Howle’s Hints

BY JOHN HOWLE

CONNECTING FARMERS WITH CONSUMERS

In 1920, there were 256,099 farms in Alabama with an average size of 76 acres. In 2019, there were 39,700 farms with an average size of 214 acres. Basically that means there are 216,399 fewer farms in Alabama than there were in 1920.

What’s more, in our consumer-driven society, we’ve lost touch with the people who actually grow the food we eat and the products we use. You now can simply tap on an item at Amazon, swipe right, and have that product on your doorstep in a day or two. You can even order prepped meals to be delivered to your doorstep as well.

As the number of farms decrease, so does our connection to the land and our relationships

“Comfort and prosperity have never enriched the world as much as adversity has."

to our food producers. As farmers, we realize how important this relationship to our neighbors truly is. If we lose that connection and simply sell our products to an invisible corporation, we will see farms and farmers decline even faster. Encourage your neighbors to grow gardens or raise livestock if they have available land. If you have your own beef processed, trade that beef with a neighbor who raises hogs for pork. Get involved with your local farmer’s market for fresh, locally-grown food. If you don’t have a farmer’s market, start one. We can rebuild those relationships that were once so important to Alabama farmers.

Prescribed Burn

December and January are ideal months to conduct a prescribed burn on your property. Once the summer and fall growing season is over for weeds, a prescribed burn is a low-cost way to eliminate woody plant growth while making way for future spring growth of grasses. In addition to clearing the forest floor, the ashes from the prescribed burn acts as a natural lime and nutrient additive to the soil adding calcium, magnesium, potassium, and phosphorous.

Pine forests benefit greatly from prescribed burns. The prescribed burn reduces forest floor fuel preventing out-of-control wildfires, and it clears paths for wildlife to travel. Make sure to follow all recommendations for the Alabama Forestry Commission before conducting a prescribed burn. https://forestry.alabama.gov/

Chain lube from any auto parts store will give your gun long-term lubrication and smooth operation.

Chain Lube

Chain lube is an ideal product to keep your guns lubricated through hunting season. Chain lube is designed to adhere to fast moving chains, so it will keep your firearm protected and working smoothly throughout the winter hunting season. At the end of the season when you clean your gun, spray a light coating of chain lube on all moving parts of your firearm so it will be in smooth shape for the following season. You can purchase chain lube in any major auto parts store.

Frost Seed

January is a perfect time to frost seed clover into your pastures or food plots. This requires very little labor to spread the tiny seeds on the ground. I typically use an ATV spreader that would be used on food plots. It’s easier to dial down the opening for the smaller clover seeds. The frosting and heaving of the soil along with cattle hoof traffic help work the seeds

into the ground. With a bit of moisture, you should have a good stand of clover in the late spring or early summer. My favorite white clover is Durana by Pennington (www.pennington.com). It makes a slightly smaller leaf, but this clover spreads quickly and stands up quite well to grazing. Stands can last over 10 years if cared for properly.

Seed Drill

If you have invested in expensive seed such as a fescue, it is well worth the extra trouble to use a seed drill to get your seeds into the ground. Top sowing fescue is not recommended because birds will eat an inordinate amount of the exposed seeds. On new ground, you can pull a drag to cover the seeds, but you have to worry about rains washing your entire investment into the gullies. It’s a truly satisfying feeling to watch the drilled seeds come up in perfectly spaced parallel rows knowing you got the most out of your seed investment. Most drills will also allow you to plant clover simultaneously with the larger seeds.

A seed drill preserves your investment of seeds preventing birds from cleaning the ground of top sowed seeds.

Roll Out the Round Bales

An effective way to establish forage on new ground or supplement forage for the coming season is by rolling out round bales of hay for your cattle instead of dumping it in a hay ring. The cows will waste some hay but once they clean up most of the straw, many of the seed heads will settle into the soil creating positive forage growth in the warmer months to follow. In addition, the hoof traffic of the cattle will help to set the seeds into the soil for future growth.

We seeded an entire new ground with bahaia hay that was rich with seeds. The following summer, enough of these seeds germinated to create a fair stand for summer pasture grazing. Fescue hay with seed heads will do the same thing. Even if you roll out bales with no seed heads, the organic matter you’ve added to soil will increase existing forage quality.

This winter, build relationships with your neighbors and farmers. In an age of digitally-created isolation, meeting with folks face to face is a much-needed improvement.

Roll out your round bales to get the most of the reseeding seeds and organic residue. Your soil, grass, and cattle will thank you.