Outwintering is one option for reducing costs and carbon footprint for livestock farmers, although issues can arise when outwintering unsuitable animals on unsuitable crops/soil. To address this, Farm Net Zero (FNZ) Demo Farmers, Mike and Sam Roberts, have been trialling different cover crop mixes for their weaned calves this winter. 94 weaned calves entered the cover crops in mid-November with enough crop to see them through to mid-February, In December they were on two-day moves with one hay bale for roughage. A cold day in December provided a good opportunity to see how they are getting on.
The crops were established through either direct drilling or discing/power harrow drill in late August, the drought through the summer of 2022 delayed establishment and therefore the bulk of the crop. In the spring, these fields will go into a herbal ley reseed with Mike and Sam hoping that the cover crops will have outcompeted much of the weeds, reducing herbicide use, and the cattle will have done some of the initial cultivations. In December the calves were leaving some of the stemmier material and radish bulbs, and attendees discussed the merits of either cultivating this material in to benefit the soil, leaving calves for longer to ensure they eat it (and therefore risking growth rates) or utilising suckler cows to clean up after the priority stock class of the calves. Calf growth rates were to be measured through the winter and spring, with Mike and Sam expecting to see a slow-down in growth through the winter but a faster growth rate in spring as the outwintered calves take less transitioning onto grass than housed animals.
Having a range of plant species in the mixes is done with the ambition to discover which species grow successfully and in sufficient quantity/quality to support the calves through the winter. Species presence/absence was assessed by Dr Hannah Jones from Farm Carbon Toolkit and forage samples were sent for analysis of crude protein, digestibility and other qualities with the results available in the “Grazed winter cover crops” factsheet. Mike and Sam ultimately hope for this crop to be a “standing total mixed ration (TMR)” that could be grazed through the winter without supplementary feeding of silage or hay.
Mike also took time to show the main herd cows outwintering on deferred grass. These were on two-day moves on half a hectare of grass that has been left since August, plus two hay bales which will carry them through to calving in March.
Outwintering at Blable has helped to reduce costs through reductions in time, fuel and feed use through the winter. The outwintering crops greatly reduce the amount of conserved forage fed to the cattle and tractor use is negligible compared to housing where feed is brought to the animals, muck scraped away daily and dirty bedding spread after winter. This has clear corresponding savings in carbon emissions.
Key takeaways
Diversity of plant species increases resilience to extreme weather, pests and disease and provides greater diversity of ration for livestock.
Outwintering reduces financial costs and reduces carbon emissions from fuel and feed.
A Farm Net Zero event held in November 2022 at Stumble Inn, Boyton, PL15 8NU.
With changes to farm subsidy payments, there is some uncertainty as to what will replace them. In November 2022 a group of farmers met at the Stumble Inn to discuss the future of environmental stewardship and the options available to them.
The talk started with an introduction by Hannah Jones of Farm Carbon Toolkit. She explained that while environmental schemes have traditionally been paid on an income foregone basis, farmers should also recognise the hidden benefits of environmental practices for their farm businesses. These can include:
providing pollinator habitat to benefit crops
providing shelter for livestock in inclement weather
preventing soil erosion.
Hannah also mentioned the carbon sequestration value for different stewardship options, which are included in the Farm Carbon Calculator.
Next, we heard from Tim Dart, FNZ Monitor Farmer and Head of the Farm Advisory Team at Devon Wildlife Trust. Tim suggested that with the reduction and eventual removal of the Basic Payment Scheme and the volatility in farm inputs and farmgate prices, farmers should consider joining the new Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI). This can provide a stable income for practices such as:
taking soil organic matter samples
writing a soil management plan
maintaining ground cover
growing diverse leys or cover crops
Many of which are practices that the FNZ Monitor Farms are already undertaking or are interested in.
James Ruddick from Cornwall Council then gave a talk on the new Daras website, developed by Cornwall Council to provide a “one-stop shop” for agricultural funding opportunities and advice. By registering for free, farmers and landowners can see what funding opportunities are available to them for various activities funded by a mix of government and private finance.
