Mark and Jen Lee, Park House Farm, Cumbria 3/3

How do you monitor it?

Originally, we monitored grass growth weekly with a plate meter on each paddock. However as we grew more legumes and clovers in the sward we discovered that the cows would selectively browse what they needed. And so we moved to a time-based rotation rather than one based on grass height. We have had several people on the farm monitoring dung beetle and insect populations, which we were delighted to find were very high. As part of the most recent Down to Earth Conference, which is a one-day event organised by the Royal Association of British Dairy Farmers to interest livestock farmers in regenerative farming, in July we hosted a thousand farmers and made some great contacts both within the Pasture for Life community and the regenerative farming group. Some of these contacts have helped us to identify individuals who will provide us with a biodiversity base line so that we can measure any changes moving forward.

Are there any benefits to the farm that are directly attributable to the Pasture for Life approach and/or would be lost if there were no ruminant animals on the farm? In brief, what are the benefits from having ruminant animals on the farm?

When we considered changing our feeding to 100% pasture-fed we read around the subject and spoke to several other pasture-fed dairy farmers to really try and understand the issues involved. It made sense to feed the cows on what we grew on the farm and also to provide as much diversity so that they could choose what to eat. Adopting this approach has made us think more clearly about what our herd needs for its health. This in turn has made us want to try and graze the cows all year around, which drives our wooded pasture plans. When we engage members of the public at farmers markets the general understanding is that cows should be grazed outside for most of the year and we totally agree.

What lessons have you learnt and would like to share with others?

We are still learning a lot about farming without inputs and still striving to improve. Our first learning point to take away is that the farming world has been structured to sell products to the farmer and in order for us to achieve profitability these inputs need to be reduced. If we had listened to the generic advice out there, and the problems we were told would arise, we would not have changed to become Pasture for Life certified. Do your own research and speak to farmers who are already farming with nature and then make up your own mind. The second main point we learnt is that to change, and to see a benefit, takes several years. Patience is generally something that is in short supply and from the increase in sward diversity to the weaning cows off grain there are lots of bumps on the road. Don’t give up at the first hurdle and keep asking “why not?”. Finally we have learnt to appreciate that nature can be very forgiving and can both recover and flourish once given the freedom to do to. To take away the props of conventional farming requires both faith and patience but in time nature will bring you its own appreciation and reward through increased biodiversity and resilience.

You can learn more about our farm and our products here and here.

Read about the other biodiversity case studies.