Does your soil look like this? Here are the first steps to healing it!

Does your soil look like this? Here are the first steps to healing it! Any time you have dew berry vines with thorns on them growing along the soil surface your soil needs help. Cedars, moss and broomsedge are also great indicators of dead soil. The cheapest thing to put on to get things started in the right direction is a dose of limestone. 2-3 tons to the acre really gets things going the right direction for good soil improvement.
If you want to keep your farm profitable every year, check out my 3 grazing books that I wrote on our website: greenpasturesfarm.net/books/

[@user-rs9hl4mw7u]

Wood chips sitting on the top of the soil will not tie up nitrogen. That narrow interface between chips and soil is so minimal-no different then the dead grass that mulches all your pastures, sitting on the surface of the soil. Only if you incorporate them down into the soil profile will it pull N out to decompose, but that N will release back into the soil in the next 18 months or so. Great video, as usual, Greg.

[@memiseburslem2559]

i have no intention of raising cows or sheep but i enjoy your videos so much i will watch all of them.

[@karlkahmann4035]

Me too

[@marvinbaier3627]

Thanks for the video! It is a beautiful morning here. We stayed at Kimberly’s Hope place last night. I was watching your video while the enjoying sunrise at the same time.

[@gregjudyregenerativerancher]

Your close to our bull farm that we leased! See you soon.

[@andrewstanford7573]

Thanks again Mr Judy for helping us all out. I hope KZbin pays you good because you knowledge is priceless!!!! 😊

[@georgeeades5526]

Thank you so much for all of the information that helps so much

[@tedbastwock3810]

I also would rather not grind the stumps, but not because of N suck, I think that is of minimal concern, especially on that ground where not much good is growing anyway, but because of the increase in heavy equipment traffic. I have seen firsthand the impact of N suck in a veg garden setting .. but that was an extreme case, and, tbh, it was actually improved the following year. The N suck is only temporary, then the carbon feeds soil life. Another hassle with grinding those stumps would be the need to spread the chips so they are not just sitting in a big pile.

[@bcooper7352]

Can't you run a soil sample to see exactly whats going on? Also a while back you did a video in Tennessee with one of your interns talking about helping the owner to size the herd and get the pastures back in good health. What ever came of that? Love your videos.

[@gregjudyregenerativerancher]

That ranch is doing great now!

[@jeannedigennaro6484]

Thanks for this information, Greg.

[@janfranceschi8458]

Very educational 👏👏👏

[@mf3610]

My cows eat the autumn olives that I have and seem to like it! We only have a handful of full grown ones luckily that I’m actually happy to have for shade. They’re my only source of shade on hot days

[@uppervsoccer3254]

Just bought a 80 Acrebnb with 3 Acre pond untouched outside Fort Smith. 75% is Cedar and Pine, spots of Oak, Walnut, Cherry. I want to run cattle, sheep, goats, and pig on a small scale. What trees should I keep and what to remove. Keep up the great videos.

[@gregjudyregenerativerancher]

I personally would get rid of the cedar and pine and leave the other trees adequately spaced for shade, shelter and mast food production

[@valeriestevens5250]

Are the cedars and pines big enough to use for lumber? Just curious.

[@markpiersall9815]

Burning the brush would create alkaline ash. Ash might be an alternative to lime.

[@mrearthmoverny6485]

Burn the cedars and spread the ash over the field. Ash does the same as lime and it works faster. Woodchips will pull a minimal amount of nitrogen out of the soil but will add way more benefits the following years. If the pasture is not performing well this year anyway then the woodchips are not hurting much anyway.

[@ozarkrefugee]

After it gets limed, go over the place with an Aerway pasture aerator, that ground already looks compacted

[@courtneyheron1561]

Happy Birthday Greg

[@gregjudyregenerativerancher]

Thanks!

[@machseven2802]

😄cows packing their lunch - nice word picture

[@wallacewimmer5191]

😊

[@SplinterFarmstead]

Would you keep pecan trees on the pastures?

[@gregjudyregenerativerancher]

Absolutely would!!

[@swayback7375]

Some good info here, but definitely some bad info too. That wasn’t a fern but I couldn’t ID it that quick, that black locust was just a fresh leaf, the seeds are in flattish pea like pods, they definitely spread well by seed but if you really a problem with them start cutting them off, they’ll form clonal shoots off the roots and before long they’re nearly impenetrable! But a great source for fence posts if your man enough to drive a steeple into seasoned locust. It will last tho! We have a run of fence that’s over 100 years old, my great grandfather SPLIT the trees and set them all in one summer.

[@bestillfarm1645]

Any suggestions for getting rid of thistle that is taking over portions of the pasture? I have sheep, no cows.

[@claytonsmoking]

What do you use to paint the autumn olives to killem off?

[@johnmathis7872]

Johnny can take a StumpX to those stumps and be done with it.

[@mwmhzzt101]

Thoughts on Johnson Grass? Oak wilt taking a heavy toll down here. I’ve been bleaching out the old orange sedge with spot treatments of lime and 8-24-24, it really lightens up after a couple years and then fades away.

[@gregjudyregenerativerancher]

I wish we had some Johnson grass, you have to be careful with it after a frost or during a drought

[@valeriestevens5250]

@@gregjudyregenerativerancher If there was a drought or the Johnson grass got hit with frost, what would you do? Keep the livestock completely off of that area, or cut the Johnson grass?

[@gregjudyregenerativerancher]

I would keep them off that area. Then graze it when it’s safe to graze.