Forest for Cornwall is a Cornwall Council initiative aiming to increase tree cover in Cornwall through the creation of woodland, copses, shelter belts, orchards and wood pasture. Project Officer Jenny Rogers explained the various ways that farmers can get involved through the Woodland Creation Partnership, Woodland Trust MoreWoods and MoreHedges grants and the England Woodland Creation Offer (EWCO). The EWCO in particular will provide financial support of up to £8500 per ha for development costs and £300 per ha per year for maintenance costs for 10 years. Forest for Cornwall are also aiming to establish 10 fully funded agroforestry sites in Cornwall to demonstrate best practice and the diversity of options for integrating trees into farming systems. Jenny highlighted the range of benefits that trees can provide in agriculture including:
diversifying income
protecting soil from wind and rain erosion
providing shelter and forage for livestock.
The discussion turned to the experiences of some of the monitor farmers present at the meeting. Ben Thomas, who farms at Warleggan and manages the Belted Galloway herd on Goss Moor National Nature Reserve, spoke about the benefits he has seen of allowing cattle access to woodland on the moor. Willow was preferentially grazed over what Ben thought was “good” grass, with faecal egg counts showing a low parasite burden and good growth rates. Ben also mentioned his experience of the Farming in Protected Landscape (FiPL) grant that allowed him to invest in electric fencing to better manage grazing at the Warleggan farm. The FiPL grant is available to farmers in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) and is far less prescriptive than other grants. A wide variety of activities can be funded as long as they are approved by a local board for their contribution to nature, climate and the public. Dairy farmers, John and Sue Nattle and mixed farmer, Martin Howlett have also benefited from FiPL grants through the Tamar Valley AONB for herbal leys and a wildlife pond respectively. Martin had also made use of the Countryside Stewardship Mid Tier to support school visits for children from Plymouth to learn about farming and nature. Unfortunately, as suckler beef farmer Jonathan Chapman pointed out, FiPL only applies to farms within an AONB. Jonathan’s farm directly borders an AONB and his application was refused, opening up a conversation on whether FiPL-style grants should be made more widely available to extend their benefits.
New entrant dairy farmers, Bradley and Nicole Davey, then spoke about their experiences of farming within constraints set by their landlord’s stewardship agreement. GS4 herbal leys have been planted and are being successfully grazed by the Davey’s dairy herd, as well as benefiting soil health and biodiversity. Bradley encouraged others to try to find stewardship agreements that suit their farm system, a sentiment echoed by fellow dairy farmer Phil Kent, who has also found GS4 herbal leys to be of value on their own farming merits as well as stewardship payments. Arable and beef farmer Jon Perry rounded out the meeting by bringing up the important point of food production being a public good worth supporting. Jon also commended the younger farmers in the room for both their farming ambitions and commitments to environmental stewardship.
Overview of a Farm Net Zero event held on 22nd Oct 2022 at Lowerton Farm, Latchley.
John, Sue and Emma Nattle hosted a group of farmers on their dairy farm in the Tamar Valley to look at the establishment and management of herbal leys. The Nattle’s herd of 66 spring-calving cows produces 7000 litres a year from 1t of concentrate per cow. On the current herbal ley grazing, they are averaging 7 litres per cow.
Two blocks of herbal leys were established in 2020 and 2022, the older block (30 acres) is used for youngstock grazing and the second block (20 acres) is part of the dairy cow grazing platform. Brassicas (kale/rape) were included in the seed mix of both leys. This acted as a nurse crop, creating a microclimate that aided establishment of the herbs and grasses.
The older ley was established in April 2020 by overseeding the herbal ley mix into a combi-drilled barley cover. This was then cut for silage bales twice before being rotationally grazed by 35 youngstock until housing in November 2020. Rotational grazing with youngstock continued in 2021 and 2022, with any surplus cut for silage.
