Sustainable Food Trust

SEPTEMBER 27, 2023

Hundreds of acres of Bristol farmland, with its meadows and hedges and resident wildlife, was swept away by the concrete sprawl and the ambitions of its new owners. The constant threat of loss This year, for the first time in probably hundreds of years, hay has not been made on Yew Tree Farm’s 13 acres of meadow.

Farming 145

Farming Farming Meadow Acre 145

Modern Farmer

FEBRUARY 20, 2024

Perennial wheat, marketed as Kernza, doesn’t have enough gluten to make bread or pasta; robot-milking systems don’t allow for pasture feeding, requiring cows to remain in barns year-round for the system to be profitable. A closer look, though, shows that most of these techno fixes have serious downsides.

Food 143

Food Pasture Livestock Poultry 143

Sustainable Food Trust

AUGUST 6, 2024

We have indeed lost the meaning and importance of food in an increasingly homogenised landscape of ultra-processed products, and this is something we should be deeply concerned about. Unfortunately, most hedgerows are now flailed in the autumn, a brutal process that is likely to leave them “degraded habitat” according to the charity, Buglife.

Food 98

Food Farming Farming Processing 98

Sustainable Food Trust

JUNE 28, 2023

At the same time, productive land as well as field margins and natural areas can be of great value to nature – a traditionally managed hay meadow or unsprayed crop can harbour and support a range of biodiversity and facilitate the movement of species through the landscape. Or is it too little? At what level do we move from good to bad?

Farming 52

Farming Farming Food Cattle 52

Sustainable Food Trust

SEPTEMBER 19, 2024

For example, grazing animals such as cattle and sheep directly improve soil health and estimates suggest that the dung beetles that process their waste reduce cattle producers’ costs by £367 million per year. xviii] For example, Clifton Ings and Rawcliffe Meadows are a crucial part of the City of York’s flood defences.

Food 64

Food Farming Farming Agriculture 64

RR2CS

DECEMBER 8, 2023

It went against what I had previously learned about good pasture management—graze 30%, trample 30% and leave 30%. I had to admit to myself that you get one heck of a long rest period for your pastures when you are moving that slow. Insects, amphibians and birds were making such an amazingly beautiful racket in that meadow.

Meadow 52

Meadow Ruralism Pasture Agriculture 52

UnderstandingAg

NOVEMBER 14, 2024

Its topography of rolling hills, covered with massive eucalyptus trees and beautiful meadows of rye grass, are sure to not disappoint. In fact, in some areas, you could start to see cactus and all sorts of prickly vegetation starting to dominate pastures, just like back home in the desert. No supplements, minerals or hay are given.

Cattle 75

Cattle Pasture Ranching Meadow 75