SWAPA+H

One of our conservation planning paradigms is to look at SWAPA+H resources: soil, water, animals, plants, air, and humans. Understanding how these things function together helps us develop stronger, more effective conservation plans.

Animals

Hay Harvested in 2016

July 26, 2016 Tom Salzer

A few summers ago we wrote that we didn’t hay the grass fields because the soil needed improvement. In July 2016, a local livestock producer harvested 1,018 bales of grass hay from the three two-acre fields.  This is significantly more hay than usually produced from this farm. What factors contributed to […]

Farm Status

Pond and barn repairs completed in October

October 31, 2014 Tom Salzer

In October we made repairs to the pond drain and to the barn roof. Pond drain unplugged The overflow drain for the upper pond keeps the pond from overflowing into the adjacent field. (The upper pond is fed by underground springs that constantly refill the pond.) Unfortunately, that drain became […]

Animals

Why are we not haying the fields this year?

July 18, 2014 Tom Salzer

“Why aren’t you haying the fields?” That’s a question we’ve heard countless times this summer. The answer is both complicated and simple. It’s our one-year anniversary at the farm! We’ve only been stewards of this amazing property for one year. That’s barely enough time to figure out where things like […]