clean stalls

[Anonymous]

I have 7 head of Dexter Cattle. Each is in 16 X 28 feet pen, for feeding and bedding. I live in the Mojave Desert, therefore we have no pasture as we have to have all our water hauled by truck. I am forced to have a nice man come up and rototil each pen, as they end up like concrete.Any suggestions for keeping the soil loose and not so compacted?

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[Anonymous]

If you can till it you must have sand rather then tufa. If it is sand scraping it should be adequate to break up the surface crust. If it has a high percentage of tufa there isn't much that can be done. It is basically cement. Add water and it turns to brick. Would this happen to be around Victorville?

dun

> I have 7 head of Dexter Cattle.
> Each is in 16 X 28 feet pen, for
> feeding and bedding. I live in the
> Mojave Desert, therefore we have
> no pasture as we have to have all
> our water hauled by truck. I am
> forced to have a nice man come up
> and rototil each pen, as they end
> up like concrete.Any suggestions
> for keeping the soil loose and not
> so compacted?

 

[Anonymous]

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[Anonymous]

Yes, it is near Victorville. I was surprised. Is tufa just manura and dirt, mixed with a lot of compaction? I am thinking of having sand hauled into the pens. I have an idea that the compacted "soil" is what is keeping the herds growing. I have to have a man come from Chino to trimmed and it is $50 per head, because of the distance. Jimmie



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[Anonymous]

Tufa is the hard sheet rock type substance fromed a million years ago when the area was an inland sea. It's like a layer of concrete. If you til it all you are doing is reincorporating the manure into the soil(sand and clay). Scraping would be a better methid and use the manure for compost or a garden area. With your limited water rssources it would be better to locate someone that wants manure and have them haul it away. The LA loonys that have migrated to the area should love the stuff.

dun

dun

> Yes, it is near Victorville. I was
> surprised. Is tufa just manura and
> dirt, mixed with a lot of
> compaction? I am thinking of
> having sand hauled into the pens.
> I have an idea that the compacted
> "soil" is what is
> keeping the herds growing. I have
> to have a man come from Chino to
> trimmed and it is $50 per head,
> because of the distance. Jimmie