SMALL ACREAGE WISDOM

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SMALL ACREAGE WISDOM
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2004 River Falls, Nov 13,

• Keith Vander Velde
• UW Extension Livestock Specialist
• Marquette County Agriculture Agent
• Keith.VanderVelde_at_ces.uwex.edu
• 608-297-9153 Extension 4

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Small Acreage Options

• Hobby vs Income Source
• Urban vs Rural
• Zoning Requirements
• Carrying Capacity of Land for Pasturing
• Amount of Labor Available
• Waste Disposal

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Small Acreage Options

• Hobby Farm
• No Income generated
• Done for personnel pleasure
• Labor is normally done by family members
• Number of animals is usually less than 3
• Usually 10 acres of less
• Purchase hay and feed
• Limited Grazing

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Small Acreage Options

• Profit Based
• Horses are bred for resale
• Horses are boarded for others
• Horses are rented out by the hour or month
• Horses are used for special events (hayrides)
• Horses have value-added if trained and sold
• Lessons are given to other horse owners

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Small Acreage Options

• Urban
• Limited Land
• Need arena for riding (covered in winter)
• Manure needs to be composted
• Feed Cost are higher
• Large population base

• Rural
• Land is less expensive
• Less opportunities to board other horses
• More open space to ride
• Less waste disposal problems

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Small Acreage Options

• Urban Opportunities-reducing cost
• Purchase hay in summer when it is less expensive
• Reduce the amount of grain fed to pleasure horses
• Share your composted manure with neighbors for
  garden work

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Small Acreage Options

• Rural cost saving opportunities
• Purchase hay during harvest at 70-100/ton
• Consider Round Bales
• Purchase grass mix hay at a discount
• Use manure as a soil nutrient
• Purchase grain in bulk
• Use rotational grazing on pasture for some of the
  forage necessary

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Small Acreage Options

• Facilities-Urban
• Fencing-Wood, Fiberglass, Woven Wire
• Shelter-structure
• Arena-enclosed
• Waste storage-covered and enclosed

• Facilities Rural
• Fencing-Wire, tape,
• Shelter-Natural or open shed
• Arena-open
• Waste disposal-daily or seasonal

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Small Acreage Wisdoms

• Fencing
• Perimeter Fencemust be secure and keep horses in
  if they run into it
• Legal Height is 50 inches on top wire
• Gates must be long enough for equipment to get
  in-16 feet is usually a good opening distance
• Lanes need to be 16 feet wide for equipment
• Cost will vary with the material used

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Small Acreage Wisdoms

• Fencing Material
• Vinyl, Wood, Special wire, rubber
• Woven wire, Electric tape, rope electric
• Barb less wire, high tensile wire
• single strand electric,

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Small Acreage Wisdoms

• Housing
• Remember one horse is always dominant
• Never house horses in structure with doors less
  than 8 feet wide
• Best to individual house or use dividers
• In groups provide open shelters that are large
  enough for all the horse to have access
• Leave two sides open so horses can escape
• Make the ceiling height 9-10 feet -ventilation

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Small Acreage Wisdoms

• Pastures
• Avoid tearing them up with equipment
• Frost seed legumes and grasses
• Let the horses incorporate the seed with hoofs
• Divide the pastures and use rotational grazing
• Make sure the pastures have 20-30 days for rest
• Feed hay if pastures are short

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Small Acreage Wisdoms

• Pasture Forages
• Horses prefer Kentucky Blue grass
• White clover is a good legume with blue grass
• Grasses-orchard grass, timothy, smooth brome,
  tall fescue
• Legumes-alfalfa, red clover, birdsfoot trefoil,
  kura clover
• Best to have 50/50 legume/grass mix

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Small Acreage Wisdoms

• Supplemental Feeding
• Necessary in Winter if no grazing
• Most horses only need hay at 80/ton0.04 per
  day x 22 lbs 0.88 per day
• Grain mixes cost 200-250 per ton or 0.20-0.25
  per lb or 10-15 for fifty pounds
• Exceptions-horses in training, working horses,
  mares in last 3 months of pregnancy, lactating
  mares
• Horses in stalls- we use more grass since it
  takes longer to consume and occupies there time

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Small Acreage Wisdoms

• Supplemental Feeding
• Horses in group housing situations we often feed
  high of legumes(alfalfa, red clover) since they
  can eat it quickly before the bosses try to take
  their portion
• If hay is a little dusty feed on the ground
• If feeding in stall spray the hay or soak it in
  water before feeding-necessary for heaving horses

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Small Acreage Wisdoms

• Supplemental Feeding
• Use grain to catch the horses
• If feeding grain know how much you are
  feeding-weigh the container when full
• Keep dust down with molasses or water
• Make sure horses have adequate space to eat and
  consume equal amount

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Small Acreage Wisdoms

• Manure
• Some gather it daily and store
• Some let it in field and level it in growing
  season
• Equipment needed fork and wheelbarrow
• Use manure spreader if hauling to other sites
• Add carbon sources and water if composting
• Use it as a resource

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Small Acreage Wisdoms

• Machinery
• Dont own a tractor
• Use you pickup and lawn tractor for power sources
• Own a drag or old bed spring or cattle panel for
  leveling manure and incorporating seeds
• Own a small seeder to pull behind lawn tractor
• Use wheelbarrow for manure moving

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Small Acreage Wisdoms

• Machinery
• If you must own a manure spreader make it a pull
  type not PTO driven-use pickup to power it when
  spreading manure
• Do not own hay harvesting equipment
• Buy hay or have someone else harvest it for you
  on shares, 50/50

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Small Acreage Wisdoms

• Weed control
• Identify toxic plant that may be in pasture
• Pull or spray(remove horses for 7 days)
• Let desirable species choke out weeds
• Keep weed seed from germinating with good pasture
  management-limit sunlight to ground
• Purchase hay from weed free fields

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Small Acreage Wisdoms

• Do things RIGHT THE FIRST TIME
• Make sure You are Having Fun
• Know when to QUIT
• Keep the costs under control-budget