[@tedbastwock3810]

What is the ph of ruminant patties?

[@brettpayton6286]

Okay Greg. In today's world with hardly any rain. If I put lime down today how long before animals can go back on it if we are not getting rain

[@gregjudyregenerativerancher]

It would certainly help to get a rain on it before you grazed it or at least a couple heavy dews.

[@brettpayton6286]

@@gregjudyregenerativerancher ok thanks. We got 30A here an I got nowhere else to take them an am wanting to eventually lime. I have no issue bring them in to several acers for a couple days. Was just glad you dint say a handful of days or weeks before they could get back on it.

[@charleswalters5284]

Soil's acidic 'cause alkali was extracted and stored in tree wood, now in draw (valley).wish it were easier for you to chip and spread it. We both don't like burning.

[@feelnrite]

How much lime are you putting on that, you might have said but I didnt catch it?

[@garrettrice7598]

Were there any manure pats in the edible part of the pasture? Would the lack of insects in the bad section of the pasture be another indication of poor soil?

[@gregjudyregenerativerancher]

Yes, lack of soil life is a good indicator of poor non-functioning soil.

[@chivociso3887]

How much does a truck of lime cost? Is there a way/program to obtain it cheaper than paying straight out of pocket?

[@valeriestevens5250]

Considering the fact that some of those plants have thorns, do they pose a risk of damage to the lime truck, or are the thorns too small to be a problem? As for the cedars, will you leave them piled up or burn them at some point? I have to admit that all of those dead cedars make me shudder and twist up my guts. I live in southern California, right smack dab in a wildfire area and the fire department would never permit that kind of brush pile. I'd have to remove it or get a big fine.

[@gregjudyregenerativerancher]

The small thorns are not an issue for the lime truck. The cedar piles down in the wood edges make great wildlife homes for rabbits, mice, small birds and such.

[@brianhoxworth3881]

Small thorn trees aren't too bad. Black locust are the worst, some thorns can be 5in long. When I was a kid we called them Jesus trees.

[@corannafarms1752]

Good morning from Colombia Aren't trees inportent on pastures?

[@gregjudyregenerativerancher]

Yes, it’s nice to have deciduous trees on pasture. Cedar trees tend to kill soil.

[@kellyireland2521]

I need a lot of help with my land. I don't have soil. I pretty much have lifeless dirt & sand. 😳

[@charleswalters5284]

Have it tested for toxins. Unroll and Feed hay on it

[@christinaperez254]

Out soil is 7.6....no lime for me

[@westernessence7644]

I was hoping there was a better way to fix the soil other than brush-hog and lime.

[@dawnsummers3754]

So, to recap- hay, lime, and time?

[@gregjudyregenerativerancher]

Don’t forget the livestock!

[@dawnsummers3754]

Oh yes! That too. I’m a few years out from retirement and being able to start with livestock. Would adding lime now be useful to help a terraced field transition to more useful forage before adding animals in a few years?

[@valeriestevens5250]

@@dawnsummers3754 I'm in the same boat. Curious and eager to hear Greg's reply.

[@charleswalters5284]

Yes if soil is acidic . Did you test?

[@thethrill04]

What bothered me most about this video is the crunching under your feet as you walk. Way to early for that! Bull Shoals Lake down 28’ ft from this time last year. 😢

[@gregjudyregenerativerancher]

It’s definitely dry but with good management we have tons of grass.

[@swayback7375]

For now… let this carry on another 2 months and let’s see

[@gregjudyregenerativerancher]

It’s called management, if it doesn’t rain you start selling off your lower quality animals .

[@America-First2024]

@@dungeonmaster6292 “14m trees have been cut down in Scotland to make way for wind farms”

[@valeriestevens5250]

What is the ratio of Crossbow to diesel for killing the tree stumps?

[@swanbranch]

I was going to ask the same question...did some searching around google and couldn't find consistent info.

[@gregjudyregenerativerancher]

1 quart of Crossbow to 5 gallons of diesel fuel is the correct ratio

[@Thecattleguy1]

How do you deal with the dasieys because we have some growing on our farm up here in Canada and they are considered a invasive species. Thank you in advance

[@gregjudyregenerativerancher]

Don’t graze your pastures short, just graze the top third and your grasses can put more pressure on the daisies

[@Thecattleguy1]

@@gregjudyregenerativerancher okay and what about the crop land?

[@gregjudyregenerativerancher]

We keep our soul covered and have no crop land.

[@kimrall7350]

ph 6.8, yet not much grows, what can be done?

[@markpiersall9815]

Have a soil test done. Find out what you are short of and add it.

[@gregjudyregenerativerancher]

Put some livestock on it and unroll some carbon source on it. Until you put ruminants on it, land will be tough to fix.

[@kimrall7350]

@@markpiersall9815 I did that, and augmented the soil 2 years ago, didn't help much.

[@kimrall7350]

@@gregjudyregenerativerancher Have sheep on it now, rotational grazing.

[@french-canadianfarmer5049]

What is good soil ph? We are at around 7.5 Never heard anybody spreading lime here.

[@gregjudyregenerativerancher]

Ph of 7 is excellent. This soil in the video was below 5. Super acidic.

[@valeriestevens5250]

With a pH of 7.5, you are already alkaline so putting down lime (or wood ashes) would make the pH go higher. You want it lower. People in your area would probably be using sulfur, not lime, or adding gypsum.

[@valeriestevens5250]

@@gregjudyregenerativerancher Great for blueberries, though! 🤭