Creating Cracroft Farm
The owners of Cracroft Farm, Ruapuna, took over the property less than a year ago with a vision to regenerate the land for themselves and future generations.
Hands down, Cracroft Farm has the biggest sunflowers we’ve EVER SEEN to date!
The owners of Cracroft Farm, Ruapuna, took over the property less than a year ago with a vision to regenerate the land for themselves and future generations.
They’re passionate about nurturing healthy soil that is teaming with biology and providing livestock (cattle at present, and sheep in the near-future) that are nutritious to consumers, in ways that subsequently allow them to earn a living off the farm.
Hands down, Cracroft Farm has the biggest sunflowers we’ve EVER SEEN to date!
Since arriving at the property, the owners have adopted and implemented an Adaptive Grazing Management plan to encourage deep and diverse plant root growth, and inherently, greater soil biological activity through increased exudations of diverse carbon sugars. In paddocks with the poorest soil health, as a result of previous strip-grazing of kale and lucerne monocultures, diverse annual ‘set-up’ crops have been grown to re-create well-structured and functioning soils.
At Cracroft Farm, adaptive grazing management and diverse annual ‘set-up’ crops are encouraging deep and diverse plant root growth, and inherently, greater soil biological activity through increased exudations of diverse carbon sugars.
In just 6 months, soil structure and porosity, smell and aeration, biological activity, and pasture production has clearly improved across all paddocks.
In just 6 months after taking over Cracroft Farm, soil structure and porosity, smell and aeration, and biological activity has improved across all paddocks.
Paddocks kept in original pasture are now teaming with earthworms and are expressing greater plant diversity as a result of once dormant seeds now thriving in their new environment created by Adaptive Grazing Management.
Paddocks sown in ‘set-up’ crops are already showing obvious reductions in soil compaction, as well as improvements in soil aggregation and biological activity. Healthy and happy cattle are RUNNING into this new feed which is being break-fed, trampled to keep the soil covered, and back-fenced to allow new seeds to germinate and establish. From the ground, it’s clear that A LOT of new feed will grow in the next few months with seeds germinating in just 3 days post-grazing!
The diverse annual set-up crop at Cracroft Farm is being break fed, trampled to keep the soil covered, and back-fenced to allow new seeds to germinate and establish.
It’s clear that A LOT of new feed will grow in the next few months with seeds germinating in just 3 days post-grazing.
The abundance of feed now, and set to grow, is creating a sense of comfort and peace of mind for the livestock and the owners of Cracroft Farm heading into the cooler seasons.
New life is proliferating at Cracroft Farm, including natural biocontrol of aphids by ladybugs!
New life is proliferating at Cracroft Farm; birds, bees, butterflies, plants, earthworms...and of course, the people! We absolutely love being a part of these transformations.