With the amount of rain we are receiving, it is not hard to see why in New England we call it mud season. The ground is no longer frozen, but the grass is not yet growing. It is very easy for cattle to make a muddy mess. It is especially bad for us, because we get flooding from the Merrimack River and because our soil was heavily tilled during its years as a vegetable farm.
In past mud seasons, I have used the common strategy of “sacrificing” one pasture. That is, I fed the animals hay in a single pasture for a month or two—allowing it to become a muddy mess and allowing the rest of the fields to grow back. This year, I am trying something different. I have scattered bales of hay over a large area, and I am moving the animals quickly to keep the soil from getting too damaged. This year we will reseed behind the cattle. In the future, we hope to build up a strong enough base of sod that will hold up under heavy hooves.
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