Regenerative agriculture

Our Soils

Healthy soil is critical to regenerative farming. We aim to farm in a way that regenerates soil health. Restoring soil reduces atmospheric CO2 and dramatically improves water retention which is increasingly important with climate change and drier summers. It also helps with grass growth. Ensuring adequate grass growth to feed the herd is vital to a dairy farm.

The Estate (Sub menu)

Soil improving measures

Straw Bedding

Calves are housed with straw bedding. By adding microbes to this when it is cleared out, we can break down the straw and manure and create a product that enhances soil life by providing vital minerals to plants when it is spread over the soil.

Slurry

This is a big issue for dairy farmers. During winter, cows are housed inside which means that their waste must be disposed of. We store this and spread it on the soil in the spring. In its natural state it isn’t very good for soil health. It is an anaerobic product which means it suffocates soil life. To counteract this, we will make bokashi with this waste. Bokhashi is a fermented compost which adds nutrients to the soil and improves its texture.

Compost

To thrive, soil needs a mix of bacteria and fungi. We are making a fungal rich compost to apply to the fields, as well as looking at vermicompost extract from worms to enhance our soil biology.

Herbal Leys

Our pasture fields are reseeded or under sown with herbal ley (a mixture of grasses, legumes and herbs), which help to improve soil fertility, as well as proving more nutritious feed for livestock. We aim to get the grazing fields to 100% herbal leys within the next 5 years.

Monitoring

We monitor our grass every week throughout the year so we can allocate our grazing and understand how each field is performing. Key to the success of regenerative farming is monitoring the results of applied management techniques. Thanks to funding from the Green Recovery Challenge Fund, we have been able to collect data to create a baseline from which to measure our future success. We will continue to monitor key species and habitats which will allow us to make effectual changes, in direct response to the results.