wildflowers to get a foot hold and compete with the existing sward; but hopefully with careful management over the next few years, we will have a far more diverse meadow and one that adds more value to our farm ecosystem. One of the key species in this quite ancient system is yellow rattle. It is a parasitic annual that feeds off the nutrients in the roots of grasses. So, a field full of yellow rattle will not generally have much grass in, because the grass is being held back. Consequently, the wildflowers, herbs, or forbs (to use the north American term), will be able to flourish and if the yellow rattle gets too dominant, an early cut with the mower will slow it down; being an annual, it needs to set seed every year to maintain or increase in number.


One benefit of the huge growth in grass that we have seen since the warmer weather arrived is that we have been able to graze taller grass with the sheep and the cattle. Allowing the sheep to browse graze and eat only the best of the available forage is helping to reduce our use of wormers. Cattle are less susceptible to gastrointestinal worms, but the sheep are quite vulnerable. Using wormers is fine, in principle, but to every action there is a consequence, one being resistance to the drenches so they don’t kill the worms and the other being the adverse effect those products have on the invertebrate life in and on the soil. Dung beetles are one of the most important creatures in our farm ecosystem and if we kill them, our manure takes longer to break down, which can help other less desirable insects flourish. So, by grazing taller covers the sheep are less likely to come into contact with the worm eggs and are looking much better for it. Of course we have the added benefit of saving money by not having to drench our sheep too, win win! We are a long way from eliminating the use of anthelmintic drenches to kill these worms, but every year we use less is heading in the right direction.


Photos by Russell Lewis


One thing I have learned over past few years is to look at the system as a whole, the farm is integral to the environment in which it is located. Concentrating on one thing can lead to problems somewhere else. Some might call it holistic management, some might call it being a good farmer. One thing is for sure, with all the external pressures on agriculture, our focus has to be towards farming with the environment, we just need to bring the British public along with us.


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