Milking cows moving off the herbal ley
The dairy grazing ley was established in May 2022 by drilling herbal ley mix into a ploughed and power harrowed seedbed. From June 2022, it has been grazed by milking cows in a 42-day rotation “on/off” system where they are given access for three hours before being moved onto ryegrass/clover. This is to reduce bloat risk, overgrazing and compaction on the newly reseeded ground. The visit in October coincided with the third grazing round and, although regrowth was strong, this is likely to be the last grazing of the year to ensure sufficient covers are built for spring turnout.
Diversity has declined in the older block, with grasses and white clover more dominant. Although this could jeopardise any Countryside Stewardship GS4 payments, it is still a very productive ley. The newer ley showed a high level of diversity with plenty of chicory, plantain, white clover and red clover alongside a number of grasses.
Potential benefits of a diverse mixture of species include:
Nitrogen fixation by legumes resulting in reduced (on cutting ground) or no (on grazing ground) need for purchased fertiliser
Drought resilience from the deeper rooting species
Improved soil health through enhanced soil biology, carbon sequestration and structure
Reductions in leaching from greater root distribution through the soil profile and plants with different nutrient requirements through the growing season
Extended grazing season
Forage anthelmintics which complement prophylactic pharmaceutical treatments
Here’s an update from our Farm Net Zero project – sharing updates for our farmers and the wider community the project supports in Cornwall. This post is taken from our quarterly project newsletter. Click here if you’d like to subscribe.
Our first farmer conference
We were delighted to run the Farm Net Zero Farmer Conference on the 13th September at Blable Farm, by kind permission of demo farmers Mike and Sam Roberts. The conference presented the work of the project to date, including a look at the results from the soil sampling and carbon footprinting. We also discussed future plans for trials and research to help the project’s community of farmers reduce their carbon emissions and move towards net zero.
A detailed summary of the Conference can be found here.
Recent events
We had some fantastic events over the summer:
In May, a Holistic Worm Management event at Matt and Pip Smith’s Monitor Farm explored the Sustainable Control of Parasites in Sheep (SCOPS) principles, as well as a fascinating talk on dung beetles by entomologist Sally-Ann Spence. This led to a dung beetle hunt! The UK has many dung beetle species, with 50% of them under threat of extinction. Dung beetles play a crucial role in the farm ecosystem by starting the dung decomposition process, improving soil health and reducing livestock parasite burden. Read more here.
Attendees at the Holistic Worm Management event
A summer tour at demo farm Erth Barton in June focused on adaptive multi-paddock grazing system and pasture cropping. Read more here.
In July, a Conservation Grazing event at Trerieve Farm, one of the FNZ project monitor farms which has 70 acres of clifftop grazing, explored the significant biodiversity value of conservation, together with how the business makes use of environmental payments within Countryside Stewardship. Read more here.
The demo farms have been central to supporting the innovations and events of the FNZ project. Mike and Sam Roberts of Blable Farm, and Andrew Brewer of Ennis Barton have been interviewed recently by Farmers Weekly. On the ground, the trials in place include:
Pasture cropping at Ennis Barton – the first year of trials has resulted in Tim Williams modifying the cover crop mixture suitable for wheat. A summer event in 2023 will include a tour of these trials.
Herbal leys for dairy grazing platforms – data continues to be accrued at Ennis Barton comparing white clover and ryegrass leys with diverse swards and the effect on milk yield and quality. This is a long term trial integrating assessment of rumination, and cow activity with the Allflex collars.
Diverse cover crop grazing mixtures at Blable Farm – the principles of deferred grazing and diverse swards have been used by Mike and Sam. Cattle growth weights, sward quality and yield will all come together to define the profitability of out-wintering Stabiliser cattle on these high biomass super diverse covers. The first assessments are planned within the month.
Soil recovery at Erth Barton – the first complex analysis of microbial soil diversity carried out by Julian Donald at Exeter University ESI has created a baseline data set to determine how soil biological activity can be restored with diverse swards.
