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Tag: Compost

The Roots of Our Profit

August 20, 2015October 11, 2018 ~ www.ancaoradubh.ie ~ 2 Comments

Over these last few months, attending various events in the UK and Ireland, I kept hearing references to the Oxford Real Farming Conference, and in particular, a keynote talk given by Dr. Elaine Ingham of Soil Foodweb Inc.

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overGRAZED | overRESTED Hedgerows can be amazing elements of farm ecosystems. Last winter, we laid about 100m of gappy, mis-shapen mixed species along a field boundary. Due to its structure, it wasn’t providing much in the way of livestock shelter, retention nor habitat for local biodiversity. •RESILIENCE• Brilliant day at @schoolofartisanfood exploring options for #valueadded product ranges through smoking and curing. •Paradigms & perspective• In times gone by, Irish culture WAS woodland culture. Examples persist all around us; from the tree-based #ogham alphabet, to the ancient etymological roots of our place names. Restoring this cultural link between people and place is a critical step on the path to broad scale ecological regeneration. Almost two years ago, I had an initial conversation with a landowner who had a broad ambition for a bustling, biodiverse and productive ecosystem in place of a much loved, but over-worked, piece of agricultural land. Pollarding is an ancient management practice where the upper branches of a deciduous tree/shrub are removed, the resulting tree form is of an old, clean stem with a dense head of vigorous younger growth which is then harvested on a cycle according to it’s intended use - typically livestock fodder (tree hay), craft wood or fuel wood.
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