Certified Spotlight: New Holland Farm, Orkney
What’s it like farming on an island? Are there any advantages or challenges that stand out?
We consider ourselves very fortunate to be farming on Orkney. It is a beautiful place to live, with a strong community spirit. There is the advantage of good neighbours and a community which understands and supports farmers. The challenge has to be distance from markets and no longer having a local abattoir.
The sea salt and wind are part of daily life, how do they affect what you do?
The salt spray adds nutrients to the grass, but can also stunt its growth in winter. There are few trees on Orkney and its the salty winds that slow their growth also. The lack of trees and hedges means there is little shelter for animals in the winter. We out-winter the sheep but all the cattle come inside from October/November until the beginning of May. On the other hand, the high average wind speeds encourage diversification into farm sized wind turbines and there are many farms, including ours, which make use of this resource. The rich soil provides rapid and abundant grass growth in the summer, making our islands famous for their quality cattle.
Tell us about the unique wildlife on the island, what kind of wildlife do you see most, and how do you help support it?
Orkney has no foxes, badgers or moles but has its own unique Orkney Vole instead. These live along the roadsides and field edges. Making up for the lack of mammals we have lots of birdlife, both resident and migratory. On our farm we see Hen Harriers, curlews, lapwings oyster catchers, golden plover, redshank and skylarks. Where foxes might be a problem at lambing in other parts of the UK, we have Arctic Skuas (locally called Bonxies), ravens, and Black backed gulls. We also have a large population of Greylag Geese, which since we moved to Orkney have vastly increased in numbers and many now are resident all year. These can cause great grass damage in wet weather, and eat huge amounts of grass. For those farmers who grow barley the geese are a particular nuisance. There is also a scheme now to eradicate stoats, which are not native to Orkney, to protect the ground nesting birds.
We farm in such a way as to encourage the birdlife. We have large areas which are cut for silage late so that all chicks have hatched. We cut the silage in a bird friendly manner, to allow any hares, or birds to escape the mowers and leave a wide field margin. Throughout the farm are pockets of natural vegetation such as iris, meadowsweet, rushes and tall grasses creating cover for the birds. We also have about 100Ha of heathland in the centre of the farm. Many of the birds nest there.
How do pasture fed methods such as mob grazing work in Orkney’s weather? Have you had to tailor your way of doing things?
Mob grazing works very well in Orkney. It has allowed us to keep our livestock numbers up, whilst cutting costs. We are organic also, so have used no artificial fertilisers for over 25 years. Being on an island, freight can be expensive. Using mob grazing and pasture fed techniques we do not need to buy in bulky feedstuffs or fertilisers. We do soil sample and analyse the soil for calcium:magnesium ratio. We then use local shell sand high in calcium carbonate and perhaps small amounts of dolamitic limestone, higher in magnesium, to balance these to 65% calcium and 15% magnesium on the cation exchange capacity system. This balance improves soil structure reducing water logging and compaction. In wetter weather the animals may be moved more frequently, and in the height of the growing season, perhaps slightly less frequently. Being tuned in to the capability of the land, and flexible to adapt is key to successful mob grazing. We do not out-winter cattle as our peaty soils can be fragile and susceptible to poaching. Damaging the soil in late autumn would make for an unacceptably late start in the spring. As in everything in life, it is a balance.
Do the conditions on Orkney influence the taste or quality of your beef and lamb?
The salt spray adds a wide variety of trace elements to the grass. Orkney wins prizes for it’s ice cream, cheese etc. and I am sure the flavour is enhanced by Orkney’s salt sprayed pastures.
Are there any ways your remote location helps make a stronger local food culture or sell to your local customers?
The beautiful location, and remoteness make a good story, however our lack of abattoir makes any direct marketing, meat boxes etc. uneconomical.
What would you say to other farmers considering moving to pasture fed methods, especially those farming in more unusual or challenging locations?
Our low input methods are particularly suited to our island location. Care in choosing livestock which suit the location and system is crucial. The mob grazing system, leaving a long rest period has improved our grass production in nutritional quality, quantity and biodiversity, without the expense and risk of a total reseed. Sometimes we may stitch in herbs into the permanent pasture but this is not essential. Time, managed grazing and livestock will do the work. The animals are healthier, and the farm is more economically viable.
