Farm Management
There are a lot of different ways to approach farming and land management – some great, some good, many bad. After extensive research and some trial and error we believe we have taken the best of the best practices and employed them on our farm. All of the practices employed on the farm are focused on improving the ecosystem and using techniques that work with nature rather than against it. Since there is always room to improve we constantly observe our animals and land to learn from them how to improve our practices.
We strive to use the best organic practices but we are not currently certified. Organic certification is a helpful designation for folks buying food at a grocery store but like all labels, it over simplifies the situation. The best way to know your food and know exactly what you are getting is to know your farmers and their practices.
At Greener Days Farm we employ practices that benefit our animals, our soil and our customers. And more importantly we avoid practices that can cause harm.
What we don't do:
What we do:
We strive to use the best organic practices but we are not currently certified. Organic certification is a helpful designation for folks buying food at a grocery store but like all labels, it over simplifies the situation. The best way to know your food and know exactly what you are getting is to know your farmers and their practices.
At Greener Days Farm we employ practices that benefit our animals, our soil and our customers. And more importantly we avoid practices that can cause harm.
What we don't do:
- We don’t use herbicides – ever, period!
- We don’t use indiscriminate insecticides – let the good bugs fight it out with the troublesome ones.
- We don’t feed GMO grains or grow GMO plants.
- We don’t use synthetic fertilizers.
- We do not and never will administer sub-clinical antibiotics.
What we do:
- We intensively rotate our animals – “If the grass is greener… move the fence!”
- We sow deep-rooted plants to improve drainage and capture nutrients – Regeneration not Depletion!
- We develop vertical crop fields to provide more dietary diversity - Silvopasture!
- We understand and also have concerns about the over use of antibiotics by doctors, vets, and farmers. However, we have and will continue to, on occasion, administer antibiotics for specific conditions to save animals under our care. We love our animals first and foremost - we will do what it takes to keep them happy and healthy. If one of our animals are given antibiotics they are kept on the farm until they have fully metabolized all the antibiotics so that no trace will exist in the meat.
- We vaccinate to protect breeding pigs, piglets and growing pigs from the most severe diseases in an effort to provide "herd immunity" and thus healthy happy pigs.
- We manage our farm based on a simple principle: Good soil = Good Plants = Healthy Animals = Tasty Animals!!!!
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Silvopasture:
The practice of combining forestry and grazing of domestic animals in a mutually beneficial way to enhance soil and produce high-value lumber while providing shade and forage for livestock is known as silvopasture. So how is this different than a normal farm? We don’t have open pastures but instead we have something that is more like a treed park setting. As we open up new land we focus on tree selection and thinning to a level that allows enough sunlight to grow good quality pasture. While there are different approaches to Silvopasture we decided to focus on maintaining a diverse tree population such as oaks for acorns and lumber, maples for sap and lumber, pines for all year shade and lumber, and high-bush (they grow big here – up to 15 feet tall) blueberries. |
Ariel view of one of the silvopastures and hugelkulturs on Greener Days Farm. Our farm doesn't look like your typical open field farm!
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Grazing/Foraging:
We use two different approaches to grazing and foraging – Managed Intensive Rotational Grazing (MIRG) and Reclaiming. Our use of these two approaches is determined based on land needs – MIRG to continually improve existing silvopasture and reclaiming for transforming over-grown forest back into usable silvopasture.
We use two different approaches to grazing and foraging – Managed Intensive Rotational Grazing (MIRG) and Reclaiming. Our use of these two approaches is determined based on land needs – MIRG to continually improve existing silvopasture and reclaiming for transforming over-grown forest back into usable silvopasture.
Large Black Heritage Pigs Enjoying Pasture!
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Managed Intensive Rotational Grazing (MIRG) on Greener Days Farm! If the grass is greener...move the fence! - Done!
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Managed Intensive Rotational Grazing (MIRG):
MIRG is the practice of regularly moving groups of animals to fresh areas giving the vegetation time to rest between grazing sessions. This improves the quality of the vegetation and builds resilient soils. I look at it simply - animals concurrently mow and fertilize the lawn for a few days before starting over in a new area. In addition to being extremely beneficial to the vegetation it also benefits the animals by providing higher nutritional value and decreasing parasite loads by disrupting the life cycle of parasites through time and sun rather than chemicals. Not to mention how happy the animals are to try a new restaurant every few days.
MIRG is the practice of regularly moving groups of animals to fresh areas giving the vegetation time to rest between grazing sessions. This improves the quality of the vegetation and builds resilient soils. I look at it simply - animals concurrently mow and fertilize the lawn for a few days before starting over in a new area. In addition to being extremely beneficial to the vegetation it also benefits the animals by providing higher nutritional value and decreasing parasite loads by disrupting the life cycle of parasites through time and sun rather than chemicals. Not to mention how happy the animals are to try a new restaurant every few days.
Moving huts and shelters is a lot easier if you have a big toy to move them.
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Moving pigs in the winter is simple - if you have 4 wheel drive!
