NEWS
fight.” According to Rick, something is
very wrong with the veld if you or your
horse often stumble over uneven tufts.
“The tufts grow on a ‘soil platform’ and
the ground level is significantly lower
between these tufts. This is a sign of
erosion and a low percentage of organ-
ic matter.
“These soil platforms are indicative of
the original soil level. The soil, however,
is gradually being blown and washed
away. With each fire, more of the organ-
ic matter that could help mitigate ero-
sion is destroyed. It also drastically re-
duces moisture penetration as the rain
is washed away instead of penetrating
the soil surface.”
Important questions
Figure 2: Rick Dillon
year, resulted in a shortened growing
season, which would have prevented
the grass from following its normal
physiological cycle.”
A clear wake-up call
Rick believes that the lack of red grass
seed is not due to climate change.
“Many other factors can lead to this
phenomenon. It should, however, be a
wake-up call for us to do a thorough as-
sessment of the condition of our veld.
“Climate change is a reality and its ef-
fects will be harsh. For that reason, we
need to ensure we have all the weapons
in our arsenal to combat it. And healthy
veld is a very important weapon in this
Rick says the following four questions
should be posed in the context of
healthy veld:
• Are there bare patches between
grass tufts?
• Are grass tufts elevated on soil plat-
forms?
• Does the grass produce seed?
• Is there a layer of organic matter be-
tween grass tufts?
and thirdly, there should be no soil plat-
forms,” he explains.
Rick believes that grass farmers should
have sound knowledge of what regen-
erative agriculture entails. “It is nec-
essary to study existing management
practices very carefully and assess its
merit according to how well the veld has
responded over time.”
Pillars of regeneration
In the crop industry, the general ap-
proach to regeneration is based on
several pillars, including a top layer of
organic matter on the soil, living roots
in the soil every day of the year, and the
effect of livestock on the soil. This in-
cludes the recirculation of manure and
urine, as well as the trampling effect of
hooves that break down the soil’s com-
paction layers. These goals are equally
applicable to the veld. The goal is to
build up as much carbon in the soil as
possible, which improves water-holding
capacity and increases potential.
“The answers to these four questions
will indicate what your goals for healthy
veld should be. Firstly, you need to have
as much organic material as possible on
the soil between the grass tufts. “Although I do not really have an an-
swer as to why the red grass did not
produce seed, I’m convinced it should
serve as a warning to us about the way
we ‘empower’ our veld to overcome
climate change challenges,” he says. –
Izak Hofmeyr, Stockfarm
Secondly, the number of red grass
seeds reaching the soil must increase For more information, phone Rick Dillon
on 082 564 9404.
Figure 3: Note the grass tuft on the ‘soil platform’, with the bare soil at a significantly lower level. This is a clear indication of
erosion and soil degradation.
Grassroots
Vol 20
No 1
March 2020
28