Soil stabilisation after intense cropping – following a first year of cover cropping undersown with herbal leys following potatoes, Andrew Brewer has designed a range of trial mixtures to determine the best mixtures for soil health recovery. Assessments continue over the winter 2022-2023
Soil carbon and herbal leys – all demo farms are involved in longer term assessments on the rate of soil carbon sequestration comparing permanent pastures to herbal leys. This data will take 5 years to collate in full.
Maize establishment at Tregooden Farm – Malcolm and Catherine Barrett of Tregooden farm have hosted a number of events. They have been part of cover crop trials, but also tested a range of establishment methods for maize. Samples are in the lab, so the event is imminent!
Award winners
We’re very pleased to share that our demo farmer, Andrew Brewer from Ennis Barton, won Grassland Farmer of the Year at the British Farming Awards last week. Many congratulations to Andrew. Further details here.
A big congratulations also to Malcolm & Catherine Barrett from Tregooden Farm, one of the FNZ monitor farms, for winning the Best Sustainable Farming Initiative at the Cornwall Farm Business Awards this year.
Grassland Farmer of the Year 2022 winners, Ennis Barton Malcolm & Catherine Barrett from Tregooden Farm – the Best Sustainable Farming Initiative at the Cornwall Farm Business Awards this year.
Innovative Farmers update
In July, 150 people celebrated the 10 year anniversary of Innovative Farmers at FNZ monitor farmers, Pip and Matt Smith of Trefranck Farm near Launceston, with a day of networking and workshops. They were joined by His Majesty The King (former Duke of Cornwall) who met inspiring farmers, researchers and advisors that have been involved in field labs over the last decade.
We ran two workshops to hear your ideas for farmer-led trials as part of Farm Net Zero and had an interesting discussion on strip-till maize as an alternative to plough-based systems. We anticipate running trials on this in spring 2023.
Westcountry Rivers Trust Update
One of the aspects of the Farm Net Zero project is connecting farmers and communities to share their knowledge of large-scale greenhouse gas reduction techniques with small scale growers.
In September and October, allotment holders joined us to learn more about climate friendly gardening. Four workshops were delivered for attendees to discover more about soil health, no dig, biodiverse lawns, composting and green manures.
Natural Capital Advisor Zoë Smith at Westcountry Rivers Trust said: “People enjoyed sharing tips and tricks with the professional growers and each other, with everyone feeling they had learned something new. Several told us they are taking this back to their allotment sites too to spread the word about the benefits of knowing your soil and how to manage your plot to minimise environmental impacts.”
The team at the Camel Community Supported Agriculture event with all the hardy gardeners braving the rain to make the connections with no dig growing, compost and climate change
As the Office for National Statistics indicates gardens cover more than one million acres in England, they are a significant area that can contribute to carbon sequestration (storage). More events will follow in 2023.Visit https://wrt.org.uk/project/farm-net-zero for more information.
Good cob, bad cob
We recently finished filming Malcolm for the FNZ maize event. These trials looked at the relative merits of different maize establishment methods and the inputs through the season. The trial includes cob sampling, infiltration tests and soil sampling after harvest. The film will be part of a maize evening event leading to a farmer field lab as part of Farm Net zero.
What next?
FNZ Events: Dates TBC
Maize event – evening event with results of the Tregooden maize trial, and launch of Farmer Field lab # 2
Hedgerow management and getting to grips with the Hedgerow carbon code
The environment, carbon and payments
Other upcoming events:
21 November – FNZ project partner IfA is running an online event: Decarbonising UK Meat Production – A focus on ruminants. Click here for more information.
Getting in touch
If you have any questions or ideas that would further support the community of farmers that we are working with, please get in touch: [email protected].
Information about this project including upcoming events and resources are available on the Farm Carbon Toolkit pages.
This project, funded by the National Lottery Community Fund, is a partnership between Cornwall College, The Farm Carbon Toolkit, Duchy College’s Rural Business School, Westcountry Rivers Trust, Innovative Farmers and Innovation for Agriculture.
Written by Hannah Jones, Research Manager at FCT, as part of the demo farm trials happening in our Farm Net Zero (FNZ) project.
