This week, we’ve had the pleasure of watching the underbrush and chaos of the Goat Grove magically disappear. Farmer Crossley met a local farm friend that specializes in clearing areas just like our woodline. He hauled his equipment to our farm and spent a few days pushing over small trees and mulching anything in his path.
And, oh man, the farm looks so good for it.
What was once incredibly thick and entirely impassable, is now a beautifully manicured grove of trees. Not only can the goats move freely about the area, but we’re also able to get the side-by-side and other equipment down into the woodline to continue work on fences, ponds, shelters and more.
This new-to-us grove will slowly take shape as our silvopasture – an integrated area of trees and forage for our farm animals to graze. Silvopasture is an agroforestry approach that offers some excellent benefits and flexibility to the farm. For example, when we had the epic cold snap in the middle of winter, the silvopasture would have provided some much-needed windbreak for the cattle while still offering areas to graze and access to a natural, unfrozen water spring.
The silvopasture will more permanently be our Goat Grove – providing a safe and protected space for the goats, their shelters and the livestock corrals. However, we’re really looking forward to the flexibility (and fun!) we can squeeze out of this newly accessible acreage moving forward!