livestock and
grow crops???
“Pasture Cropping” was invented and developed in 1993 by Colin Seis & Daryl Cluff
‘Pasture Cropping’ is ‘Perennial Cover Cropping’
“Pasture Cropping” is a land management technique where annual crops are zero - tilled into dormant perennial grass or grassland.
Without killing the perennial grass.
Pasture CroppingAnimals and Crops are combined and managed in a way where each
one benefits the other.
Why haven't crops been planted into grass before?
• It was known that annual plants will compete with each other. (wheat & annual grass)
• It was assumed that perennial plants would also be incompatible with cereal crops.
• Crop disease
• No one had looked at how nature worked in a grassland (Warm season and cool season plants are compatible)
‘Pasture Cropping’• Zero till sowing of crops into
perennial pasture.
• Never Plough.
• Never kill perennial species.
• Weeds are managed by creating large quantities of thick litter from the grassland and using good grazing management of livestock.
• ‘Pasture Cropping’ is Perennial Cover Cropping
February 2010
Pasture Cropping
Perennial grassland
Pasture Pasture CroppingCropping
Harvesting native grass seed March 2010
Pasture Cropping
Sowing Oats May 2010
After mulching with sheep and/or Cattle, zero-till plant the crop into litter and mulch of dormant warm season perennial grass.
Pasture Cropping
Sow crop into litter
Pasture Cropping
No weeds grow with this much litter
Emerging Crop
Pasture Cropping
10th September 2010
Pasture Cropping The crop can be grazed by animals
14th October 2010
Pasture Cropping
Pasture Cropping Harvest the crop with emerging perennial grass beneath
Graze grassland after the crop is harvested
Native grass seed can be harvested after the cereal crop is harvested
Seed is sold for re-vegetation, and in the future, sold for human consumption
Over a 12 month period the paddock has produced
1. Native grass seed2. Grazing of grassland pre sowing the crop3. Grazing of the crop (sheep & cattle)4. Grain from the crop5. Grazing of grassland after harvest (sheep & cattle)6. Native grass seed• Reduced fertilizer (reduced by 70%)• No insecticide • No fungicide• No plowing
What’s next??
Multi Species Pasture Cropping
Perennial grassland
Pasture Pasture CroppingCropping
Harvesting native grass seed
Multi Species Pasture Cropping
After mulching with sheep and/or Cattle, zero-till a multi species crop into litter and mulch of dormant warm season perennial grass.
Multi Species Pasture Cropping
A mix of 10 to 15 species are sown into dormant grassland.
• Produce superior quality and quantity stock feed.
• Faster improvements in soil health, soil structure, carbon and nutrient cycling.
• Add Nitrogen with legumes & scavenge other nutrients.
• Weed control.
• Insect control (flowering plants attract beneficial insects
• Harvest cereal crop after grazing
Pasture Cropping Harvest the crop with emerging perennial grass beneath
Multi Species Pasture CroppingHarvesting Grain
Before grazing (May 2014) After three grazings (August 2014)
Grassland after grain harvest (March 2015)
How did ‘Multi species Pasture Cropping’ happen?
• I had been experimenting with ‘Pasture Crop’ mixes like oats / field pea and millet / cow peas for the last 5-6 years.
The results were promising.
How it happened
Dave Brandt: Iowa USA
Gabe Brown: North Dakota USA
& USA Scientists Dr Jill Clapperton and Dr Dwayne Beck.
Gail Fuller: Kansas
How do we feed 9 billion people with good quality food
• Food can be grown in a grassland.
Cereal crops like wheat, oats, cereal rye, as a mixture with vegetables like , peas turnips, kale, radish in the winter.
Summer crops can be millet, cow peas, lablab, with pumpkins, watermelon, beans, etc, also sown into a grassland.
Including vegetables in the Multi Species MixBy including vegetables for human consumption in the crop
mix, it is possible to grow vegetables as well as a grain crop in grassland or perennial pasture
These plants can be grown while restoring grasslands recycling nutrients, adding nitrogen, improving soil structure, improving soil health and increasing soil carbon.
Native grass seed can be harvested after the cereal crop is harvested
Seed is sold for re-vegetation, and in the future, sold for human consumption
We can grow a diverse range of healthy food without destroying our farms and the planet.
While improving a grassland or perennial pasture:
Graze animals on grassland (sheep, cattle, pigs, chickens etc.)
Plant multi species crop (Stockfeed, grain, vegetables)
Graze animals on multi species cropHarvest vegetables Harvest grain.Harvest grass seed.
