IMO for ANIMALS

Baby Lamb on IDLS Bedding

IMO for ANIMALS

IMO

Indigenous Micro-Organisms, IMO, are used to create soil with high concentrations of soil biology, installed as a complete ecosystem. It allows plants to work with the microbes in the soil to obtain the correct nutrients in the proper amounts at the precise time they are needed.

This Natural System means precise nutrient balancing, for growing healthy, resilient plants that can reach their genetic potential, offering high yields of tasty, nutritious, quality crops, while largely preventing pests and disease. These qualities mean that less effort, time and money, is required to grow food.

IMO technology is arguably the best way to practice Natural Farming. It is the Foundation of Korean Natural Farming, KNF, a Natural Farming system developed by Master Cho Han-Kyu.

IMO IN ANIMAL BEDDING

Just like we use IMO to inoculate soil, we can install IMO into the bedding of barns and other animal enclosures to create living floors.

The concept is to install a floor that mimics a healthy forest floor made of leaf litter and spongy soil, which composts all organic matter quickly and efficiently.

It’s easy to make. We build a bedding system with sufficient organic matter and inoculate it with high concentrations of soil biology, IMO, taken from healthy local soil.

The system is called the Inoculated Deep (Dry) Litter System, abbreviated as IDLS. This system, because of the high concentrations of stable and diverse soil microbes, turns manure and uneaten food into fully composted material seemingly instantaneously.

This means there is no visible manure. Without manure, there is no smell or flies. It also prevents disease and parasites, acting like an extended immune system, both inside the guts of the animals and in their bedding. The microbes in IMO are a complete ecosystem, diverse, stable, and fully active. This is how plants and animals stay healthy in the wild.

Because everything remains fully composted, the bedding floor stays clean and dry, eliminating the need for mucking out and regular cleaning. There is no toxic residue or runoff, and the naturally dry bedding can even be used as a healthy, microbially inoculated dust bath.

The microbes in the IDLS system create heat and, in conjunction with a properly constructed barn, can offer thermoregulation without a power source, heating the animal structure in the winter and keeping it cool in the summer. The effect is so powerful that it is used to brood baby chicks without hens, heat lamps, or other heat sources.

I did this every year. The first year, I was nervous about brooding baby chicks while the weather was cold, so I installed a heat lamp, ready to turn on. That first night, I got up several times to ensure the baby chicks were warm and alive. They were.

The second night, I only got up once or twice to check on them. I never needed to turn the heat lamp on. In subsequent years, I slept soundly every night while brooding chicks. I never bothered to get the heat lamp out again, and I ended up giving it away.

Did you notice I mentioned that the barn doesn’t need to be mucked out? That’s a chore I will never miss. When I sold my tea farm, the barn had not been cleaned out in seven years, but didn’t need to be cleaned out when I left.

It was clean and dry, even after housing an average of 75 or more animals for many years. IDLS is amazingly effective and resilient. I had no animal diseases after installing the system, even though I had them before. I had no flies, no smell, and it was amazingly efficient.

I once gave the chickens a few kilos of citrus peels, something the chickens do not eat. It didn’t matter. Within about a day, the peels were white and furry. When they were almost gone, the chickens started pecking at them, consuming the microbes that had consumed the citrus peels. In less than a week, the citrus peels were completely gone, even though they are something that chickens don’t eat.    

How long would that take in a compost pile? The estimated time for a fast-acting hot compost pile is 4 to 6 months. In the IDLS, I composted them in about a week. This was one of the big time savers when I switched from Organic to KNF. I no longer had to compost.

Be mindful of the waste products you will produce on your land. Find a use for everything your land produces.

Appropriate, non-toxic matter can be processed into animal feed and bedding, especially with opportunistic omnivores like chickens. Black Soldier Flies (BSF) can be fed anything that was once alive, and worms can consume most things. IMO can be used in BSF and worm setups to make those systems cleaner and more effective.

Feed as much as possible to your animals from your land, and try to keep everything the land produces on your land. In other words, our goal is a Regenerative System.

Within the bedding system, the manure, the uneaten food, and bedding material are constantly and effectively being composted by the living floor, much the same as in a rich forest. This is baking a cake and being able to open the door every day and still have the perfect cake, unlike traditional composting.

The animals, large and small, turn the organic matter continually and completely, so you don’t have to. The automatic and continual composting process means there is never any manure to draw flies or smells.

Larger woody materials can be used to make small structures (e.g., fences and trellises) as well as biochar.

Odds and ends that can’t be used as animal feed or bedding, building material, or biochar go into a mixed compost pile for periodic processing. Everything has a place to go.

Since the bedding stays fully composted, it is always ready to be used as nutrient-rich compost around plants and trees and in the garden.

Nothing is wasted, organic materials are recycled on site, and the environment is in a constant state of regeneration. This is like Nature. This is Natural Farming.

How did adopting IDLS change my farming? No more composting, or mucking out the barn, elimination of most pests, disease, and parasites, no flies, and no smell. Using IDLS and creating a Soil Foundation using IMO were the biggest contributors to my success with KNF. 

Practicing Natural Farming using the KNF System slashed my farm input bill by over 90%, creating a healthier system that saved me money and hours of labor. Not only did the health and quality of my crops and livestock increase, but so did my quality of life.

ADDING IMO TO ANIMAL BEDDING

More good news with the IDLS, it is easy to install, only needs to be done once, and requires very little maintenance.

We’ll look at how to build the bedding system. But first, while we don’t have room here to discuss all the details about raising animals with KNF, you do need to understand the basics of shelter design that enables the bedding to be a living floor, and how beneficial this bedding system is to your land.

SHELTER DESIGN FOR A LIVING FLOOR

The following will be a general layout of the ideal animal shelter for KNF. You will likely be modifying the concepts to work for your location and needs. However, you have to consider the elements that provide the living conditions of the floor, not just the animals.

The building should be constructed and oriented so that sunlight enters and can reach all corners of the floor over the course of the day. The design includes sides that can be rolled up or opened and closed, and sliding panels on the roof itself to let in more light.

The building is aligned from north to south to maximize the sunlight traveling east to west. This orientation provides adequate Ultraviolet light, helps ventilation, and promotes drying.

Drying will avoid moisture accumulation from livestock waste, watering nipples, troughs, and rain. It is important to keep the bedding dry to avoid the fermentation process from turning anaerobic and to eliminate conditions that promote odors and fly breeding.

Overall, the building should have about 70% shade inside, with 30% sunlight (that moves with the sun throughout the day). This is the perfect habitat for microbes. The direct sunlight is important because the ultraviolet radiation will sterilize germs in every corner, while allowing beneficial microbes to thrive.

The building should be able to breathe. The roof is designed with a vent along the center, much like a clerestory roof, but with a vent instead of windows. The building is designed with sides that can be rolled up or opened and shut, allowing fresh air to enter the sides of the building. The heat from the floor rises, and the cool air will sink.

This provides passive air circulation and thermal control. The barn can be kept warm in winter and cool in summer with these features.

The roof and structure should prevent rain and runoff from entering. The floor should remain dry and crumbly with a faint, pleasant bread-like smell.

While you may need to alter your plans to fit your budget and your needs, focus on these fundamentals:

70% shade, 30% sun

Direct sunlight (ultraviolet) can reach all areas of the floor

Adequate ventilation and air circulation

Protect from rain and excess water

Next, we cover how to install the Inoculated Deep Litter System.