Overview
Recommended cereal varieties are bred to look identical; the genes between individual plants have only minor levels of variation. The regulations around breeding and the sale of seed ensure consistency as well as ensuring different varieties are unique and suitable for the use (or group) stated.
Wheat, barley, and oats mainly self-pollinate which results in offspring being highly similar to the parent plant. Rye is a bit different; it is cross pollinated. Thus, a field of rye is in fact a population of rye where very plant is considerably different from its neighbour in terms of genes and sometimes in appearance.
Landraces
Seed that has been saved by communities of farmers within one particular region are called landraces. These landraces were locally adapted to specific conditions including soil type, local pests and diseases as well as management such as type of seed bed preparation. In landraces, since each plant is genetically different, the plants best suited to a given climate produced more seed. If the seed is saved and resown, the best adapted plants take up a greater proportion of the subsequent generation.
Evolutionary breeding
Over many generations, successive seed saving and resowing results in adaptation of a crop population, and thus this is called evolutionary breeding or population wheat (or barley). Evolutionary breeding can take place by default with landraces, or a population can be created.
Composite cross populations
The creation of a crop population involves cross pollinating a range of varieties that have interesting characteristics. This cross pollination needs to be done by a plant breeder. One such composite cross population was created from 20 varieties which had either good yielding or quality characteristics: the “YQ population” and was carried out by a team at The Organic Research Centre and John Innes Centre in early 2000 led by Martin Wolfe. The rules for selling grain have been designed according to the standard rules of uniformity of crop. Recent changes in regulations have now allowed the sale of population wheat if there is certified traceability.
Built-in resilience
The physical and genetic diversity within a population can increase the crop resilience to extremes in stress. Crop populations generally perform above the average of the original varieties. For example, if a particular race of a plant disease dominates in one year there will be some plants that have resistance; there will be some yield despite high disease pressure. Alternatively, deeper rooting will ensure under drought conditions there will be some plants that yield grain, whereas the shallow-rooters may be sterile.
Tim Williams (pictured below) at Erth Barton (one of our FNZ demo farmers) is trialling population wheat with his pasture cropping. The wheat has the potential to adapt to local conditions as well as being sown into an existing sward. To follow updates on our Farm Net Zero trials and hear more news, sign up to the FNZ newsletter here.
Kindly hosted at Mike and Sam Roberts Farm Net Zero Demonstration Farm
The first Farm Net Zero Farmer Conference was held at Blable Farm, Wadebridge by kind permission of Demo Farmers, Mike and Sam Roberts. The conference covered the Farm Net Zero (FNZ) project’s progress to date and discussed plans for the remainder of the project. Over 70 people attended the conference, with 31 individuals from 19 of the project’s Monitor Farms.
We started the conference with a farm walk led by Mike and Sam Roberts. A range of cover crop mixtures are being trialed this winter for outwintering cattle, these were established by drilling into disced hay aftermaths. The aim for these cover crops is to cheaply outwinter cattle and benefit soil health. The extreme weather conditions this summer delayed sowing, but now these crops are growing apace. Buffer feeding with hay may be necessary alongside the grazing of these crops; it will depend upon how warm the autumn is.
A rotational grazing system has been developed with the support of Precision Grazing Ltd, with herbal leys introduced for drought resilience and to improve pasture quality for the cattle’s diet. The heaviest steers have been sold to a finishing unit having received nothing but forage. The Roberts’ are aiming to grow cattle on forage alone and are looking at introducing more native genetics (Angus/Hereford/Devon) to achieve this aim.
Finally, the walk finished in the cattle sheds to discuss the compost bedding. Compost from the Green Waste Company is used in place of straw to reduce costs, the resulting dirty compost bedding has been analysed for nutrient content and far exceeds that of farmyard manure. Blable has recently been soil mapped by FNZ Monitor Farmers Anthony Ellis and Tom Tolputt of South West Farm Consultants. The detailed soil scan and sample has revealed areas of high and low organic matter and nutrients. The maps will be used to target applications of manure to get the most benefit from it and will help to reduce the need for artificial fertiliser.
