Mark Shepard - Closing the loop with animals

Mark - As a small scale permaculture farmer, one of the biggest management challenges I face every day is how to integrate animals into our farm landscape and food production systems. I am very interested in your approach to this issue. We did order your book a month ago but it got lost in the mail, and apparently the replacement is on its way. I'm sure you address this issue in the book, but in general how do you approach the management of animals in your savannah permaculture farm landscape? For instance do you use permanent paddocks or electronet? Is feed produced on-farm, and what percentage would be grain-based? Thank you for any info, and I will be at your MOSES workshop.
Andrew French
LTD Farm, LLC.
ltdfarm.com

Hi Andrew...
We use single or double strand electric polywire and solar chargers. Most years we buy in our young stock. When we do we give them a balanced grain ration that is sufficient enough to feed a little bugger. We never increase their grain ration. They have to go find their food. Some times we've "hogged down" a standing crop of rye (if the grass quits on us).
PIgs finish on hazelnuts, apples and chestnuts. After the harvest of any other crop, the cattle are moved in first, then the pigs. Yes... This topic is addressed in Restoration Agriculture: http://www.forestag.com/book.html