BCSnob?
Mark and Renee, I hope things are getting back to normal for you. Did you get to do your seasonal lamb sales?
Forum Discussion
When it rains it pours.
We got a call from Soil Conservation to tell us they were coming out this week to confirm how much fencing and determine when they will be installing the fencing 10' off the stream bank and ditch (new EPA regs to keep livestock out of water ways). We were hoping to have more time to financially recover from the vet bills before we needed to pay for our portion of the required fencing. We're hoping our property will be a low priority (compared to those with cattle) so we have time to build up our savings; sheep don't like to get their feet wet as compared to cattle which love to wallow.
We have neighbors with streams that cut right through the middle of small pastures (10 acres?) which will require fencing on both sides (set back 10' from the top of the stream banks) cutting their small pastures in half. Since the new fence lines will not follow very winding streams (fences will be straighter), there will be places where the fences are more than 10' off the top of the stream banks. These new fences lines will create more labor expenses for farmers since the vegetation within the fences will need to be mechanically controlled. I see long green stretches along streams over grown with invasive species like multiflora rose, thistle, tree of heaven, etc).
I understand the need to keep manure, fertilizer, and sediment out of the streams; but more thought needs to be put into the management of these new out of bounds areas in terms of vegetation management. Since sheep and goats do not like to get their feet wet I think we should be allowed to use targeted grazing to manage these spaces during specific times of the year.
We got a call from Soil Conservation to tell us they were coming out this week to confirm how much fencing and determine when they will be installing the fencing 10' off the stream bank and ditch (new EPA regs to keep livestock out of water ways). We were hoping to have more time to financially recover from the vet bills before we needed to pay for our portion of the required fencing. We're hoping our property will be a low priority (compared to those with cattle) so we have time to build up our savings; sheep don't like to get their feet wet as compared to cattle which love to wallow.
We have neighbors with streams that cut right through the middle of small pastures (10 acres?) which will require fencing on both sides (set back 10' from the top of the stream banks) cutting their small pastures in half. Since the new fence lines will not follow very winding streams (fences will be straighter), there will be places where the fences are more than 10' off the top of the stream banks. These new fences lines will create more labor expenses for farmers since the vegetation within the fences will need to be mechanically controlled. I see long green stretches along streams over grown with invasive species like multiflora rose, thistle, tree of heaven, etc).
I understand the need to keep manure, fertilizer, and sediment out of the streams; but more thought needs to be put into the management of these new out of bounds areas in terms of vegetation management. Since sheep and goats do not like to get their feet wet I think we should be allowed to use targeted grazing to manage these spaces during specific times of the year.
