You can find some here on Agricology - have a look at Soil assessment methods , Visual Evaluation of Soil Structure , and Healthy Grassland Soils pocketbook as a start It was also clear that all of the farmers had experienced benefits of having more diverse seed mixtures. Although initially the price can be off-putting - farmer experiences suggest that this will pay for itself in other elements of the system - such as soil and animal health. Tom Willoughby is part of the Innovative Farmers group on diverse leys.
He shared results of his experiments with different species mixtures and demonstrated that they work financially. Moreover many of these mixtures also provide better quality habitat for farm wildlife and beneficial insects, a topic covered in new resources from WildCru which you can read about and access via this blog.
Bringing back your own livestock is not for everyone - and others explained how they are making this happen through collaboration. Sophie Alexander is an arable farmer in Dorset who works with a dairy farmer to grow diverse leys and grazes sheep overwinter on undersown cover crops. No biomass is taken off farm, forage is consumed and manure returned directly back into the system.
Feeding dairy cows in winter highlights opportunities for dairy farmer collaboration with neighbouring arable farmers. These collaborations also work for the livestock farmers - Nicola Smith from Noble Farming and the National Sheep Association NSA discussed the benefit for livestock health - grazing her Romney and Lleyn sheep onto cover crops and stubble turnips as she can be confident there is no parasite burden.
If you would like to learn more about the benefits of integrating sheep into arable rotations - take a look at this report from the NSA. Richard also extoles the virtues of sainfoin in a recent Farmerama podcast. Ian Boyd , a member of the Pasture Fed Livestock Association , also explained the benefits of herbal leys can have in relation to animal health and flavour and quality of meat which means that he is able to sell meat at a premium.
In regards to weed management - managing black-grass is clearly a major driver for many farmers. Sophie Alexander had noted that the sheep had been very good at grazing low and managing weeds, however compaction from cattle over winter had in some cases led to increased charlock burden.
Laura Crook from Rothamsted Research also shared research showing the benefits of leaving leys for longer - as for every year a black-grass seed is left buried below the surface, there is a significant reduction in viable seed. You can read more about black-grass control in this leaflet here. Overall it is clear that although there are challenges to getting livestock back onto arable farms , through innovative solutions, collaborations and new markets we can reap the benefits of mixed farming to make our systems fit for the future.
We would love to hear from you! Dr Jordana Rivero, Head of the Grazing Livestock Systems cluster at Rothamsted Research, is involved in interesting research exploring the potential and impacts of cell How can the farming industry be efficient, sustainable and proactive, whilst maintaining profitability, regenerating biodiversity and contributing to ambitious carbon Net Zero targets at national Who even cares about hedgerows?
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