Nesbitt Farms - a natural business

Seasonal Notes

18 August, 2011

OELS – Organic Entry Level Stewardship

This is a government run scheme that aims to deliver simple yet effective environmental land management. At North Standen we have 6 metre ‘buffer strips’ around every field which have a wide range of potential benefits such as creating new habitat for small mammals, invertebrates and birds, protecting habitats from cultivation and mechanical operations and protecting water courses.
However careful management of the crop margins are required to stop invasive weeds moving in such as creeping/spear thistle, wild oats and docks.

Wildlife

The estate has a wide range of wildlife habitats. Top of the food chain predators such as foxes, badgers and birds of prey live here proving a very healthy diversity of small mammals and invertebrates on which these feed. Buzzards, Kestrels and Sparrow Hawks nest regularly, as do various species of owls. Barn owl boxes are put in the straw barns, with great success. This young barn owl fell from the box and was quickly returned. A new design of box will be used next year with the entrance hole higher up so that the owls only come out when strong enough to fly.

With the ethos of wildlife encouragement comes many regular problems – especially to the arable side. Newly planted crops are eaten by numerous animals including deer, rabbits, hares and birds such as pigeons, pheasants and even geese! This year we have encountered a new, until now unknown problem – hungry rooks! This year’s very dry spring created a thinner than normal area of spring barley planted on chalk, allowing the rooks to land in amongst the crop and attack the milky succulent barley seeds. We had heard of this happening on other farms especially next to footpaths. The rooks then flock into the ‘patch’ and knock the crop down, eating as they go, moving outward into the thicker crop. This will stop once the grain becomes too hard, but a lot of damage can be done by then.
Rooks can be useful during cultivation and plantings when they eat wireworms, leather jackets,larvae and other seed damaging insects and invertebrates, but at this time of year they are not welcome.

Fertility Building

The organic system of farming relies on rotational cropping to maintain fertility and soil structure, whilst keeping to a minimum any disease or pest risks. We grow a variety of fertility building, soil structure enhancing, humus improving mixes both short and long term. For example-

Vetch/Crimson/Red Clover/Ryegrass – 1 year break crop.

High forage volume for livestock plus producing large amounts of natural nitrogen when ploughed in for the following crop plus good weed control.

Chicory/Red Clover/Cocksfoot – 2 year break crop.

Deep tap rooting plants for soil structure, whilst adding more organic matter to the soil than ryegrass based mixes and the Red Clover adding natural Nitrogen. Also combining to give very good weed control (thick dense sward – smothering effect).

Red Clover/White Clover/traditional grass/herb mix, a grazing ley – 2 to 3 years.

The aim is to grow traditional grass leys with prostrate rather that erect growth and with a wide range of heading dates. Thus the leys may not be as productive yield wise as newer ryegrass types but once established they have a longer growing season and grow more readily in the organic system. Herbs are planted to give valuable minerals to the stock that graze it or eat the silage made from it, with the clovers adding natural nitrogen for plant growth.