Our family was the first in over 50 years to bring livestock back to this farm property. We spent our early years reclaiming pastures for our sheep and pollinators until only one field remained longing to be renovated. When we purchased our property a stand of red pines provided a buffer between our fields and the deep woods. Once a field for grazing, it had become a tangled mess of leaning pine trees which someone had meticulously planted years ago. The stand took up a little more than an acre. Between 1920 and 1960 the Civilian Conservation Corps promoted planting red pine stands across the state to restore some of Vermont’s forests that had been cleared for livestock. Sadly, many of these stands were never managed as the one on our property. Our trees had never been thinned making it difficult for them to grow to their fullest potential. We consulted with several foresters through the years and every one would shake their head and say they were of little use.
We envisioned a pasture on this little piece of land, one that would provide forage for our sheep, and flowers for pollinators. Years ago, the property around our farmhouse had been fields and pastures. Fallen stone walls run through our woods revealing the work of farm hands long ago.
We finally met a forester who found a use for the pines. We needed more pasture and clearing the red pines seemed to be the best thing for them and for our flock of sheep. Since the trees had never been managed, many were spindly and would topple over making it virtually impossible for us to manage them. The forester cleared the stand and our red pines became fuel for a local school and hospital in Vermont. It took about a week for the the team of trucks and men to clear the trees.
Afterwards we worked to adjust the soil nutrients and to seed. We planted birds foot trefoil, clover, chicory, plantain, and a mix of grasses. By fall, our new field had just begun to turn green giving us a glimmer of hope that one day our sheep would be grazing. Last summer the sheep grazed lightly to allow the plants to establish themselves and I wondered if we had the soil nutrients in balance yet.
I couldn’t be more pleased to say that after three years of work, the field is full of butterflies, nutritious forage, and sheep.
Reclaiming Pastures
From red pines to pasture.
