A Week on the Estate: First Swallow, Fresh Herbage & Turkeys Galore

At the heart of the regenerative vision is the knowledge that the soil is a complex living system whose health and cohesion must be protected if everything which depends on it – crops, livestock and wild flora and fauna – is to thrive together.

Our herd of original-breed Lincoln Red cattle is the keystone of our regenerative approach. Our young cattle live and graze outdoors all-year round and we’ve refined a rotational paddock system akin to a natural form of mob grazing. Typically, the Reds are given access to a strip of un-grazed pasture between 1/4  and 1/8 of a hectare in area. In a matter of hours, they’ll crop the tall, fresh herbage down to the ground, spread lots of fertilising manure and break up the thatch with their hooves, allowing air and water into the topsoil and mixing the top 6cm. The Reds will graze the same paddock three more times in the following year, after which it will be closed off and left to regenerate for another year.

Within a month or two of a mob-grazing visit, paddocks grow a rich carpet of green grass. Fresh dung brings beetles, and beetles bring and sustain birds. The cattle are a link in our food-chain, benefitting all manner of creatures from microfauna in the soil to red kites and buzzards riding the thermals overhead. Since we adopted this system, the thick sward has done wonders for our biodiversity, attracting bugs, butterflies, moths, small mammals, birds and bats in abundance.

The soil is much improved by this two-year cycle. The standing hay grows deeper roots in its fallow year, improving water retention and preventing water run-off. The roots also build up sugars in the soil, nourishing the bacteria and fungi that will fuel future plant growth and help us avoid petrochemical fertilisers.

Out and about, eagle-eyed Jacqui Rhodes spotted our first swallow (Hirundo rustica). This small but impressive traveller may have just flown in for the summer from South Africa via the Sahara and Mediterranean. Despite weighing in at a mere 20g, swallows notch up around 12,000 miles per year just migrating between northern and southern hemispheres.

Swallow numbers have fluctuated across the UK in the age of intensified agriculture. These aerobatic marvels feed on the wing and need an abundant supply of small, flying insects in a safe, open setting with water and safe roosts. We’ve been working hard towards creating the kind of environment that will attract and sustain swallows and other insect-munching farmland birds like tree sparrows and yellowhammers. Their presence is truly heartening.

Finally, the Incredible Edible South Ormsby Community Garden is hosting a ‘Good to Grow Day’ this weekend. If you’d like to flex your green fingers, help our community grow its own fresh produce and socialise with like-minded folk, join us between 2pm-4pm on Sunday 24^th April. To let us know you’re coming or to ask any questions, drop Nicky a line here: Nicky.Coxon@southormsbyestate.co.uk.

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