No pesticides, no plowing, restore grassland ,restore soil
Agriculture, and sound ecological practices should function together
On Winona no insecticide has been used for over 20 years.
We have no insect attack in crops and pasture.
How??
Insects1. On Winona there is now 600%
more insects and 125% more insect diversity.
2. Insect attack of crops and pastures can be controlled by having more insects.
2. Insecticides are not selective, they also kill predators like spiders and wasps that will control insects naturally.
3. Insecticides will ultimately lead to more insects and more insecticides.
On Winona no perennial grass pasture has been re-sown for 30
years.
•How?
‘Pasture Cropping’ has been shown to improve existing pastures and restore
grasslands
‘Pasture Cropping’ does this by stimulating perennial grass recruitment from seed in the soil.
Crop Fertilizer reduced by 70%
No fertiliser used on pasture for over 30 years
How??
• Winona’s soil now has 204% more organic carbon.
• Has sequestered 20 ton /acre of carbon (72 ton/acre of CO2.)
• Holds almost 200% more water. (40,000 gal /acre)
All of the soil nutrients including trace elements have increased by an average of 172%
• Ph has changed from 5.6 - 6.01 Pp
Winona Soil Neighbor soil
Fertiliser does not have to come from a bag
• Myrorrhizal Fungi supply P, N trace elements and water
• Protozoa and nematodes eat bacteria & fungi which supplies N and other nutrients
• Free living N fixing bacteria supply Nitrogen (up to 40lbs/acre)
No fungicide used on ‘Winona’for over 20 years
No crop or pasture disease
How??
Soil microbe tests on Winona have shown
Total fungi increase 862% Total bacteria increase 350% Total protozoa increase 640% Total nematode increase over 1000%
Having healthy soil with large numbers and large diversity of soil microbes will control plant disease
Is it profitable?
Winona annual costs (2013 costs)
From 1960- 1979 (high chemical & pesticide agriculture)• Annual cropping expenses $40,000• 2000ac: Pasture fertilizer $51,000• Annual sheep Vet costs $12000• Annual pasture establishment $5000• Annual cost $107,000
From 1980-2010 (‘pasture cropping & time control grazing)• Annual cropping expenses $20,000 • 2000ac: No pasture fertilizer $0• Annual sheep Vet costs $7000• Annual pasture establishment $0 Annual Cost $27,000
Annual saving $80,000 annually
Is it productive?
Compared to previous high input agriculture
• Annual income is higher
• Crop yields are similar.
• ‘Winona’ is running more sheep and cattle
• Harvest and sell over 1000 Kg of native grass seed annually
• Soil organic carbon levels are increasing
• Soil Phosphorus, calcium, ph, magnesium and trace elements are increasing (available and total)
With over $80,000 less inputs and less labor
Vertical Stacking of Farming and Grazing Enterprises
With Vertical Stacking of Farming and Grazing enterprises we can produce more food without high chemical inputs and GM crops.
If the farm enterprises are ecologically compatible they will regenerate the landscape and be more profitable.
Vertical Stacking of Farming and Grazing Enterprises
Grazing of grassland pre sowing
Grazing of the crop
Grain from the crop
Grazing of grassland after harvest
Vegetables
Native grass seed All produced off the same area over a 12 month period
Vertical stacking of different enterprises can give far more production and profit per ha.
Grain (wheat, oats, rye, barley)
Sheep meat Cattle Wool Vegetables Native grass seed Native grass seed human
consumption
Carbon sequestration
• It is very important to have diverse perennial grassland or pasture as the base of the enterprises.
• The number of enterprises is only limited by your
imagination.
• This method can produce a diverse range of food, regenerate the landscape and be very profitable.
Agriculture does not have to destroy ecosystems and the planet.
Agriculture Can:
• Produce vast amounts of good quality food.• Regenerate grasslands.• Restore soil ecosystems• Supply and cycle nutrients.
• Regenerate landscapes and ecosystems.
Our Farms should function as ecosystems
When we manage our farms as ecosystems :
Restore grasslands Produce healthy, nutrient dense foodIncrease soil carbon & water holding capacityImprove soil nutrient availability & cycling.Increase plant and animal diversity.Prevent plant and animal disease.Improve soil health.•Increase profit.
• Agriculture can be more profitable, & environmentally regenerative. But:
Agricultural practices need to function closer to how Nature
had it originally designed
If you require informationfor an on-line, Pasture Cropping Course
Covering:
Pasture CroppingMultispecies Pasture Cropping
Perennial Cover Cropping
www.perennialcovercropping.com [email protected]