From steved@ncatark.uark.edu Thu Jun 18 11:22:35 1998 Date: Thu, 18 Jun 1998 10:10:15 +0000 From: Steve Diver To: permaculture@listserv.oit.unc.edu Subject: RE: Water for Your farm(P.A. Yeomans) (Permaculture list fyi, I am forwarding this informative post from the Sanet list, written by Chris Alenson in Australia. Keyline is a regular part of many permaculture design courses.) (I like the picture that is emerging from these Austrialian posts as to just how integrated Keyline/Centaur design can be in whole farm design....water management, soil building, tree plantings, contour plowing...... worms!!!!!) Steve Diver ------- Forwarded Message Follows ------- From: "Alenson, Chris CJ" To: FranksFarm@aol.com Cc: "'sanet-mg@ces.ncsu.edu'" Subject: RE: Water for Your farm(P.A. Yeomans) Date: Thu, 18 Jun 1998 15:03:38 +1000 Hi Frank, You have hit on an interesting land and water management strategy. Key line management is one of the great unsung land management tools available to landowners. Steve described the system reasonably well, but it does encompass a lot more than just siting a dam/pond/reservoir. As you suggest it is a total holistic approach to managing water and resources on the farm as well including soil improvement through judicious use of chisel ploughs or non soil inverting implements. Key line is also about siting roads, fences, tree plantations, and even homesteads. In Australia which either gets very little rain or almost too much in some areas this system allows for water falling on the property to be utilised through storage or through absorption into the soil. It minimises loss of water off paddocks, roads, farmsteads, ie. the whole property, which may cause erosion. To give you a brief illustration of a dairy farming property here in Victoria, Australia that is based on key line principles. A main reservoir based at the top of the property on a key line has a large valve controlled outlet pipe which feeds aqueducts that have been built on the contour around the property. When irrigation of a paddock is required water is released from the main reservoir and runs along the aqueduct. A 'flag'( a canvas barrier) is inserted at the point on the reservoir that halts the flow of water. It builds up and flood irrigates the paddock required. This may only take a short time. Paddock design is based around these contour drains which in turn supply the irrigation water. By using this system the farm manages to look like an oasis in an area which has undergone long drought periods. This certified organic farm also has very sound management practices of chisel ploughing, rotational stocking, remineralisation and general soil building/fertility practices. The end result is lush mineral rich pastures full of earthworms and dairy cattle that produce well and have very few health or breeding problems. Trees are planted in corridors along aqueducts and link up with other revegetation areas. The farm is a model of what sound land management practices can provide. Frank, rather than going into detail describing how to find the key points in order to determine the key line(as a consultant it would be quite unprofessional of me to offer that sort of advice from umpteen miles away) I recommend that you get hold of the book and if questions still remain contact Ken Yeomans via his contact address on his web page. I would recommend anyone interested in this subject to have a look at the very good web site and get hold of a copy of '"Water for Every Farm - Yeomans Keyline Plan"' if more detailed information is required. Thanks to Steve for giving an Aussie land management genus a plug. Regards, Chris Alenson Technical Adviser Organic Advisory Service Organic Retailers & Growers Association of Australia ---------- From: FranksFarm@aol.com[SMTP:FranksFarm@aol.com] Sent: Tuesday, 16 June 1998 12:28:am To: sanet-mg@shasta.ces.ncsu.edu; permaculture@listserv.oit.unc.edu Subject: Re: Water for Your farm(P.A. Yeomans) 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 abetwater 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 To Unsubscribe: Email majordomo@ces.ncsu.edu with "unsubscribe sanet-mg". To Subscribe to Digest: Email majordomo@ces.ncsu.edu with the command "subscribe sanet-mg-digest". To Unsubscribe: Email majordomo@ces.ncsu.edu with "unsubscribe sanet-mg". To Subscribe to Digest: Email majordomo@ces.ncsu.edu with the command "subscribe sanet-mg-digest". -- steved@ncatark.uark.edu From Alenson.Chris.CJ@bhp.com.au Thu Jun 18 11:24:19 1998 Date: Thu, 18 Jun 1998 15:03:38 +1000 From: "Alenson, Chris CJ" To: FranksFarm@aol.com Cc: "'sanet-mg@ces.ncsu.edu'" Subject: RE: Water for Your farm(P.A. Yeomans) [The following text is in the "iso-8859-1" character set] [Your display is set for the "US-ASCII" character set] [Some characters may be displayed incorrectly] Hi Frank, You have hit on an interesting land and water management strategy. Key line management is one of the great unsung land management tools available to landowners. Steve described the system reasonably well, but it does encompass a lot more than just siting a dam/pond/reservoir. As you suggest it is a total holistic approach to managing water and resources on the farm as well including soil improvement through judicious use of chisel ploughs or non soil inverting implements. Key line is also about siting roads, fences, tree plantations, and even homesteads. In Australia which either gets very little rain or almost too much in some areas this system allows for water falling on the property to be utilised through storage or through absorption into the soil. It minimises loss of water off paddocks, roads, farmsteads, ie. the whole property, which may cause erosion. To give you a brief illustration of a dairy farming property here in Victoria, Australia that is based on key line principles. A main reservoir based at the top of the property on a key line has a large valve controlled outlet pipe which feeds aqueducts that have been built on the contour around the property. When irrigation of a paddock is required water is released from the main reservoir and runs along the aqueduct. A 'flag'( a canvas barrier) is inserted at the point on the reservoir that halts the flow of water. It builds up and flood irrigates the paddock required. This may only take a short time. Paddock design is based around these contour drains which in turn supply the irrigation water. By using this system the farm manages to look like an oasis in an area which has undergone long drought periods. This certified organic farm also has very sound management practices of chisel ploughing, rotational stocking, remineralisation and general soil building/fertility practices. The end result is lush mineral rich pastures full of earthworms and dairy cattle that produce well and have very few health or breeding problems. Trees are planted in corridors along aqueducts and link up with other revegetation areas. The farm is a model of what sound land management practices can provide. Frank, rather than going into detail describing how to find the key points in order to determine the key line(as a consultant it would be quite unprofessional of me to offer that sort of advice from umpteen miles away) I recommend that you get hold of the book and if questions still remain contact Ken Yeomans via his contact address on his web page. I would recommend anyone interested in this subject to have a look at the very good web site and get hold of a copy of '"Water for Every Farm - Yeomans Keyline Plan"' if more detailed information is required. Thanks to Steve for giving an Aussie land management genus a plug. Regards, Chris Alenson Technical Adviser Organic Advisory Service Organic Retailers & Growers Association of Australia ---------- From: FranksFarm@aol.com[SMTP:FranksFarm@aol.com] Sent: Tuesday, 16 June 1998 12:28:am To: sanet-mg@shasta.ces.ncsu.edu; permaculture@listserv.oit.unc.edu Subject: Re: Water for Your farm(P.A. Yeomans) 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 To Unsubscribe: Email majordomo@ces.ncsu.edu with "unsubscribe sanet-mg". To Subscribe to Digest: Email majordomo@ces.ncsu.edu with the command "subscribe sanet-mg-digest". To Unsubscribe: Email majordomo@ces.ncsu.edu with "unsubscribe sanet-mg". To Subscribe to Digest: Email majordomo@ces.ncsu.edu with the command "subscribe sanet-mg-digest".