Church Pivot Update #1

Remember the Alfalfa grass pivot we wrote about in August? We figured it was time for an update:

This field was newly seeded in the spring of 2020.  We found that using a biology-focused approach helped to promote beneficial perennial grass and alfalfa germination over non-desirable annual weed germination. When we observed the results in October, we discovered that the treated plot was thicker and had a more robust cover of our desired crop. Check out the pics of the control and treatment plots below:

In the treated side, there was more of the desirable cache meadow brome and a lot less bare ground than in the control side.  Avoiding bare ground in a new field is important for many reasons. The most obvious is production.  What’s less obvious is bare ground’s effect on long-term production..  Typical alfalfa fields are cut too frequently to allow grass to go to seed, so any bare spots that exist after initial germination will remain bare spots until you decide to farm the land again. It’s best practice to get off to a good start.  Not only will bare spots put a dent in your long-term production, they’re especially vulnerable to invasion by noxious weeds like knapweed and hoary alyssum.

Over many trials similar to this one, we have repeatedly noticed that wildlife tend to choose to graze biologically treated plots over chemical control plots.  The healthier soil causes the brix count to be higher on biologically-treated plots almost across the board, regardless of crop type, and the animals can tell. They prefer the more nutrient-dense meal. This case was no different. As Vern, RLS cofounder, was taking soil core samples this fall, a herd of about 25 mule deer came out of the hills, calmly filtered past him as he was sampling the control plot and headed over to selectively graze the treated plot.  When Vern moved to take samples from the treated side, the deer didn’t budge, happy to be eating the healthier alfalfa. 

Whether you’re trying to grow the highest quality hay or want to draw in an ungulate to fill the freezer this winter (or both!), our findings conclude that biology-treated soils are your best bet. Our trials show that biology-treated plots exhibit thicker cover, less bare spots, higher brix counts, and less vulnerability to noxious weed invasion.