SAC Consulting, part of Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC), has said that a farmer maintained profitability and improved soil health through mixed farming after introducing sheep to his arable rotation.
Hugh Black, who farms a 400ha site at Backboath, near Forfar, started working with a grazier to introduce sheep into his rotations and SAC Consulting has said he is reaping a “multitude of benefits” from the process.
Black and four other farmers make up the Soil Regenerative Agriculture Group working alongside Farming For A Better Climate (FFBC), with the aim of establishing how best to support, enhance and protect their farm soils.
Black believes that introducing sheep to his arable rotation has given him “a new income”, as he saves on chemical usage and does not need a to spray because the sheep eat everything.
“Since having the sheep, we are able to drive over all the fields without leaving a mark,” he said.
“They compact the ground on a surface level which makes it brilliant for springtime nitrogen applications and this follows though in to harvest too.”
However, the main benefit the sheep have brought to Backboath, Black said, is the drive it has given him and his team to get out for walks and check the farm more often.
“When you have hundreds of sheep grazing your fields, it gets you out and about walking the fence regularly, which is not only a good 2km walk, which we can all benefit from mentally and physically, but it is a great way to notice damaged dykes and burst drains,” he said.
“We have noticed so many things we wouldn’t have seen in the past, it is a great way to give yourself a farm check as well as a health check.”
SAC consultant Zach Reilly, who leads on the work with the Soil Regenerative Agriculture Group, said that Black introducing sheep has been a win-win situation for him.
“He has been able to cut back on chemical fertilisers, improve his soil structure and it has allowed him to sow earlier to take advantage of establishing his crops in better weather, letting the sheep graze crops down before getting them back to a clean healthy status for the spring,” Reilly said.
“Alongside the sheep, he has seen huge benefits from direct drilling and introducing beans to his rotation as a break crop for wheat.”
