Riparian area protection and enhancement
Little Loaves Farm home to numerous riparian areas, big and small, almost every paddock and pasture is includes some sort of wetland. We have partnered with Mountain View County and the ALUS to protect these areas with extensive high tensile electric fencing and designed out grazing program to protect the riparian areas from damage. This means that some are only grazed after August 1st, ensuring that nesting habitats are left undisturbed. Something our population of seem to appreciate as they return year after year. The site of them stalking the yard, corral, and pastures for food and the sounds of their call is a continual delight. We have also restricted livestock access to other wetlands, working with ALUS and Mountain View County to install a year around water so that the yaks do not need to enter (and damage) the wetlands for water. In 2016 alone we fenced off 55 acres of class 3 and 4 wetlands and native tree stands.
These were supported by 1.3 acres of multi-row shelterbelts in 2017 to further enhance wetland health and water retention on site.
These were supported by 1.3 acres of multi-row shelterbelts in 2017 to further enhance wetland health and water retention on site.
Multi-paddock adaptive grazing
We worked with Greenedge Precision fencing and Canadian Agricultural Partnership grant funds to build a series of paddocks off the riparian area fencing for promoting range health. The result is a quarter section broken up into two dozen paddocks ranging in size from 19 acres down to 4 acres. The largest paddocks can be broken down further with temporary fencing to ensure more efficient grazing. With each paddock the yaks have access to a waterer, shade, room to socialize, and a mix of pasture grasses and sedges. They seem to particularly like the sedges found in the small accessible wetlands in the paddocks, heading for them first when they are moved. We move the yaks as often as necessary to ensure that the grasses not only recover but are able to put down stronger healthier roots. This not only makes us more drought resistant but helps sequester carbon as well.
Woodlot management - reforestation, silviopasture, & Habitat
When we purchased the quarter the woodlot had not been managed for some time. The trees were almost all in senescence, being 60+ years old. Extensive grazing by cattle had compacted the soil enough that the understory was mostly bare and new trees were unable to get a good start. In 2017 we worked with AWES and Mountain View County to get a review of the site and have a plan drawn up to increase its over health, its utility as habitat for numerous different species and make more fire resistant. This has meant both planting and cutting. In 2017 over 4 acres of riparian reforestation included planting 1260 white spruce seedlings, 180 black spruce, and 180 tamaracks. Then designated stands of aspen are cut (using only biodegradable chain oil) in winter in courage suckering and individual trees being after leaf out to encourage lodgepole pine. The yaks have helped too, being lighter and causing less social compaction (and generally not browsing young trees). The height of the fencing has also been adjusted to make it easier for wildlife to utilize the whole site and it is set up so sections not in use do not need to be energized. To monitor the effectiveness of this we have bird inventories taken every few years to track changes in bird populations.
Outreach, education, & Creation care
At Little Loaves Farm we have also worked with other groups to help share what we have learned and host events and field days so that we can all learn together. This has mean cooperating with various groups for farm tours, speaking events, and workshops; everyone from the Anglican Diocese of Calgary to the Grew Wooded Forage Assocaition. Our work was recognized in 2019 by the ALUS when we were declared a Dave Reid Award Runner Up.
In 2016 Mountain View County's PAC toured our site. In May of 2017 we hosted an Advanced Fencing For Precision Grazing feild day in collaboration with Grey Wooded Forage Association. In 2018 we hosted the Farming with Biodiversity workshop with Rural Routes to Climate Solutions (RR2CS) and Organic Alberta. The workshop focused on how agricultural producers can boost, protect, and benefit from biodiversity on their land. March 2019 we followed that up with podcast with RR2CS on the theology and faith based reasons for increasing biodiversity and caring for creation. After a break during the pandemic we have started again with field days and tours. We are happy to be hosting a day of activity and lunch for the ALUS Western Hub Conference in September 2023.
In 2016 Mountain View County's PAC toured our site. In May of 2017 we hosted an Advanced Fencing For Precision Grazing feild day in collaboration with Grey Wooded Forage Association. In 2018 we hosted the Farming with Biodiversity workshop with Rural Routes to Climate Solutions (RR2CS) and Organic Alberta. The workshop focused on how agricultural producers can boost, protect, and benefit from biodiversity on their land. March 2019 we followed that up with podcast with RR2CS on the theology and faith based reasons for increasing biodiversity and caring for creation. After a break during the pandemic we have started again with field days and tours. We are happy to be hosting a day of activity and lunch for the ALUS Western Hub Conference in September 2023.