What we feed animals matters because it has profound consequences for them, us and the planet. And it’s not just what they eat, but how. To understand why, we need to consider how natural systems function, how the wild ancestors of our modern domesticated animals roamed, what they ate and why the fittest survived.
Over millennia, highly complex, interdependent ecosystems evolved with intricate food webs connecting all living things. The ecosystem in which ruminants — from which we bred modern cows and sheep — evolved was complex. Plants developed a vital dual symbiotic relationship with the microbiome of the soil as well as the ruminants that grazed them.
The basis of life for all food webs, both above and below ground, is sunlight and carbon. Everything living or once-living is made of carbon, and all that carbon was once carbon dioxide in the atmosphere converted via photosynthesis into the carbon-based molecules of life. Each carbon bond is a small unit of energy captured from the sun’s rays.
PHOTOSYNTHESIS: CAPTURING THE ENERGY OF SUNLIGHT
When we look at the equation for photosynthesis, we see plants use sunlight energy to transform carbon dioxide and water into glucose and oxygen: 6CO2 + 6H2O + sunlight -> C6H12O6 + 6O2
That precious glucose molecule, and the energy it holds in its carbon bonds, flows through the sap of the plant as liquid carbon. The plant uses this carbon currency to feed symbiotic soil microbes by exuding glucose through its roots, which are called root exudates. In return for being fed, the soil microbial lifecycle provides the plant with the mineral micronutrients it needs to grow via the Poop Loop (Country Smallholding, April 2019, ‘The world beneath our wellingtons’).
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der June 2020-Ausgabe von Country Smallholding.
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Diese Geschichte stammt aus der June 2020-Ausgabe von Country Smallholding.
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The Secret World Of The Honey Bee
Who knew that honey bees are the best builders? Nicola Bradbear from Bees for Development reveals how they build their parallel wax combs with extraordinary accuracy
Tip the light fantastic
The latest offering from Ifor Williams Trailers is the Single Axle Tipper, which is simply perfect for small-scale farmers
The legacy of The Good Life
The Good Life captured the public’s imagination when it first aired in 1975. On Country Smallholding’s 45th birthday, Jeremy Hobson looks at this and other programmes with a self-sufficiency slant that have captivated urban and rural dwellers alike over nearly half a century
‘The hens took shelter under the pig trailer in the paddock'
A tree Armageddon frightens poultry diarist Julian Hammer’s flock and leaves him with a mammoth clear-up job
Tools of the trade
In the second part of his mini-series on tools that are useful around the holding, Kevin Alviti takes an in-depth look at the iconic scythe, a thistle paddle and forks that were once virtually indispensable to small-scale farmers
The nightclub bouncer of the sheep world
Adam Henson waxes lyrical about the Texel, which boasts such a stocky body that it resembles a box of muscle on four legs
Buying on a tight budget
As demand for smallholdings increases and prices continue to rise, is there a way to achieve your dream without forking out a fortune? In the first part of a new mini-series, Liz Shankland explores the possibilities
Crazy for crafts
In an ordinary back garden and single paddock near Kidderminster, Kay Dalloway has created both a thriving smallholding and a successful fibre business — all while working full time for the NHS. Helen Babbs drops by to find out about her ventures
Game on
A little preparation in the autumn months will help to make the transition into winter smoother and put your garden and tools on a better footing come the spring, says Stephanie Bateman
1975 And All That
Country Smallholding is 45 this month. To celebrate, Jeremy Hobson takes a look at some of the changes — both good and bad — to small-scale farming over that near half-century