The remainder of the conference involved presentations and discussions on project progress. After an introduction to Farm Net Zero by Dr Steve Roderick, Alex Bebbington from the Rural Business School ran through the fifteen events the FNZ project has delivered so far, on a range of topics from nitrogen fertiliser use to dung beetles.
Dr Hannah Jones from Farm Carbon Toolkit then gave a presentation on the results from the first set of carbon footprints. These form the baseline from which the project aims to reduce emissions and improve sequestration and there is a possibility to create benchmarking groups within the project to help farmers learn from one another. Hannah’s presentation also covered some of the FNZ trials, with input from the Demo and Monitor Farmers who are involved in the trials. Demo Farmer Andrew Brewer spoke about the herbal ley for dairy cattle trial. Andrew’s grazing platform consists of ryegrass/clover leys and herbal leys, Allflex collars on the cows measure activity and rumination. This work is in progress and evaluation of the economic viability of dairies needs to take a systems approach incorporating livestock health, milk quality and yield, and the resilience of the grazing platform to variation in weather. Next, Monitor Farmer Malcolm Barrett talked through the overwinter cover crop trial he is involved in. This was to test the diversity of cover crop mixes, with initial results suggesting that more diversity improved soil stability and increased worm numbers. Finally, Monitor Farmer Amelia Lake spoke about her involvement in the first of the FNZ Field Labs on compost production for market gardens. Amelia’s use of compost on her no-dig market garden has helped to increase soil carbon sequestration, but questions remain on the best source material and methods of production.
Jerry Alford from Innovative Farmers provided more detail on the Field Lab element of Farm Net Zero. These field labs are led by questions from farmers and are run on farms to be representative of commercial conditions. The first FNZ Field Lab is on compost for market gardens, the second will be on innovations in maize establishment and the third is yet to be decided.
Zoë Smith from Westcountry Rivers Trust spoke about the citizen science work that the Rivers Trust are responsible for. This involves members of the public working to improve the soil health and climate resilience of their gardens/allotments.
The final presentation by Becky Willson of Farm Carbon Toolkit looked at some of the techniques farmers from other Farm Carbon Toolkit projects are working on to reduce their carbon footprints. These include reducing purchased feed requirements, improving grazing management and reducing fertiliser use. There was also a conversation on the various Carbon Codes (Hedgerow, Woodland and Soil) and how they can benefit farmers, the consensus being that there are still details to iron out before it can be seen as a reliable investment.
This event was made possible with thanks to the National Lottery Community Fund who fund the Farm Net Zero project. We would also like to thank the Demo and Monitor Farmers who have hosted events, the expert speakers who have presented at them and everyone who has attended a Farm Net Zero event.
A Farm Net Zero event held at Matt and Pip Smiths Monitor Farm
Climate change is not just about greenhouse gases, it also includes the loss of biodiversity. Agriculture plays a key role in creating healthy ecosystems that support biodiversity and food production. Insect life is one of the main food sources in any ecosystem. Anthelmintics (wormers) used to treat gastrointestinal parasites are excreted in livestock dung and so can kill insects, particularly dung beetles, targeting the use of wormers reduces the risk of killing insects and helps to maintain a healthy ecosystem.
Farm Net Zero Monitor Farmers, Matt and Pip Smith of Trefranck run 1000 NZ Romney sheep and 500 Red deer across 400 acres of mostly owned land. Matt and Pip are selecting for resilience to parasitic worms in their stud flock. By combining Faecal Egg Counts (FECs) with lamb growth rates, they can decide which sheep are struggling to cope with a worm burden and which ones are growing at an acceptable rate despite having worms. Sheep with a high FEC and good growth rate are resilient to worms and therefore require fewer treatments. This reduces anthelmintic use and creates a healthier, more efficient flock.
