Introducing our sustainable farming page.
About 4 years ago we were farm hosts for a workshop titled ‘ Integrating Trees & Shrubs for Wellbeing, Resilience & Profit organised by our daughter Fiona. She got Kama Burwell, an ecological landscape/farmspace designer and engineer to deliver this. Kama gave a very interesting presentation and led a helpful design activity on our farm.
The thing that caught my attention was that under pruned poplars and willows you only lose about 7 percent of grass production compared to only grass. I then decided to plant Kinuyanagi fodder willow. These willows only grow to 7 to 8 metres high. When spaced at 10 metres by 10 metres they can qualify for ETS. They can be topped at 2.5 metres high for stock in a drought from about 3 years old. These willows are ideal to stabilize hill country.
We have found Kinuyanagi has condensed tannins levels four times the level of Tangio the main type of willow in the North Island.This means it should reduce methane and worm parasites more than Tangio. Also willows have an aspirin affect. They balance rank dried up grass to enable stock to extract more food value from the willows. In Northern Ireland they did a trial comparing willows with lucerne which has no condensed tannins and found willows reduced methane by 50 percent due to the condensed tannin effect. They did not say which variety of willow they used, There needs to be urgent research to see if Kinuyanagi with its higher condensed tannin level can beat the Northern Ireland result.
To protect the trees from stock during their early growing period of two years I developed an electric fence tree protector made from everyday fencing materials. I have entered our electric fence protector in this year’s Fieldays in the Innovation awards. The protector consist of a 2.300ml length of wire netting tied in a circle attached by pinlock insulators to a batten screwed to a 1.65 iron standard. Because of its simplicity of construction we are going to offer it open IP so anybody can make them themselves or get community groups or individuals to do it. Cost per tree is $20.75 per tree net of gst. Because of use of screws and pinlock insulators the protectors can be easily dismantled and reused every two years. This means this does reduce the overall cost greatly over time. The protectors are connected to the mains fence by overhead wire with drop wires. Ground cable can be used but it costs a lot more.
Breakdown of protector components costs. One iron standard $8.98, one batten $2.35, two pinlock insulators .60 cents, four screws 31 cents each, two metres 300 mls sheep wire netting $4.39.Overhead 12,50 gauge wire 15 metres includes drop wire $2. 40 cents. End insulators $2.30 each. One per ten plants .23 cents each plant. Total costs $20.75 net of GST, I will bring invoices to Fielday’s.
All these components can be bought on good specials at the moment.
Northern Ireland Trials to test Willow’s ability to reduce methane emissions. 2021
Willow biomass ensiling trials, May 2020.
Management of browse plants as drought fodder for sheep: a preliminary study, 1996.
FOR SALE Kinuyanagi – Japanese Fodder Willow Cuttings
$5 each 1- 100,
$4.50 each 100 + .
All plus GST, Postage included.
Contact Boyd at bw.ka.young@farmside.co.nz