Regenerative Farming | Farm Dabis (South)

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Farm Facts

DESCRIPTION

Southern Dwarfshrub Savannah.

ENTERPRISE

Organic production of adapted sheep through high
density grazing, previously with tourism.

PROPERTY SIZE

18 716 hectares.

FUNCTIONAL CLASSIFICATION OF AREA

Very fertile, diverse geological landscapes; high biodiversity of plant growth.

AVERAGE ANNUAL RAINFALL AND VARIABILITY

Average: 150 mm; lowest: 25 mm; highest: 283 mm (average over last 10 years: 125 mm).

ELEVATION

1 370 metres above sea level.

OWNED OR RENTED

Owned; full-time management.

MOTIVATION FOR CHANGE AND APPROACH

During the drought period in the 1980s, Jorg thought to himself: Should it really be like this? Or should it be easy, like it is described in the Bible? It was a stressful, depressing and heavy time.

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MAIN INNOVATION

Breeding highly adapted sheep; high density selective grazing for 3 weeks and recovery period of two years to enable rain independent dwarf shrubs to recover.

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Fully-recovered highly palatable shrubs ready for grazing and increased perennial grasses.

Forage for animals: The average amount of available grass and browse in kilograms per hectare is 571 and 296, respectively, giving a total of 867 kg/ha of available forage to the livestock.

Tree density: The average woody tree density is 1007 TE/ha.

Biodiversity: The grass and bush component is made up of 22 and 7 species, respectively. The Biodiversity Index of the farm is a medium value (0.5), which indicates that a few species are starting to dominate the grasses and shrubs growing on the farm.

Key Results

Between 2013 and 2021, the average rainfall was 106 mm and
yet the stocking rate remained above 7 kg/ha throughout the
nine-year period and rose to 10 kg/ha by 2021.
Initially, some small camps provided two to three days of grazing for 200 sheep; now, the same small camps support 300 sheep for three weeks.
Since 1974, the farm’s plant health and biodiversity are now in their best condition.
Ewes weighing 45 kg produce 123% lambs per ewe per year; and lambs are slaughtered at 17 kg (slaughter weight) at 4-4.5 months old.
During the recent ten-year dry cycle, the farm’s resilience has improved: de-stocking was not needed and only a few very old sheep perished.
Perennial grasses and shrubs increased during the drought.
A lucrative additional income has been secured by selling veld rams from the farm.
Lick is only used as an indicator for the grazing quality of the camps and to determine when to move from camps.
No parasites, therefore no dosing required; no injections (except for two Brucella species; and no shepherds required.
Farming is eff ective and peaceful.
Securing the property from predators through electric fencing and stone packing.

Farm Dabis South

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Jörg and Michelle Gaugler’s passion is to leave the farm in a better state than they received it. They are building on his father’s efforts.

Key Tips

If you farm in an area where shrubs are a major component, like in the south, then consider the following tips:
1. Secure your perimeter fence from predators; maintain it.
2. Control predator numbers inside the camps to reduce stock losses.
3. Reduce the number of herds as much as possible.
4. Apply a two-year, rain indepen- dent grazing recovery period, which is based on the shrub species.
5. Start with animals of qual- ity genetic features (i.e. early maturing and herd-bound traits).
6. Remove lambs from the land as soon as possible to allow the ewes to recover. This enables ewes weighing 45 kg to produce 150% lambs per ewe per year; and lambs to be slaughtered at 17 kg (slaughter weight) at 4-4.5 months old.
7. Take advantage of peak animal performance through the year. Allow the rams to run with the ewes all year round. This results in approximately 60% of lambs falling in June and the rest through the year, and it aff ords good cash fl ow for the business.
8. Investigate landscape rehydra- tion in order to keep the water on your land.

Approaches

RESILIENCE OF THE FARM

Ecological and fi nancial resilience was achieved during and after the 2019 drought. No destocking of the core sheep herds occurred and a minimum of 7 kg/ha stocking rate was maintained throughout the drought and recovered well since the drought to 10 kg/ha in 2022.

MONEY-MAKING POTENTIAL OF THE FARM

An average of 123% lamb weaning was maintained throughout the nine-year period. This indicates a healthy, viable business.

CHOICE OF ANIMAL/S

The farm has bred well-adapted, early-maturing animals that require limited input. The current herd is crossbred with approximately 40% Black-headed Persie. They have an easy temperament; do well in droughts; are more effi cient eaters; and have a strong herd instinct (i.e. they graze openly during the day but form large groups at night, which helps to deter predators).