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Pasture Walk in Addison County

September 26, 2015 @ 4:00 pm - 6:00 pm

Cheryl and Don Mitchell have been raising sheep in Vergennes since 1976, i.e for 39 years. The ewe flock has varied in size from 30 to 100, and is currently at about 50 ewes. The bloodlines are now about 90% Border Leicester.

We’ve been committed to rotational grazing with Electronet (or similar products) since about 1985, so people can see the long-term effects (mostly positive, but some problematic) of such a grazing system over time. We typically graze the flock for 100% of their nutritive requirements from April 25 to December 1. We also make hay here on the farm, and some of the fall grazing is on the aftermath of hayfields after taking a second cut.

We lamb out the flock beginning about April 1, in order to be able utilize the first flush of spring grass to support lactation without any supplemental grain once the pasture is established. We graze the lambs with their moms until the pastures start drying out…usually around July 1-July 15, depending on the year and the weather. Our goal is to wean two 50-60 pound lambs per ewe from pasture alone. We sell most of our lambs at about 60-70 pounds, so there’s little finishing to do once they’re weaned and in the barn.

This farm has a lot of “edge” between open fields and wooded areas, and this is where various invasive plants (buckthorn, garlic mustard, honeysuckle etc.) like to take up residence. We’ve had some good success at discovering ways to deploy Electronet so as to allow the sheep to tackle invasives and maintain a “soft” but stable edge. I think that anyone dealing with similar issues would like to see how we do it!

Cost: Free to VSGA members, $5 for non-members

Details

Date:
September 26, 2015
Time:
4:00 pm - 6:00 pm

Venue

Treleven Farm
164 Mitchell Drive
Vergennes, 05491 United States
+ Google Map
Phone
802-545-2278

Organizer

Dno and Cheryl Mitchell
Phone
802-545-2278

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