Introducing our MSc Placement Student from University of Reading
We are pleased to welcome our MSc Placement Student from University of Reading, Maxwell Abonyo Gero, to our team through the Pathways Early Career Researcher programme. Maxwell has visited several farms participating in our Pasture and Profit in Protected Landscapes programme for the South Downs and shares his findings below.
“Interacting with farmers in the South Downs National Park area offered lots of insights into regenerative agricultural practices and grassland optimisation in pasture feeding. Visiting Hatchmoor Farm exposed me to new approaches in agriculture such as little use of chemicals, reduced till initiatives, and soil health improvement through conservation agriculture with an aim to boost soil carbon, soil organic matter, water infiltration and nitrogen fixation. The implementation of these activities led to improved biodiversity in the farm with recent sightings of hares, dung beetles in the cow dung and a reduction in input costs. The farm tour demonstrated how mob grazing, paddocks and adaptive grazing are essential in establishing herd impact that helps regenerate the soil via livestock integration. This has been essential in providing a transition to a fully pasture-fed livestock system that provides the best feed to animals efficiently.
The visit to a second farm, where further mob grazing was implemented, was also evidence of these practices and the practice of no-till in spinach production. The demonstration by Aerowox of the mechanism of soil aeration for better/thicker pasture using tractors with aerators provided insights of how speed, topography, direction and frequency is essential for this method to boost soil and pasture health.
The culmination of the visit ended up in Winchester where we met a farmer geared towards opening up doors to her farm to allow knowledge sharing on dung beetles and their importance in the soil carbon infiltration. Overall this trip gave me a light bulb moment of how farmers can come together to learn from each other for the betterment of their farms. This pointed out to the great social and communal integration as a move towards great partnerships.”
