SOIL
The land on which the holding is based forms the foundation for all the enterprises attempted, and therefore has a direct bearing on their success in terms of sustainable yields and quality grazing etc.
An appropriate understanding of the nature of the soil and its functions is vital for long term crop production. The topsoil must be adequately aerated, with an even supply of water. The first of these factors can be aided by tillage, this opens up the topsoil and promotes speedy decomposition of effective humus (leaves, twigs etc) making its nutrients more readily available for subsequent plant growth and soil stability.
An even supply of water for the plants is often seen as outside the farmers control. If it is to be achieved , it can only realistically occur through increasing the depth of the living topsoil , and so extend the range of plant roots. This can ‘establish a reserve of available moisture throughout drier periods, and as deep roots die they contribute to the biological activity in these lower areas.
It is this biological activity which helps create the humus vital for long term stability and productivity. Careful tillage and deep rooting leys for example, activate the soil and a fast rate of nutrient cycling is achieved, allowing heavy yields to be obtained. However, it is important not to underestimate the necessity for a comparably faster rate of addition of effective humus , in the form of rotting organic matter. This is
required not only to compensate for lost nutrients but also to maximise the biological additions to the longer term store of stabilised humus, which brings the land into much better condition or heart.
Far too often it is assumed that to maintain such a nutrient balance the farmer must add outside inputs to compensate for quantified losses through harvesting, or sale of stock from the land. However, it is important to remember that not all inputs can be taken into the production equation due to the importance of, for example, atmospheric inputs into biological cycling, and the comparative increase in importance of minerals which are required in trace amounts. Also, it seems sensible to make the fullest possible use of on-farm organic materials, as this can bring about not only adjustments to the overall nutrient balance and aid plant food availability, but also is the basis for soil structure and defense against environmental degradation such as nutrient leaching or erosion.
Humus provision
The role of humus in lightening heavy land and also giving bulk and moisture retention to sandy or light soils, is well documented, but it still requires careful planning, to avoid nutrient depletion if returned to the soil either in the wrong form or at the wrong time.
This applies particularly to the use (and misuse) of green manures for example, where knowledge of the microbial activity at the time of incorporation determines its manurial value to its successors within the crop rotation.
Mulching offers a very useful form of organic matter and also has many other benefits. It can inhibit weeds amongst a growing crop, maintain warmth and stop water losses through excess evaporation at a time when water is most valuable to the crops.
The use of ground cover crops to smother weeds, within areas of horticultural production, on paths or between rows, can be very productive if a leguminous mixture is used. When such paths are mown or strimmed during the season their root nitrogen is subsequently released for the use of crop roots, and the clippings can form the mulch between individual plants.
To facilitate efficient composting of all of the farm animal residues it has been suggested that all possible farm produced waste (of organic origin) is suitably shredded and mixed with the manure either as fodder I bedding material, or as part of the suggested four part vegetative material to one part faeces and urea, in order to manufacture compost of a high nutritive value (Howard 1946). This means that unless specific mulching regimes, or green manures such as mustard are being utilised in a productive way then all organic matter is best gathered for compost manufacture, where its value can be fully realised and its application back into the fields organised in the most effective manner.
Nutrient cycling and the principle of rotation
To maintain overall fertility on a holding for both healthy sward development and high yields on the arable or horticultural enterprises, rotations have been long recommended. Whilst these are common within some specifically vegetable growing enterprises, they must also be seen within the context of the larger rotative nature of the holding.
If various crop and animal species rotate within a cultivated area this area itself can move steadily around the farm, allowing the maximum time before returning to the same area. This can significantly diminish the effects of heavy cropping and the related disease attacks. If between cultivation periods deep rooting clover leys are sown for grazing, they can provide much humus and are subjected to a heavy multi-species manurial regime, which itself ensures maximum stock carrying capacities.
Fodder for wintering stock can then be efficiently extracted if it is grown in the rotating arable/vegetable break, as well as some seasonal preservation in the form of hay and straw. In this way all food is produced on farm for the livestock, the manure from which forms a live, microbial activator for the composting of all non-fodder and surplus organic material.
This reciprocal arrangement makes full use of natural biological processes to maintain the health of the land (and its dependants), and provides saleable produce (surplus grown food, meat, dairy products etc) as a by-product of the nutrient cycling. Ensuring the upmost profitability when its market value is realised.