Matt and Pip’s vet, Tim Bebbington of Castle Veterinary Group, gave an overview of the Sustainable Control of Parasites in Sheep (SCOPS) principles. These focus on targeting anthelmintic use to stock who need treatment, rather than blanket dosing all of them. Wormer should be applied at the correct dose for the weight of the animal and following a FEC to determine the type of parasite. This not only saves money on worm treatments but preserves the effectiveness of anthelmintics, so they can continue to treat parasite problems as they arise.
To tie the event together, entomologist Sally-Ann Spence of the Oxford Natural History Museum gave a fascinating talk on dung beetles and led a dung beetle hunt. The UK has many dung beetle species, with 50% of them under threat of extinction. Dung beetles play a crucial role in the farm ecosystem by starting the dung decomposition process. The rapid decomposition they trigger can remove habitat for gutworms, helping to reduce parasite burdens. Dung beetles can burrow up to a metre into the ground (where soil depth allows), aerating the soil and improving drainage. By incorporating organic matter into the soil, dung beetles can improve its fertility and trap carbon. Dung beetles will only colonise fresh dung, not farmyard manure or slurry, so it is important to have some stock out all year round if possible.
A Farm Net Zero event held at Erth Barton Demonstration Farm
A large group of farmers met at Erth Barton to see the progress that Farm Net Zero Demonstration Farmer Tim Williams has made since the launch event in October 2021. The main topics of the farm walk were the adaptive multi-paddock grazing system and the pasture cropping arable. This event was made possible with thanks to the National Lottery Community Fund who fund the Farm Net Zero project.
The first stop on the tour was to see the adaptive multi-paddock grazing in action. Tim is grazing 150 dairy beef cattle, moving them three times a day in paddocks of half a hectare, these cattle are currently growing at 1-1.5kg a day from pasture alone. The pasture is a highly diverse herbal ley, allowed to grow long. The frequency of movement and paddock size are responsive to the rate of grass growth, hence the name “adaptive multi-paddock grazing”. Tim’s main aim is to rejuvenate the soil by adding organic matter from trampled plants and cattle dung.
Next, we looked at the pasture cropping trial. Pasture cropping is a system of direct drilling cereals into an existing grass or herbal ley after grazing the ley very tight to reduce competition. The aim is to minimise soil disturbance and to reduce inputs as the perennial understorey will fix nitrogen for the cereal crop. The initial trial at Erth Barton involved drilling a 20-variety population wheat into the diverse herbal ley mix. The idea here is that the variety that can make it to a point of yielding grain is the one most suited to the farm’s environment and is therefore the variety to proceed with. Tim explained that this first trial hadn’t been very successful because the herbal ley grew all through winter and is vigorously competing with the wheat. Another trial is planned where the wheat will be drilled into a mix of lower-growing clovers.
Key takeaways:
Pasture cropping can protect soil carbon and reduce emissions from crop inputs
Adaptive multi-paddock grazing adds organic matter to the soil, making it more resilient
Why is this topic important for farmers?
Tim’s system is centred around building soil health and reducing inputs. By increasing soil organic matter, carbon can be captured from the atmosphere and stored in the soil. Soils rich in organic matter are more resilient to climatic extremes and retain nutrients well, benefitting the growing crop. The direct drilling of cereal into an existing ley protects stored carbon from disturbance and the growing ley can provide nitrogen to the cereal crop. This eliminates the need for fertiliser, with a corresponding reduction in carbon emissions.
A Farm Net Zero event held at Ben Thomas’s monitor farm in Warleggan.
With fertiliser and feed rising in cost, many farmers are looking at how to grow grass and livestock with fewer inputs. A group of farmers gathered at one of the Farm Net Zero (FNZ) Monitor Farms to learn about rotational/mob-grazing from farmer Ben Thomas, and grazing consultant James Daniel of Precision Grazing Ltd. Ben Thomas farms 100 acres of species-rich permanent pasture in Warleggan, with 20 Belted Galloway finishing cattle moved daily in ⅓-acre plots. Winter stocking rate limits livestock numbers but Ben aims to reach 60-80 cattle. The landowner’s main aims are biodiversity, carbon sequestration and sustainable food production, and the rotational grazing system Ben employs allows for this, as well as fitting around Ben’s off-farm work as a farm manager.
