Innovations | Inside Outside Management

On our Holistic Management courses, at our Holistic Planned Grazing workshops and on our travels - on farms, at field days, at conferences we meet many innovative people. We also meet many holistic managers who tell us about products they use and recommend in the day-to-day management of their land. Or have useful tips to share.

Here are some innovations you may find beneficial.

Please note that we are sharing information on products that others have found valuable. We receive no commission from the organisations selling these products.

THE 'SCOTT AUTOMATIC GATE OPENER'

Making Ultra High Density Grazing an affordable option

One of our Pittsworth (QLD) Holistic Management: A Foundation for Regeneration course participants, Scott Morrison, had already started creating some great environmental outcomes by moving his cattle regularly. During class we shared ideas around the logistics and benefits of instigating some ultra high density grazing with multiple moves a day.

Scott's creativity and ingenuity kicked in and at the start of our next session, he presented a homemade automatic gate opener which he had constructed from parts he accessed from online retailers. We have given the 'Scott automatic gate opener' a test and it works perfectly together with spring or elastic gates. An automatic gate opener allows for multiple moves a day with huge labour savings. The really good news is that buying the parts and building it yourself costs a fraction of a similar commercially available product - it can be built for around AUS $30.

If you watch the videos below and want to try making a 'Scott automatic gate opener' but still need a bit of assistance let us know and we can put you in touch with Scott who will be happy to help.

Parts required to assemble the 'Scott Automatic Gate Opener'

Front

Cover: A Fischer #10 parts tray from Bunnings

Timer: AliExpress & Ebay

Door Lock Actuator: AliExpress & Ebay

Steel Post Insulator: The black bracket that the pin goes through and holds the gate hook is a steel post insulator with the back cut off.

Back

Cover: A Fischer #10 parts tray from Bunnings

Horn: AliExpress & Ebay

Also necessary is a gate spring available at Alibaba and Ebay.

Videos

The 'Scott Automatic Gate Opener' in Action

The Nuts and Bolts of the 'Scott Automatic Gate Opener'

BOS BAG

DIATOMACEOUS EARTH INSECTICIDE

The BOS BAG is a simple, chemical free and effective means of treating livestock
with non-residual, powder fly-control products.

These products are used as part of an Integrated Pest Management program. The Bos Bag is an all-weather refillable dust-bag used for livestock chemical-free external parasite management was designed and trialled at Kandanga Farm by Holistic Management graduates and Certified Organic cattle farmers, Tim and Amber Scott.

The Bos Bag can be loaded with an insecticide grade fine-ground Diatomaceous Earth product such as Grainsave™.

This contact insecticide made from rock which is crushed and precision ground to <10 Microns (fertiliser grade Diatomaceous Earth products measure 100+ Microns), has no withholding period, no residues and no effect on Dung Beetle populations.

The Bos Bag is sold at Kandanga Farm Store.

The BOS BAG in action!

EASYWEAN® NOSERINGS

Stress Free Weaning with Easywean®

High quality, durable, spiked weaning nosering enabling stress free weaning

Made in Australia, Easywean® noserings are a high quality, durable, spiked nosering enabling the weaning of calves, lambs or kids without the stress of separation from their mothers.

The reason EasyWean® works is twofold. Firstly the calf is less able to access the teat with a nosering flopping around in front of its mouth. Secondly the cow is made uncomfortable with the calf’s persistent attempts, with the spikes causing her to move away from the calf. As a result the lactation is suppressed but the calf does not suffer the usual growth setback at weaning caused by separation and emotional stress.

EasyWean® is just uncomfortable enough to aid in achieving an effective weaning without grazing restriction or injury to your stock.

Easywean® noserings are sold online at https://easywean.com.au/ or at various stockists including Kandanga Farm Store and Norco Agrisolutions in Gympie.

Stress free weaning with EasyWean®

BIOCAST®

Liquid vermicast biostimulant from Island Biologicals

A high quality, natural biostimulant that supports the whole plant, including its microbiome, adding health and vigour to your high production crops, to get plants through stressful times (such at transplant, or climate extremes), or give you a stepping stone to get off the inputs treadmill.

Produced in the Manning Valley NSW, Biocast® is a high quality, natural biostimulant that supports the whole plant, including its microbiome, adding health and vigour to your plants.

Biocast is produced by Lee Fieldhouse and his partner Kirsty Hughes, both Holistic Management graduates - and sold through their business, Island Biologicals .

Lee sees a firm place for Biocast® on holistically managed properties, particularly as an extra growth stimulus when used as a foliar post graze to boost recovery, as a potent bio primer for seeds to assist with establishment (including into existing perennial grasses), and as a stepping stone to help farmers who want to reduce inputs, buffer (somewhat) past chemical use and maintain production. It will be particularly beneficial to farms that have a nutrient cycling and biology weak link. A particular strength of vermi-products is their ability to provide plants with resilience to abiotic stress such as drought, making them very relevant in our land of (increasing) extremes.