Silvopasture

Silvopasture can be defined as pasturing animals amid trees in a manner that benefits the animal and does not harm the trees.  This involves rotating the animals through successive paddocks.  Here I am mowing a lane through our red pine plantings along which I will set up electric netting.

My walk-behind brush mower allows me to weave among the trees and cut down small brush as needed.

Laying out the electric netting.  Each roll is 164 feet long - roughly 72 relaxed steps for me.  I pace off my mowed lanes and adjust them as needed by mowing wider or cutting corners.  The paddocks are irregularly shaped.  I would like to make them in perfect squares, but that will have to wait until my woods are better groomed than they are now. 

I first stretch the netting taut while it is flat on the ground, then raise each post and step on the top of the U-shaped dual prongs to drive it in.   

The sheep know that I am going to open up fresh pasture to them and have been keeping up a running commentary.  Everyone has an opinion and expresses it loudly.  I am obviously too slow and they want action.  Sheep are really obnoxious, pushy and ungrateful critters.  If you have low self-esteem get a dog instead.

Baaa.....what are you waiting for?  Can't you see you're wasting our valuable time?  What do we pay you for anyhow?  Move faster you lazy slug!

In this case the grass really is greener on the other side of the fence.

Alright, we are about to open the floodgate.

Here they go.

Gone!

As ungrateful as these critters are, there is something deeply satisfying in watching them wade into lush deep grass.

You too, bud.  You're turning into fine lamb chops, you know.

Momma has a bell.  It helps me find the sheep in the brush and also is said to deter predators.  Not sure about that one, but someone once said it and someone else wrote it in a book, so I guess it must be true.

Two weeks later....

...the grass on the other side of the fence is looking greener.

It's time to move the sheep again.

Sheep path.

The charger unit contains a solar panel, battery and charger.  I have a voltmeter to check that the fence has at least a 4000 volt charge.  That sounds like a lot, but the unit releases only a small amount of energy in short pulses - enough to cause pain, but not serious injury.  Lambs learn quickly after touching the fence once or twice.  Most importantly dogs and coyotes learn even more quickly when they touch it with their sensitive noses.