James Daniel provided an introduction to rotational grazing, including how to get started. James proposed that the main limiting factor to grassland productivity is infrastructure (fencing and water) and suggested that if farmers are planning to cut their fertiliser use, they would see the benefit of using some of their fertiliser budget on investing in infrastructure. James explained that the main principle of rotational grazing is not to graze recent re-growth; the roots on overgrazed plants will die off, reducing the speed of recovery and making pasture more susceptible to drought. Grazing should be at a speed that maintains vegetative growth, leaving leaf on the plants to maximise photosynthesis and subsequent re-growth.
Key takeaways:
Invest in infrastructure and start by splitting larger fields.
“Wasted” grass can protect soil, regrow faster and potentially extend the grazing season
Focusing on production from grass can reduce emissions from fuel, fertiliser and bought-in feed and improve soil carbon sequestration
Adopting rotational grazing can grow high-quality feed with fewer bought-in inputs. Fertiliser (and fuel to spread it) is a major contributor to a farm’s carbon footprint. If enough grass can be produced with less of these inputs then the farm will be closer to achieving Net Zero, as well as saving money. James referenced an Agri-Tech Cornwall funded study at Rothamsted Research North Wyke that found that rotational grazing increased the rate of soil organic matter (SOM) accumulation. If this is translated into soil carbon, then rotational grazing can help to capture carbon to offset the farm’s emissions. The same study also suggested that rotationally grazed plots had a lower weed burden, higher rates of available phosphorus and potassium and produced a higher liveweight gain per hectare than set-stocking. This suggests that rotational grazing can improve profitability by increasing production per unit of land and by keeping the soil and pasture in good condition.
Preliminary results from the Agri-Tech Cornwall funded Cell Grazing research at Rothamsted Research North Wyke are available in a webinar here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hvu5Oj6ieYU
What next?
Ben’s fields will be soil sampled and his farming operation carbon footprinted until the Farm Net Zero project ends in 2025. This monitoring will provide valuable information on the impact of rotational grazing both on soil carbon and the overall carbon footprint of the farm.
A Farm Net Zero event held in July 2022 at Campbell Hill.
Conservation grazing is a valuable tool for improving biodiversity in a variety of habitats. Farm Net Zero Monitor Farmer, Campbell Hill, has about 70 acres of clifftop grazing land on the edge of Looe as part of his tenancy. Here, he grazes Highland, Galloway and Whitebred Shorthorn suckler cattle. Calves produced from this enterprise are achieving a daily liveweight gain of 0.65-0.7kg/day and are then finished on the better grazing and silage of the main holding. A group of farmers and environmental advisors joined Campbell to discuss the options for effective management of the site. This event was made possible with thanks to the National Lottery Community Fund who fund the Farm Net Zero project.
Gerald Babcock, a farmer from West Penwith whose Whitebred Shorthorn cattle conservation graze 1500 acres for Cornwall Wildlife Trust and the National Trust, gave an insight into how his business works by making use of environmental payments. There are several conservation grazing options within Countryside Stewardship that Gerald makes use of, the main two are the Lowland Heath Management (£335/hectare) and Pedigree Native Breeds at Risk (£142/hectare) payments.
Mike Ingram from the Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group explained that the way cattle graze produces a mosaic of habitats that supports flowering plants and provides refuge for insect life which in turn feeds birds and the wider food-web. Grazing also prevents the total encroachment of bracken, gorse and other scrub species; although these have a significant biodiversity value, a variety of habitats is best for a greater range of wildlife.
Key takeaways:
Native suckler cattle on conservation grazing can produce a valuable calf cost-effectively
Grazing is a useful tool for producing a variety of habitats, boosting biodiversity.
With changes to agricultural subsidy including a shift towards more environmental payments, there is the potential for conservation grazing to become a useful part of farm businesses. By providing farmers with a viable business option, conservation grazing protects important habitats which benefit wildlife but can also act as a carbon sink in plant biomass and soil carbon storage.
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