Re: Water for Your farm(P.A. Yeomans)

Steve Diver (steved@ncatark.uark.edu)
Mon, 15 Jun 1998 10:32:42 +0000

The Keyline system is useful to locate the location of proper
placement of ponds and swales and hedgegrows coming off the
slope, and where to subsoil with a Keyline Chisel Plow. The idea
is to get better water infiltration into the soil, and where appropriate
locate vegetation that can use the rainfall. It follows a principle
of permaculture to use the water that comes onto your farm
as many times as possible before it leaves your farm.

Ponds are what we call farm reservoirs, whereas they are referred
to as dams in Australia. So basically Frank, it sounds like what
you are really asking for is where and how to build ponds on your
land to hold water. There are no dams and locks involved, as
one would envision with a canal system.

The Natural Resource Conservation Service (formerly Soil
Conservation Service) can help provide you with pond building
advice, and the names of local bulldozer operators. If you take
some Keyline literature with you they will understand what
you are looking for.... and see how that fits your particular
land situation.

With the slopes of your land covered with forest, you may
not obtain very much runoff because forests function as rainfall
absorbing sponges. I'd say the Keyline system is geared more
appropriately to pasturelands and croplands.

Check out the Keyline web site at:

Keyline Design - Water for Every Farm
http://www.keyline.com.au/

Details of The Australian Keyline Plan
http://www.keyline.com.au/detail01.htm

Holistic Management can help you get your farm
management and business goals fine tuned.

Holistic Management
http://www.igc.apc.org/holisticmanagement/

A permaculture design consultant can help you condense your
personal/farming goals and provide a layout of your farm that
integrates buildings, ponds, and croplands into a working plan.

Introduction to Permaculture: Concepts and Resources
http://www.attra.org/attra-pub/perma.html

Steve Diver
ATTRA

> Hello,
>
> I've just finshed reading a piece on PA. Yeoman's pioneering work on Land Care
> that features his use of the Key Line System to manage, and abet water
> retention and utilization on the farm.
>
> It sounds like just the thing I'd like to integrate into an holistic farm plan
> for the farm I'm purchasing. The farms contains a private valley ringed by
> forest on three sides running down to the bottoms and a wide shallow creek.
> There's over 300 acre sof such woods so there's a lot of water on the farm.
> I'd like to use that resource wisely.
>
> Anyone familiar with this system, using it .? I'd like to hear coments,details
> o the system. Is it expensive to install the dams/ponds /locking systems
> needed?
>
> How does one determine Keyline Point? How does one figure out best
> placement of dams/ponds.?
>
> TIA:) frank 


--
steved@ncatark.uark.edu


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