Skip to Content.
Sympa Menu

permaculture - [permaculture] Variables for Keyline System Trials

permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org

Subject: permaculture

List archive

Chronological Thread  
  • From: Michael Snow <msnow@valley.net>
  • To: permaculture <permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: [permaculture] Variables for Keyline System Trials
  • Date: Sun, 13 Mar 2011 14:12:30 -0700

Keyliners and Statisticians,

As part of a grazers network in Maryland, we've acquired a yeoman's plow,
with three shanks, coulters, standard toolbar, roller, seedboxes. We are in
a sensitive watershed, the Chesapeake Bay watershed, and work in part to
encourage grass-based systems.

We're designing a plan for evaluating it's use and effectiveness in improving
soil quality, productivity, and environmental quality. This is an initial
trial - not intended to be a rigorous, long-term experiment in itself, but we
do expect it to be used to make initial observations which might translate
into more formal research. That said, we'd like our trial to be tight and
this is my request for assistance.

This year, four farms are involved, and University extension will
collaborate. Two of these farms are organic dairies, one entirely
grass-based and utilizing mob grazing, the other largely grass-based with
some feed-crop production. Of the other two sites, one is on Extension land,
the other is a beef grazing operation.

Although we have some funding and that collaboration, we are interested in
monitoring perhaps 4-8 variables over three years, samples and tests largely
pulled by farmers. Have any of you been involved in formal research of
keyline as a system? Regardless, do you have any suggestions for building a
protocol for this project? A tentative list we are trying to whittle down so
far includes:

Bulk density, porosity, aggregate stability, penetration resistance
Infiltration rate
N, P measurements and sediment load (to compare to Bay Program
baselines)
Soil testing: biological (eg, soil food web, though expensive),
chemical; Organic Matter; evaluating changes in the A horizon (depth,
transition to B horizon)
Forage productivity: forage testing, both biomass and quality through
fecal samples; percent cover and species diversity; brix
Milk production
Field moisture
The ever popular how'd-it-do test, subjective qualitative analysis

Fields are divided to two, keeping soil class, texture, slope, and management
consistent. They'll be evaluated side by side.

We do hope to develop this protocol in fairly short order. Your suggestions
are most welcome,

Mike



Archive powered by MHonArc 2.6.24.

Top of Page