Little by Little

This week, I was reading a men’s daily devotional my wife had given me for Christmas.  This particular text was discussing the “microwave generation” and the lack of patience we, as a society, exhibit.  Yes, instantaneous gratification certainly has its appeal. I have to admit that I, too, get aggravated while watching that circle thing go around and around, waiting on my internet to respond on my computer or phone.  Although technological innovations and advancements have increased efficiency and made our lives easier in a multitude of ways, there are still certain aspects of our lives that take time and for which no shortcuts exist.  Progress in those areas can be incremental and is measured little by little.  This is absolutely true when we talk about building resiliency in our grazing systems, soils and pastures; especially those converted from row crop fields.  In many instances, it has taken decades of tillage, pesticide and herbicide application, along with a failure to utilize cover crops to erode soil health and organic matter. Although there are a number of soil amendments on the market, there still appears to be no better solution to “farmed out” soils than proper management through animal impact and grazing.  At Grassworks, we allow our own little personal manure spreaders to make their deposits as we move them daily.  This, in conjunction with their hoof action and trampling of excess forage material into the ground and even their saliva as they take a bite of grass, helps to build soil life and resiliency into our pastures. 

Our pursuit of thriving soils- capable of producing nutritionally dense forage to increase our carrying capacity, ultimately to make our farm more efficient- started with one move of the cattle.  This pursuit carries on each day with every subsequent move.  For this, there is no magic wand to wave, but I know that each time we open up a new paddock, we are one step closer.

We will get there. Little by little.