Unconventional method of grazing animals holds promise

By Sam Brown

    DEXTER — Dexter Dover Area Towns in Transition (DDATT) sponsored its monthly discussion at the Abbott Memorial Library in Dexter on Friday, Nov 1. A brief recorded video talk by Allan Savory describing his controversial ideas about using large numbers of grazing and browsing animals to actually improve soil and forage health began the evening for the group of interested local citizens, who then discussed how Savory’s concepts actually work in practice on area pastures.

    Savory calls his system Holistic Management, which attempts to reproduce the effects of large herds of animals constantly moving across the landscape.  Fred Sherburne has been working with this concept on his Dexter dairy and beef farm for a few years now and reported to the group his successes and failures as he learns. 
    The “old” way of just fencing in a big field and turning cattle out for the summer is being replaced by a much more intensive system of fencing and herd-moving in response to the stages of grass and legume growth; the manager must pay much closer attention to the animals and the plants, but the effects on soil and animal health are great. Fred reports that over the decade that he’s been transitioning from “conventional” farming (“when Monsanto was in my back pocket all the time!”) to methods such as Savory’s, the organic matter content of his farm’s soil rose from 3 percent to 6 percent. Not only does increased soil organic matter improve soil’s capacity to grow better crops but it also captures and stores carbon from the atmosphere, helping to reduce the effects of burned fossil fuels on changing the planet’s climate.
    Just as important, his input costs have fallen dramatically (not depending on buying fertilizers and pesticides and associated machinery). When asked why he switched to organic farming, Fred said “I got grandkids, and I had all those chemicals and poisons, and it made me real nervous.”
    Jean Paul Calderone and Jericho Bicknell from Dover-Foxcroft shared their small homestead experience with sheep, goats and chickens, using Holistic Management grazing techniques. Jean Paul calculated that to feed the entire population of Dover-Foxcroft on a meat-based diet would take about 400 acres of good land under a Holistic Management system. 
    The importance of measuring energy inputs to food outputs was discussed as well, the group noting that a tomato grown on fertile well-balanced soil can have up to three times the nutrient content of a similar looking hothouse tomato that has been “fed” on chemical nutrients. Good soil is a community asset because it contributes to healthy crops, people and animals.
    North Guilford farmer Dick Panciera agreed with Palmyra farmer Pegg Gannon that many “common sense” traits have been bred out of livestock over the past decades in favor of fast growth or good looks.  Fred chimed in, saying that having animals that know how to take care of themselves is high on his list of desirable characteristics, and “Friendly is important!” 
    DDaTT is a local organization dedicated to increasing the area’s natural resource productivity, especially in ways that improve our way of life and decrease dependence on imported fossil fuels.
    For more info, call 277-4221, or e-mail info@ddatt.org.