Now, across the country, farmers and landowners are exploring new ways of producing food, allying with natural processes to reverse a catastrophic decline in wildlife and even challenges to human health. The biggest input for many farmers now is forethought: Nature is complex and diverse and so, increasingly, are the farms that work with her.
Regenerative farming aims to restore soil fertility and structure, where agriculture could be said to begin. The idea of integrating livestock and crops is so basic—animal dung feeds the soil, which grows the crop— that non-farmers may puzzle over why plant and animal production were ever separated. Why would anyone raise animals away from the areas where their feed is produced or grow crops far away from manure?
Mob grazing, or intensive rotational grazing, was developed after Allan Savory, a Zimbabwean stock farmer, observed how herd animals in the wild graze and then move on. Hard-bitten, the grasses spring back—absorbing carbon from the air, shedding roots to feed the micro-organisms that create soil, and putting on fresh growth, fed by the dense application of manure.
Denne historien er fra May 20, 2020-utgaven av Country Life UK.
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Denne historien er fra May 20, 2020-utgaven av Country Life UK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Kitchen garden cook - Apples
'Sweet and crisp, apples are the epitome of autumn flavour'
The original Mr Rochester
Three classic houses in North Yorkshire have come to the market; the owner of one inspired Charlotte Brontë to write Jane Eyre
Get it write
Desks, once akin to instruments of torture for scribes, have become cherished repositories of memories and secrets. Matthew Dennison charts their evolution
'Sloes hath ben my food'
A possible paint for the Picts and a definite culprit in tea fraud, the cheek-suckingly sour sloe's spiritual home is indisputably in gin, says John Wright
Souvenirs of greatness
FOR many years, some large boxes have been stored and forgotten in the dark recesses of the garage. Unpacked last week, the contents turned out to be pots: some, perhaps, nearing a century old—dense terracotta, of interesting provenance.
Plants for plants' sake
The garden at Hergest Croft, Herefordshire The home of Edward Banks The Banks family is synonymous with an extraordinary collection of trees and shrubs, many of which are presents from distinguished friends, garnered over two centuries. Be prepared to be amazed, says Charles Quest-Ritson
Capturing the castle
Seventy years after Christian Dior’s last fashion show in Scotland, the brand returned under creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri for a celebratory event honouring local craftsmanship, the beauty of the land and the Auld Alliance, explains Kim Parker
Nature's own cathedral
Our tallest native tree 'most lovely of all', the stately beech creates a shaded environment that few plants can survive. John Lewis-Stempel ventures into the enchanted woods
All that money could buy
A new book explores the lost riches of London's grand houses. Its author, Steven Brindle, looks at the residences of plutocrats built by the nouveaux riches of the late-Victorian and Edwardian ages
In with the old
Diamonds are meant to sparkle in candlelight, but many now gather dust in jewellery boxes. To wear them today, we may need to reimagine them, as Hetty Lintell discovers with her grandmother's jewellery
