One of the ways in which we strive to be earth-friendly here at Oak Creek Farm, is through the use of rotational grazing. We mix species in our rotation as well. Our pastures are first grazed by our horses. The sheep follow the horses, then the pastures have a non-use period for regrowth. This practice helps prevent erosion caused by overgrazing, and it allows time for natural composting of manure, which minimizes watershed problems, while fertilizing naturally. Additionally, the mixed species rotation helps control the parasite populations in the pastures, reducing the need for chemical parasite control. Our pastures are free from chemical fertilizers and herbicides.
We purchased our breeding stock from a breeder who selects for animals with natural resistance to parasites and other health problems. We will continue this selection practice in order to minimize the need for chemical interventions. While we emphasize the use of natural practices to promote good health for our flock, we will use antibiotics and anthelmintics as necessary to keep our sheep healthy. We feed only antibiotic-free feeds to our sheep and lambs. It is our belief that by maintaining a naturally resistant flock, we will have healthier sheep, while minimizing the use of chemicals.
We have begun, and will continue to use our sheep to reclaim land. When we purchased our acreage, it was overrun with multiflora, poison ivy, and other noxious weeds. Our sheep love these weeds! We, together with our sheep, have been slowly clearing these weeds. With improved access from weed removal, we have been able to clean up areas that we plan to plant with native flowers, grasses, and trees. For the present time, we will continue to graze these areas to prevent noxious weed regrowth, chemical-free.
Because our animals are housed in the winter, we have an accumulation of manure from those cold months. We actively compost both horse and sheep manure. Composting stabilizes the nitrates in the manure, so it can be safely used to naturally fertilize. We will utilize this resource on our own land, as well as have compost available to our community to promote natural fertilization practices locally.
