Harrowsmith Summer 2019 | 39ENVIRONMENT: WATER WAYShard to believe that the same fields
that were overflowing with water
earlier in the year are now parched.
The high heat and typically low
rainfall of July and August are in
effect. Every summer is different,
but a summer slump in our pastures
is to be expected. Much of our
permanent pasture is on shallower
soils. Permanent pasture land is not
useful for food production, other
than to feed ruminant animals,
such as sheep and cattle. Crops
cannot be grown on this land. With
good management, however, we
can use this land to feed our sheep
and contribute productively to
agriculture and food production.
We work hard at fencing, herding
and rotating animals through
pastures to keep the grass at an
optimal level of growth. Grass
should stay between four to eight
inches in length. Root masses
underneath the ground are critical
for water retention. Optimal length
and growth encourages these roots
to store more energy, grow longer
and more extensively. This, in
turn, creates a biomass that can
absorb higher levels of moisture
and nutrients. Longer grass (but
not too long!) creates a green, dense
mat that protects the moisture from
evaporating and is more effective at
responding to any water available.
Our summer rains usually come in
the form of heavy thundershowers.
The heavy rainfalls are truly gifts
from the sky, much hoped for and
needed, but we need to be able to
capture the rainfall and have the soil
retain moisture as much as possible.
The good pasture feeds our
sheep well. It is critical to making
the lambs grow properly and the
mature ewes stay healthy. Sheep are
incredibly efficient at converting
grass to food if we work in
conjunction with what nature offers,
and manage that offering well. In
the summer, we rotate our sheep
through pastures quite rapidly.
Their little sharp hooves create
small dents in the ground. They stop
the surface from becoming a hard
pan that cannot absorb moisture
in heavy rainfalls. The sheep leave
“nature’s fertilizer,” manure, behind
them. If in appropriate quantities,
manure provides good nutrients and
organic matter to the grass and soil.
Manure and hoof action help the
grass of pasture to thicken and grow,
creating a dense mat that absorbs
moisture more efficiently. Good
pasture management is all about
water conservation and carbon
cycling. I love this part of my work
as a shepherd; I’m happy to be part of
the water and carbon cycling process.
On a beautiful summer day, nothing
beats working with dogs to walk
sheep through different pastures.
As autumn arrives, our attention
turns to our cropland, where crops
and forages have been growing all
summer on better-quality land.
Harvest must begin! Our cropland
has more depth and quality of soil,
which means that water retention
and growth potential is higher and
workable for crops. Forages (grasses,
alfalfa) grow more productively on
this kind of land, too. We don’t have
to spend as much time in a tractor
cutting and baling hay for our sheep
as we would on poorer-quality land.
It is crucial for harvest that the crops
have had a chance to mature and
dry properly. We also need to be able
to get equipment onto the land for
harvesting, before the first snowfalls
that can typically arrive any time
after the middle of November.
Our cropland has been adapted
to good water conservation and
management over the years. It has
been cropped since 1816, and hours
and hours of work from previous
generations have gone into making
ditches, installing tiles (perforatedpipe) deep underground, and
establishing pumps to remove water
from areas that collect or pool in
low spots in the fields. Plants such
as alfalfa, certain grasses, barley,
soybeans and corn do not like “wet
feet.” They prefer their moisture
in gentle, metered amounts, which
tiles, ditches and tile outlets
provide. This way, the root systems
of row crops don’t get drowned and
our heavy summer rainfalls don’t
just run off on the surface.
Our latest project was to install
a windmill so we don’t have to use
electricity to pump out our tiles.
After much research, we found a
company in Saskatchewan that
was willing to ship us a windmill
by train. Much to our surprise
and delight, our windmill came
in a variety of boxes, both large
and small. It felt like Christmas
morning as we opened all the boxes
to find a mixture of metal parts,
screws, a pump and wires. It was
like a gigantic LEGO project, and
certain members of the family
were in their glory as they put the
windmill together.
The bigger challenge was to
get the windmill from our barn,
where it was being built up, to the
fields. Much grunting and groaning
and figuring ensued. Eventually,
the windmill trundled its way up
to the field, towed by hay wagon
and tractor, to be installed. We all
held our collective breath as it was
connected. Lo and behold, it worked!
We all stood back to look: wind
blowing gently, slowly and steadily,
the water was being pumped out of
our tile outlets.
Yet again, working with nature’s
gifts was productive, satisfying
and fun. Water, wind and sun all
contributing to the production of
food, here on Drover’s Way Farm. H