DGA Update: The Pasture Productivity Pail

I attended a field day last week about the Pasture Productivity Pail (PPP). This pail contains a set of tools used to make informed decisions on pasture management and improvement. It is modeled after and complements the NRCS Soil Health Bucket. The PPP provides additional information on many above-ground factors that influence pasture productivity. It comes with instructions, is mobile, user-friendly, and provides quantifiable measures to use in decision-making. The pail was developed with funding from the USDA SARE program.

During the field day we were able to look at everything in the pail and try things out. I have used some of the tools before, but some I had not. I think this pail would be a very useful tool to have as a grazing farmer. I am hoping to put together my own pail for DGA and have available to use at all pasture walks in the future. A list of all the contents, where to purchase them, and a booklet that describes the use of each tool can be found at the SARE site for the PPP. You can construct your own pail and customize it if you choose. The approximate cost to put together a pail is around $400.

If you have any questions, you can contact me by phone or email: Angie Walter at 320-815-9293 or angie@sfa-mn.org. Our next DGA Pasture Walk will be in Verndale on August 24th at Seven Pines Farm. See our webpage for more details and registration.