A NEW DIRECTION FOR THE OLD RAM

Baymule

Herd Master
Joined
Aug 22, 2010
Messages
33,094
Reaction score
98,671
Points
873
Location
East Texas
Thank God that your home farm and sheep were spared. How many acres do you have at your home farm? How far from your home is the Tomboyne farm? You will have to rebuild the fences, that is going to be costly. Are there any programs to help with that? Since the fires swept across the farm two or three times, will you have to reseed the pastures or do you think they will sprout back out?

Your daughter still knows her stuff. That had to make you feel good that she came out to help. I am so happy that you got rain and the grass is coming out.
 

The Old Ram-Australia

Herd Master
Joined
Jan 18, 2011
Messages
977
Reaction score
2,059
Points
303
Hi Bay, the home farm is 300 acs. The round trip to the Tomboyne farm is about 60 kms and if we have stock out there we need to visit about 4 times a week for supervision.It remains to be seen just how much damage there is to the fences,we have in fact 5 neighbors and only a few of them run stock.There is a program for fencing repair and replacement but we will be a "low" priority i would imagine.Our first priority is the "clean up" under the State gov program.We still have 6 weeks of fire season for the main farm and the risk is still very real.

Today we have had almost another 20 mm of rain ,one burst of 10 minutes dumped 8 mm. we drove around and had a look but we did not incur any damage as far as we can tell.this fall was the equivalent of 50 mm per hour (or 2 inches)and a couple of the dams now have "puddles"in them,not enough to be of any value but at least something...

.Our pastures are based on what naturally occurs and to protect whats left and the diversity of the plant population all of the flock are in a paddock of about 40 acs(it is termed a "sacrifice paddock")When this is all over it will need a rest of over 5 months i suspect to recover. We are delivering both water and feed to keep them going forward.The rested paddocks on the home farm will respond quite quickly as the pic's show in the result of just 3 mm on one of the paddocks.The earth is very warm and our Native grasses will leap away with the moisture i am sure,i will document the results with photos as the changes occur.

Funny thing about Nicole ,i'm pretty sure all of her "city" friends are going to get copies of the photos of her time on the farm "helping out the old folks",which we appreciate no end and were so glad she was available to assist.....T.O.R.
 

Bruce

Herd Master
Joined
Feb 4, 2016
Messages
17,435
Reaction score
45,775
Points
783
Location
NW Vermont
Maybe the pictures will incentivise her friends to seek out places that have had fire damage and don't have a daughter to come home to help ;)
 

Baymule

Herd Master
Joined
Aug 22, 2010
Messages
33,094
Reaction score
98,671
Points
873
Location
East Texas
We had a terrible drought here in 2011 and 2012 that killed big mature trees. There was no grass, nor hay, hay had to be trucked in and was high. It seemed like all of Texas was on fire. When we bought our place here in 2014 (we moved in February 2015) there were still standing dead trees from that drought. Many of them we took down, some were so large, rotten and dangerous, that we hired men to take them down. Grass comes back in a season, but the loss of 50-100 year old trees hurt.

Australia has lost forest lands, trees that can be replanted, but will take a lifetime to recover. I hope the replanting can start soon.
 

Baymule

Herd Master
Joined
Aug 22, 2010
Messages
33,094
Reaction score
98,671
Points
873
Location
East Texas
That's funny! We have our gooberment idiots who want to ban everything too.
 

The Old Ram-Australia

Herd Master
Joined
Jan 18, 2011
Messages
977
Reaction score
2,059
Points
303
G'day folks,the period since my last post has been a very busy one, one way and another.For about a month now we have be 100% both feeding and watering the whole flock,At one stage we were going to the village to pick up 1000 lts every day to keep the flock watered, two weeks ago came an offer from a neighbor for 13000 lts we could use for the stock from a couple of extra tanks he had on two sheds,so now we can just drive down the lane for a 1 km or so and pick up 700 lts any time we like but as with everything it all takes time and to feed the stock hay, check and fill the waters and pick up a load from Peters and half a day has gone and if the temp is above 35 c and it was for days on end you just had to stop and wait until the late afternoon until the temp was down to about 30 c or so before you did the last check on the water ,feed the dogs and head inside for a "well earned" drink of beer or even something stronger.

Tomorrow they have "promised" that we will get a decent fall of rain and it could even last a week.Last Friday the BOM said 90% chance of rain Sunday ,by Saturday it was 80% ,on Sunday we got" SFA".When it comes to the BOM they have reached the limits of my patience and now when i hear it on the roof i believe it .

We are still yet to hear about the govt sponsored "clean-up",and i am "wading " through the mountain of paperwork required to get some assistance with the feed bill after the fire went through the little farm.

Those of you on F.B. will have seen an update on the recovery of the locked up paddocks after the 30 ml of rain about 3 weeks ago,i will post for those who do not for whatever reason have F.B.The rain if it comes will have an immediate impact as the Native grass crowns have all started to shoot and rebuild their strength ready for the next issue of moisture.

Anyway that's about it for now and so until we "chat" again its "over and out" from..T.O.R.
 

Latest posts

Top