ground. We expect to see an increase in the
Data Mine
continued from page three quantity and quality of forage produced,
2. Our soils are heavily compacted. Continuous haying and last year’s haying during extremely wet conditions have reduced soil porosity, decreased infiltration, and damaged soil aggregates negatively affecting organic matter. 3. Replication is possible. We have established 18 individual treatment paddocks within our 35acre central pasture allowing for six individual treatments if we replicate each three times (i.e. three controls paddocks and five sets of three raw milk treatment paddocks). 4. Control of confounding factors is reasonable. On-farm research makes it impossible to both control for all confounding factors and ground the study in reality. We have conducted baseline soil sampling, Holistic Management biological monitoring, and forage quantity and quality sampling to get a pre-management and application snapshot. Management treatment across the entire study pasture is even currently. We will strive to keep all other management even across paddocks and we have chosen each paddock boundary to limit variability in soil slope, drainage, and vegetative differences. Experimental Design: At WE Farm we are designing an experiment that will allow us to test the questions of “why does raw milk work?” and “what happens under various application scenarios?” All paddocks will be grazed, but will include small grazing exclusions. Here’s the nuts and bolts of our design: Paddock Treatments: 4 treatments, 1 control – replicated 3 times • No Milk Treatment or Control (3 paddocks) • Raw Milk Treatment 1: 2 gallons/acre – 1 time Spring application (3 paddocks) • Raw Milk Treatment 2: 2 gallons/acre – 1 Spring and 1 Fall application (3 paddocks) • Raw Milk Treatment 3: 2 gallons/acre – 1 Spring, 1 Summer, and 1 Fall application (3 paddocks)
• Pasturized Milk Treatment 1: 2 gallons/acre – 1 time Spring application (3 paddocks) • Pastureized Milk Treatment 2: 2 gallons/acre – 1 time Spring and 1 time Fall application (3 paddocks) Measurements • Soil – complete mineral, pH, cation exchange capacity, base saturation, and organic matter, bulk density, aggregate stability, microbial biomass (5 points per paddock: pre- and post-treatment) • Milk – complete chemical and nutritional analyses • Pasture – soil respiration, soil compaction, water infiltration, forage brix, forage dry matter production, HM biological monitoring, forage nutritional quality analyses, forage community composition, livestock stocking rates and density, grazing periods and rest periods Expected Results: By testing grazed and ungrazed portions of each paddock we will be able to determine the contribution of livestock grazing to any soil, forage, or pasture responses. Measuring the chemical and nutritional composition of the milk will help us determine the contribution of the milk to any chemical nutrient changes in the soil. Pasturizing milk destroys the enzyme and vitamin B systems of the milk, thus we can test the contribution of these parts to any responses. Here we hope to understand better understand “why does it work?” If theories about raw milk’s nutritional and microbial profile hold true then we expect to see a larger positive response from it versus the pasteurized milk. Additionally, by analyzing the chemical composition of the milk we expect to understand how milk may positively affect the mineral balance of the soil, thus allowing for greater net primary productivity above ground as mediated by the microbial community below-
decreased soil compaction, increased soil respiration, and perhaps more vigorous pastures generally. It has already been seen that the 2 gallon/ acre treatment level is just as effective as a 20 gallon/acre treatment, so we are testing different foliar application timings to see if it produces a sizable response with each application scenario. Here we hope to produce some recommendations on what to do on-farm that can be shared with others.
Timeline We will spend the bulk of 2011 gathering the baseline data and seeking funding and inkind support for this on-farm research project. In 2012 we plan to apply treatments and continue measuring soil, forage, and pasture responses. All the while we’ll be working on improving our farm, grazing our grass-fed calves, pastured hogs, and pastured poultry and doing our best to earn a living and have fun while doing it. If you have tried applying raw milk to your pastures and you have some sage advice and insight to share please contact us. We want to make this on-farm project a success and something that can be carried out alongside the operation of our farm. Josh Egenolf can be reached at: josh.egenolf@gmail.com.
References Used Stockman Grass Farmer articles 1. “Raw Milk Fertilization Appears To Reduce Soil Compaction And Weeds” by Ralph Voss – September 2010 Issue 2. “Raw Milk Could Be Worth Two To Three Times More Money As Fertilizer” by Ralph Voss – May 2010 Issue 3. “Does Raw Milk Fertilization Really Affect Brix Levels?” by Ralph Voss – October 2010 Issue “Something New! Spraying Raw Milk on Pastures.” Holiday Ranch; website www.holidayranch.wordpress.com – February 23rd, 2011 blogpost
Do you have an idea for on-farm research? Send us your ideas to hmi@holisticmanagement.org. SUBJECT HEADING: ON-FARM RESEARCH WE Farm Pasture and Grass-Fed Calves – May 2011 4
IN PRACTICE
July / August 2011