This project just got hop-pier (bah duh chh)

Hi everyone!,

For those of you following along with my articles, you remember early on (I roll my eyes momentarily as I remember I just started writing for the first time ever last month) I had talked briefly about grazing animals being a central part to my experiment method.  For those who do not wish to go back and read another article, I will briefly summarize.  Again, I want to state for the record that I am not an expert.  I will try to cover an overview but I may be missing some vital points. Please do not let that distract you from the message.  Feel free to use this as a jump-off point for further curiosity and to do some independent research.  I have previously mentioned Kristin Ohlson and her book "The Soil Will Save Us".  I would say this is a great place to start.

Utilizing grazing animals of all sizes can be of great advantage to someone attempting to improve soil health.  To paint a picture, free from human intervention, all types of animals graze on plant life.  The act of grazing does a few things.  First, after being damaged, the vegetation begins a cycle of exchange with beneficial organisms and fungi in the surrounding soil community.  Stored carbon sugars from photosynthetic processes are sent by the plant roots to feed the beneficial fungi, which in turn supply the plant with necesary building blocks to restore the growth of the plant.  The act of exchange strengthens every member of the soil community and helps to rebuild the the plant quite efficiently.

The act of grazing, especially by larger animals (think sheep, buffalo, even elephants) also acts to permeate the soil structure, aerating and tramping vegetation into the ground providing biomass to be directly deposited to the decomposers in the soil.  The plant life is only permanently destroyed if there is "over-grazing" which happens when grazing animals are confined to one area for an extended amount of time.  The idea is that grazers are prey animals, and in the wild, they would eat and then move on to the next water source, or just skedaddle because a pack of wolves was checking them out.  This is where rotating the grazing animals comes into play, but that will be for another post at another time.

Finally, if memory serves, grazing animal eat all that wonderful vegetation, maybe some insects, a grain or two, and it all needs to go somewhere.  How wonderful that they store some of it as energy for their continued good health, and then deposit the rest of it on the soil in the form of concentrated decomposer treats.  Yes, Poop!  A naturally grazing animal will undoubtedly supply your soil with wonderful, soil enriching waste material for the cost of nibbling on grass.  This is the real value of keeping animals for a self-sustaining farm, their continued contribution to the health of my plants and soil community.  Every animal you can think of suitable to farm life can be utilized as free labor for the improvement of your soil, and therefore, the improvement of the health of your crops - chemical free.  Also, makes the animals super happy to live normal lives.

So, without further ado, the Elgin Hops Project is getting rabbits!

"Rabbits?" You say, as you peer over the top of your sophisticated, yet stylishly-rimmed reading glasses.  "But I thought...the hooves...and the tramping...and"' I'll stop your skepticism there.  I live in  Elgin, which does not allow waterfowl (I wanted ducks, but alas), or any type of animal classified as a farm animal.  After some quick research, I found that rabbit poop (it's so much fun to write it, knowing someone is going to read it) is a highly prized manure and rabbits are relatively easy to care for and raise. I am taking it one step further with Angora rabbits.  I get free manure, rabbits get free food (I was growing plenty of forage within the hop plot as part of my polyculture mix before I even thought of getting grazing animals), and then I get to groom the rabbits every once in a while and sell the wool.  Side note: angora wool can also come from goats, but we're not there yet readers. Also, rabbits don't eat the whole plant, they leave a lot of the vegetation strewn about, contacting the soil, inviting decomposers to do their thing.  Perfect.

So rabbits it is, and the project setup is complete!  My rabbits will not be sold, my rabbits will not be eaten, my rabbits and all future animals will be kept healthy and happy for as long as they are willing.  Their value as a member of the soil improvement cycle will not decrease with age, and I have something against killing anything when I have plenty to eat.  Yes, readers, a future 100% humane farm with animals.  Now I have to figure out how to keep the hawks from eating my farm hands. Are you as excited as I am to see what is going to happen?  I will take your silence as a resounding "Yes".  Thanks for reading everyone, and have a great day.

Healthier Soil, Healthier Hops, Healthier Beer, Healthier Planet
- EHP

Feel free to contact the EHP via email:
elginhopsproject@gmail.com
and browse through earlier posts on the LinkedIn account
or at elginhopsproject.blogspot.com