Pasture Renovations!

	Like many ranchers in northeaster Colorado, this has been one of the driest on record. Not quiet as dry as the dust bowl era but close. We are looking at making our grass supply bigger. I have seen several different methods of renovation, including a spiked roller that digs holes as it goes. We tried this once but didn't really like the result. It seemed to us that it tore up to much grass, as it threw dirt and grass from the hole it made. Ripping or straight disking can help in the long run but weeds and stickers will grow where the ground has been disturbed. Now we are experimenting with shredding the sage into mulch. I know the sage holds snow in winter but when it's this dry we'll try anything. As you can see the grass is brown and the sage has some green. Killing the sage seems like the best move now.
	I didn't really have any idea what kind of shredder I wanted to use for this kind of job. Most of the time corn stalks are dry and brittle, any type of shredder should be able to handle such a job. Shredding sage and a few yucca (soapweed), plants is a very different task. I just happened upon this old farmhand stalk shredder. It sure doesn't look like much but to my surprise it didn't need to much work to try. One thing I do like about it is the flails. They are solid chunks of steel bent in a slight L shape and have little problem shredding sage. The only thing I don't like is the price of new flail teeth @ $20bucks each!
	Here is the end result of shredding. One thing I don't like is the shredder has a middle mount with bearings on each side. This left some sage stand in the middle of the machinne. It is my intention to run our weed wiper, four wheeler combo over this area if too much new sage appears. Our wick machine uses canvas covered tubes to hold and apply the solution. The heavy stalks of the sage could damage or rip the canvas. I may have to run a smaller mower behind the bigger shredder. If you have suggestions, I would like to hear them. Please use the contact form on the front page.

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