As well as red wiggler worms do on a diet of horse manure, they seem to do even better on diet of mixed manures with the majority coming from cattle. Daddy is over eighty years old and he said that this is the wettest stretch of time that he ever recalls. I am nearly 60 and I have no doubt that it is the wettest series of seasons that I have ever seen. For several years microbial pasture development had reduced our mud to a nearly unnotiticable level. That is not true now.
In addition, changes in traffic patterns, as a result of that mud, have given us horrible problems of soil compaction. Of course, the mere existance of the mud and constant rain has raised the level of soil compaction from horses to an unnacceptable level.
We will likely use a sub soiling plow blade to help with compaction, but the only long term solution to soil compaction, (which leads to large bare spots of soil or a weed covered surface) is to make the soil more porous with earth worms and night crawlers.
Simply adding earth worms to a dead soil is of little value. Creating a soil loaded with microbial life, both fungal and bacterial, give priceless results. The soil will fill with beneficial worms whose tunnels allow water to go into the soil instead of staying on the surface. The fertility of the soil sky rockets. The pastures can then grow a healthy mixture of grasses, forbs and browse. The horses will have their perfect natural diet and hay bills plummet.
The ultimate irony is that manure removal has been the goal of those who thought that they were promoting soil and water conservation for decades. Gradually, we are learning better science.
Let's learn before it is too late.
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