Regenerative Agriculture - The Benefits of Agroforestry
Stephen Briggs is a soil scientist turned first generation tenant farmer who rents 250 acres from Cambridgeshire County Council.
He and his wife Lynn and their two daughters Hattie and Daisy moved to Whitehall Farm near Peterborough back in 2007, and within a year had converted it to organic.
A year after that Stephen turned half of the farm over to agroforestry, mixing cereal crops with fruit trees and he hasn't looked back.
The soil Stephen farms is a rich Fenland mixture of heavy clay and peat, the latter being especially prone to wind erosion. With a deep understanding of soil formation, classification and mapping (including physical, chemical and biological), Stephen immediately recognised the benefits of argo forestry.
Agroforestry works because it's farming in 3D. The roots penetrate deep into the ground, to cycle nutrients and store carbon, whilst on the surface, the trees provide much needed wind breaks and protection for nature. ‘We wanted to find a method of farming that protected the soil from wind erosion and was productive, whilst also enhancing biodiversity. I think we have found it’ says Stephen.
It took two years at WhiteHall farm to witness the true extent of the soil erosion taking place: ‘I couldn’t accept that slow disappearance of our most precious resource’ says Stephen, who had already experienced the multi-faceted benefits of agro-forestry first-hand whilst working in Africa.
‘I knew I had to do something, so I applied for and won a Nuffield scholarship, that leads positive change in agriculture. I studied agro-forestry around the world, and knew it would work here in Cambridgeshire. My driver’s were principally around soil, nature and habitat, but also a desire to move away from just a couple of crops.’ Farming can be a gamble at the best of times and with increasingly large swings both in wet and and hot and cold weather, having both a perennial and an annual gave the farm the backup it needed.
‘Organic farming’ says Stephen ‘is about creating habitats that are beneficial for inspects to manage pests and disease.’ Choosing the right crops (gluten free status oats, wheat and apples) also meant that the farm could become ‘price makers’ rather than ‘price takers’. ‘Rather than just commodities, we wanted to do something that added value to our production in growing nature at the same time.’
Reading University, Lincoln University and the RSPB have all been monitoring the farm, with good increases in farmland bird numbers (also known as indicator species) including tree sparrows, reed bunting, English Partridge, turtle doves and barn owls.
‘When we first got to the farm there were a couple of empty bird boxes, now we have five barn owl boxes and they all have breeding females in them. The Barn Owl Trust says we shouldn’t have so many in such a small area because they are so territorial. We must be doing something right.’ On a smaller scale, research is also showing increases in bees and beneficial insect numbers, including harvestmen, spiders, hover-flies, pollenating insects and invertebrates etc.
‘A three level study was carried out, looking at our neighbour’s conventional fields, our organic crop land, and our organic agro forestry. It was like going up thee different steps’ says Stephen.
‘By having the agro forestry in place, you’ve got regular refuges, both in the summer and in the winter. These harbour beneficial insects which means we don’t see problems with things like aphids which bring disease. It’s a non issue as far as we are concerned.’
Research coming out of Reading University on the farm's beneficial insects has also seen increases both in abundance, species diversity and spacial diversity. One study found 200% more bees and hover-flies, 250% more bumblebees, and ten times higher species richness. ‘We now do not get these dead zones of insect life in the middle of fields that you might see in more conventional fields’ says Stephen. ‘We also benchmarked the farms for beetles, bugs and birds before we started, and we got really involved with researchers who are saying yes, it’s doing what it says on the tin.’
Below ground teams are also monitoring things like soil bacteria and soil fungi, with the trees promoting much greater presence and diversity. It’s a win win. ‘What we are trying to do is build much more biodiversity into the system in a manageable way. Nature always overcomes problems, it’s far cleverer than we will ever be.’
Stephen goes on to explain that when you look at large monoculture crops like potatoes, carrots or wheat, there are periods of the year when the ground sits bare and is not photosynthesising. Or there are periods of the year when the crops are yellow and nearly ready for harvest (mid July to September). Again, there is no photosynthetic activity happening at a time of year when there is maximum solar radiation. ‘It’s the solar radiation that drives photosynthesis, that drives carbon, that drives feeding the soil. What we are trying to do is make sure that the solar panels are turned on all of the time.’
Trees are planted at 27 meter intervals, with a three metre strip of wild flowers sewn beneath them, leaving a 24 meter working ally between the trees. Romanic sounding varieties like Hertfordshire Russets, Adams Pearmane and Ashmeads Colonel are all harvested in October, and sold in the farm shop. ‘Farming with nature in mind can go hand in hand, and it does go hand in hand’ grins Stephen, as he takes a swig of delicious cloudy apple juice.
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