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Reclaiming:
While we use MIRG for existing silvopasture we also have a need to reclaim old pasture land that has grown into early succession forest. To do this we first run our sheep through a small area so that they eat the under-story; we then rotate our pigs in to root up and crush everything on the ground. They will also root up small bushes and trees. The chickens run with the pigs, cleaning up after the pigs and eating bugs - especially ticks. We then rotate the farmers in to cut out any non-desireable trees and open up around the trees to be kept. We cut all large wood into lumber for building barns, shelters, etc.… small wood is for fencing or cut into firewood, and we chip the rest for livestock bedding, or turn the wood into Hugelkultur – nothing goes to waste. At this point we rake, reseed and stay off the area until the vegetation takes root and then practice MIRG in this area going forward.
While we use MIRG for existing silvopasture we also have a need to reclaim old pasture land that has grown into early succession forest. To do this we first run our sheep through a small area so that they eat the under-story; we then rotate our pigs in to root up and crush everything on the ground. They will also root up small bushes and trees. The chickens run with the pigs, cleaning up after the pigs and eating bugs - especially ticks. We then rotate the farmers in to cut out any non-desireable trees and open up around the trees to be kept. We cut all large wood into lumber for building barns, shelters, etc.… small wood is for fencing or cut into firewood, and we chip the rest for livestock bedding, or turn the wood into Hugelkultur – nothing goes to waste. At this point we rake, reseed and stay off the area until the vegetation takes root and then practice MIRG in this area going forward.
Large Black Hogs turning a woodlot back to pasture!
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Piglets are the perfect size for reclaiming an old stone wall!
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Crops (Gardens)
It is important to provide both the animals and us nutritional variation. Just as I wouldn’t want to eat grass or grain every day of my life, neither do the animals. Our 1/2-acre home garden provides all or almost all the vegetables needed for the farmers and the dogs (we make our own dog food). We also plant about 2 acres of crops for the animals that consist of corn, oats, pumpkins, squash, beets, and kale. Nothing makes a pig happier than breaking into a pumpkin except maybe frost sweetened beets.
It is important to provide both the animals and us nutritional variation. Just as I wouldn’t want to eat grass or grain every day of my life, neither do the animals. Our 1/2-acre home garden provides all or almost all the vegetables needed for the farmers and the dogs (we make our own dog food). We also plant about 2 acres of crops for the animals that consist of corn, oats, pumpkins, squash, beets, and kale. Nothing makes a pig happier than breaking into a pumpkin except maybe frost sweetened beets.
Large Black Pigs harvesting kale in a crop field in Waldoboro Maine!
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Winter squash is a pig favorite! We stockpile as much as possible to provide them treats over the winter.
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Hugelkultur:
This is a super cool permaculture technique that is the answer to many dilemmas faced by folks that want to responsibly manage their woods. What do I do with all these stumps, dead wood, and tree debris? First, put the match down and stop burning. Create a Hugelkultur! What is a hugelkultur - it's a fancy term for a slow compost pile! So instead of burning the debris cover it with leaves, used hay, wood chips, or any other organic material and watch it turn into incredible top soil. During the composting process you can plant just about anything on them as this composting process significantly warms the soil and extends the growing season. Want to get crazy? Place your Hugelkultur on the side of hills to act as a sponge to control run-off and stop erosion. Best method for creating is to place the big stuff down first and cover with decreasingly smaller stuff (trees trunks, then branches, then the small organic stuff listed above). This smaller organic stuff breaks down first and spreads to the large stuff making for any extremely efficient compost pile. When done either leave in place or harvest the top soil for gardens, fields, etc... The picture before was taken in summer 2015. We filtered out the topsoil in 2020 which resulted in about 75 yards of topsoil. At $100 per yard for top quality organic topsoil that's $7,500 in savings - or better put that would have been an expensive burn pile!
This is a super cool permaculture technique that is the answer to many dilemmas faced by folks that want to responsibly manage their woods. What do I do with all these stumps, dead wood, and tree debris? First, put the match down and stop burning. Create a Hugelkultur! What is a hugelkultur - it's a fancy term for a slow compost pile! So instead of burning the debris cover it with leaves, used hay, wood chips, or any other organic material and watch it turn into incredible top soil. During the composting process you can plant just about anything on them as this composting process significantly warms the soil and extends the growing season. Want to get crazy? Place your Hugelkultur on the side of hills to act as a sponge to control run-off and stop erosion. Best method for creating is to place the big stuff down first and cover with decreasingly smaller stuff (trees trunks, then branches, then the small organic stuff listed above). This smaller organic stuff breaks down first and spreads to the large stuff making for any extremely efficient compost pile. When done either leave in place or harvest the top soil for gardens, fields, etc... The picture before was taken in summer 2015. We filtered out the topsoil in 2020 which resulted in about 75 yards of topsoil. At $100 per yard for top quality organic topsoil that's $7,500 in savings - or better put that would have been an expensive burn pile!
75 yards of composted black gold from Hugel #1 turned into thousands of pounds of yummy vegetables!
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Silvopasture and Hugelkultur in the making on Greener Days Farm! Strategically placed in the middle of this hill on ledge (coastal Maine is very rocky) to absorb rain and release slowly down the silvopasture and finally into the pond.
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Newly built compost sifter. Simple design that allows me to dump material over the sifter with the Bota. The small stuff (compost) falls through to the inside and the bigger debris (rocks) rolls off to the front. The rocks are then scooped up to be used to build roads and trails. Nothing goes to waste.
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