A NEW DIRECTION FOR THE OLD RAM

[The Old Ram-Australia]

G'day folks, attached is a couple of pic's of the new members of the team.Although I have a reference for "polls" last week an opportunity came along to secure this line of Wiltshire Horns.This is an old breed "tough as nails" good mothers and "shedders".They came from a farm where the owners and his dogs had "no idea" when it came to handling them,so they were a little "shocked" when Max was introduced and he proceeded to work them along a fence line and into the yards.At first they all stood facing Max stamping their feet and showing no sign of moving.Max just "marched" straight up to them and barked and moved across the group he then turned to come back across the face of the group and they turned away to where he wanted them to move.This exersice was repeated once a day for three days on the forth day they saw him coming and turned and walked straight into the yards without any resistance...Good Job Max...T.O.R

 

[B&B Happy goats]

You just have to love a dog that knows his job well ! Good job Max

 

[Baymule]

Nice flock. You are steadily moving in the Australian Hair Sheep direction! You will come up with a breed best suited for your area. And we get a front row seat on watching the whole thing.

 

[Rammy]

 

[Latestarter]

I have to comment on how green it looks there in the back drop of the shots. You must have received adequate rain /water. Nice score on the small group of sheep!

 

[The Old Ram-Australia]

g'day folks, since the end of Nov we have had over 7 ins of rain along with night temps in the high teens and daytime temps up to 40 c.In spite of the fact that our pastures had not had any Super/Nitrogen for over 25 years the way we manage our grasses are such that we can achieve a very good response when ever it rains.After the long "dry spell" and the start of the rain we locked up every paddock we could and will endeavor to run the paddocks through growth, flower and seed set to restore the "seed bank" for when the next "dry" comes along.

In a recent conversation a local )new to the farming scene) was told that the way to manage the pasture down here is to use every blade of grass produced in the spring/summer cycle and then "hand feed' the stock over winter (this advice came from the local rural supply store of course).I remarked to the partner that if you pursue this course in a short number of years all of your "best grasses" will be eliminated because the "seed bank" will be exhausted and only the poorest performers will be left.He hesitated for a moment and then said,"That makes sense" and as he wants to go down the path of rotational grazing on his 120 acs he thanked me for the comment.....T.O.R.

 

[Baymule]

I bet he did thank you for that advice. To his credit, he listened.

 

[Rammy]

Good that he listened. Proper management is what will sustain his pastures. The person who told him otherwise doesnt know what they are talking about. If more people learned to work with the land and not use it to the point of exhaustian, we might keep the earth healthier longer.

 

[Baymule]

Many land owners are just that, a land owner. Then there are those like T.O.R. who is a steward of the land and treats it like it as land is a living organism, which it is, instead of a larder of riches to be looted until there is no more.

 

[Rammy]