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4. Soil Management Considerations
Importance of livestock in crop rotation
•
Addition of livestock can provide for more efficient utilization of farm resources. For example,
in winter graze the standing crop or cover crop residue; in the rest of the year, graze in native
pasture.
•
Livestock consumption and digestion of weeds and weed seeds helps to control weeds and/
or decrease the need for synthetic pesticides.
•
Livestock manure and urine can reduce the amount of chemical fertilizer needed to replenish
soil nutrients.
•
Grazing at appropriate levels in appropriate intervals improves soil organic matter and
microbial growth, and supports crop productivity.
Organic Amendments
Organic soil amendments include materials
of plant or animal origin, such as manure,
compost, biochar, and plant waste materials.
When considering amendments, it is very
important to take into account the scale of
spatial change you want to produce and how
long you want to preserve that change. It is
also important to understand that a native
soil’s inherent characteristics will influence
how a particular amendment contributes to
soil health and plant success.
Glossary
Soil Amendment
the addition of an organic or inorganic material
to a soil in order to improve its physical,
chemical, and/or biological characteristics.
Manure
Manure application can enhance soil organic
carbon and increase nitrogen and phosphorus
availability. When you add manure you need
to consider its nutrient content and what type
of bedding it has been mixed with, if any. If
you are not the one producing the manure,
you will want to inquire whether the rancher
or farmer is treating animals with medicine
or pesticides, as these will be present in the
manure. Also, manure from grazed animals
contains both weed seeds and pathogens,
which can be harmful when consumed by
humans. Aerobic composting or aging manure
controls most weed seeds and pathogens.
Bale grazing
Bale grazing is simply setting out bales and
letting livestock graze from them (Mount,
n.d.). Livestock add manure to the area and
break up some of the bale by stomping,