Partners in conservation

We Volunteer Officers had a day with Daisy and Tom (that always makes me think of Doisy and Dam chocolate - their catchphrase is 'Not all superheroes wear capes' - which suits Daisy and Tom) to learn about "conservation grazing".

I knew something of this from the habitat management things I was writing while in Qatar.

There is something quintessentially English about a wildflower meadow, brilliant with colour and buzzing with insects. Such meadows have become less common and less species-rich over the past fifty years.

We want to recreate and protect meadows of this kind and in order to do so we need to understand what the flowers and plants need to flourish.

It seems a very simple list: nutrient poor soil and an expanse of ground free from shrubs and trees. Basically, a traditional hay meadow or pasture, which isn’t fertilised and which has much of the nutrients removed annually, either by the hay being cut and removed or by grazing in late summer, after the flowers have seeded. Both hay cuts and the browsing activities of cattle, sheep or horses help to keep scrub at bay, while creating a ‘tussocky’ structure, which is good for insects.

If we did not manage the pasture, the vegetation would die down at the end of the season and its nutrients would enrich the soil, which would encourage dominant species, like nettles, to take over. Scrub would move in from the hedges and spread into the field. The habitat would no longer be suitable for wildflowers and the many species that feed upon them.

Wherever possible, we use traditional breeds, such as Highland cattle, to graze the meadows. These hardier breeds feed on a larger variety of plants than commercial breeds, helping to keep the scrubby growth in check.

There is also a conservation reason for breeding sheep and cows.

The cattle and sheep are our partners in conservation. These herbivores play an essential role in managing the habitat and, perhaps surprisingly, their beneficial impact increases through procreation.

Here’s how.

Over winter, when there is less vegetation, only the cows and ewes are grazing, so there is not too much pressure on the pastures. But, as the vegetation starts to grow, lambs and calves are born. Lactating animals require more energy and nutrients: they eat more and return less nutrients to the soil in their dung. This is important as the wildflowers and other plant species that favour this kind of habitat prefer nutrient poor soil.

Our flocks and herds are comprised mainly of hardy native species. These animals maintain their condition on this type of pasture and they are also capable of calving or lambing in the pasture. Our breeding helps to conserve these rare breeds.

All this makes sense. What's more, Doisy and Dam... I mean Daisy and Tom... are incredible. So knowledgeable about the issues and the animals. They care for them deeply, know many as individual, and have that wonderful calm manner around animals that is... a gift not a talent.

Here's Tom talking about how border collies want to bring the sheep to the human. Listen to his voice. This is a man at one with what he is doing.

And these animals live in groups, get species appropriate food and activity, are handled as little as possible to minimise stress and live longer than many domesticated sheep and cows.

Check out how the cows come even when I call them!

They are Highland cattle.

But, I am vegan and these animals, when they are not hardy enough to live out or if there are excess numbers, are slaughtered and eaten. Their meat may not have the negative environmental consequences of much animal-flesh, indeed, they are environmentally positive! And they have infinitely better lives than many of their kind.

I prefer the idea of grazing to mechanised management. And why cut hay if there are no animals to eat it? I mean, without the animals, would land get managed? Who could afford to cut meadows just to remove nutrients??? Wild animals? I suppose. But not without predators and the ability to move freely (what about roads??)

The problems seem intractable. So, while there are sheep and cows, I hope they have people to care for them as incredible as my two heroes without cloaks.

By the way, the White Sheep. She is now known as Leila and Tom will send me her tag number. She is mine. I am going to donate to the Trust in lieu of her keep. She is a Wiltshire and seems to me to be very brave and very clever.