Literally Litter

By Troy Bishopp

I have been taught it’s not nice to be a litter bug. While this statement is certainly true in the sanitation sense, the trash I’m talking about feeds the biology of the soil, the earthworms and fellow microorganisms. Most of the time when we talk about leaving behind residue it is in row crop production to conserve precious moisture and cover topsoil. Alas, we often overlook this same principle in a pasture system. The time has come to reverse this trend by parting the leaves and getting in touch with the soil side of life.

I have become familiar with the importance of leaving something behind for the underground livestock when reclaiming land after a heavy thicket of Goldenrod and Purple Knapweed, two ob-“noxious” tag team partners, have taken hold. These invasive species crowd out the sun and everything else when filling up an abandoned field. Part these pillars of propagation and you will see all the bare soil between the distasteful stalks. Bare soil is no good and it doesn’t feed many cows either. Fortunately, I have a friend who has brought all this carbon-friendly, moist decomposing stuff to my attention, by showing me that laying down litter through grazing, pooping and mowing brings back life to a burned-out soil surface.

Phil is a certified whole-istic management educator or HM trainer for short. When most hear about holistic decision-making and the 4 ecosystem processes, it invokes some kind of scary, touchy, feely emotional interlude that must include crying. Those who practice HM have been known to cry, probably more from the lack of understanding of how valuable animals are for our land and the lack of covered soil than anything else. Concentrating on a duct-tape mentality to fix problems with land and water even makes me cry. With help, I am slowly understanding the thought and action processes to become a better steward and decision-maker for the long term. The best part is it doesn’t cost much to become a better grass manager. It just took a team of HMers armed with darts, clipboards and keen observation to make me realize that the answers to grass-based profitability were right under my feet.

It must have been quite a scene to see grown men and women throwing mini lawn darts tailed with pink surveying tape across the pasture, then running to see where they landed followed by the group kneeling in the wet grass. To the casual observer, it might have looked like a new kind of drinking game for graziers. The point of the dart exercise is to monitor what is happening in the sward and on the soil surface. I have been told others may throw a big ring or square to measure also. Looking across my best pasture, one would see a beautiful mixture of grasses, clovers and forbs, which has brought praise from farmers visiting our place. It seemed odd to me this group, led by a Colorado rancher, picked this one over less desirable places on the farm. Byron told me, “if your going to measure, you might as well start with the best and gauge everything else towards that vision.” It was just a little daunting watching other people judge my management right down to the last worm hole. Many refrain from this kind of scrutiny, but I can tell you it was a very rewarding experience, mostly because of its hands-on nature.

The counters inventoried and charted everything in a 6 inch circumference of that dart point hitting the ground. Did it hit bare soil? What species of plants were there? How much litter was on the soil surface? Was there any soil capping and erosion? Are there any earthworm castings? Was the area showing signs of over grazing or under grazing? Any animal impact? Etc. Etc. The 4 crews threw 25 points a piece to come up with some easy percentages. The results showed 90% worm castings, a very diverse sward, some litter in different stages and decent animal impact, however I still had 20% bare ground. How could this be, I denied? Not enough litter left behind after grazing was part of the answer and grazing too short perhaps, not allowing hooves to stomp and tromp in some worm food. This really opened up my humble eyes on how much more there is to learn about grazing management. “Don’t get too stressed out, said Phil. These calculations are only a baseline for moving forward according to your farm goals.” It was helpful to see 20% bare ground and know that many pastures I walk with farmers are more open then this, including my own.

I have adjusted my management to see if I can capture more of this residual. I’m grazing taller with shorter residency periods and higher stock densities. I’m realizing if I mow off a pasture, the thatch must come in contact with the soil to do any good because worms don’t jump to high. Fallowing one field till nesting season is over helps. Composted manure spread during the growing season is really charging the system. I’m also realizing the overall consciousness of looking at the signs nature is providing me right under my own two feet and the adage by Rene Dubos that "Man shapes himself through decisions that shape his environment."

The decision making process utilizing Holistic Management professionals for guidance and the spirited writing of Allan Savory has benefited me greatly even if I’m a greenhorn to all this data gathering, farm family goal setting and mission statements. What it has done is make me think, and thinking is a good thing. The more I think about the future I want to create for my family, farm and community, the more I realize I am recycling the knowledge from my ancestors. I wish I had discovered a better thought process when my mind was being littered with the higher production and the more inputs mantra of being a good agricultural citizen. Maybe time has come to do some shredding and composting of ideas that addressed only pieces and not wholes. At least it would help hold the soil and make some worms happy. Published in Lancaster Farming 7/19/2009