Event
Herbal Ley Establishment & Management
About the event
Interested in how herbal leys feature in SFI options? Explore the many benefits to forage, livestock health, soil fertility and resilience of introducing low-input herbal leys into your rotations. This one day course, brought to you by the FarmED team and Cotswold Seeds, will give you the confidence to introduce and manage herbal leys in your own system.
This course is designed for arable and livestock farmers and growers who are interested in working with herbal leys but want to learn more about how to start integrating these seed mixtures into their current operations.
What are herbal leys?
Newman Turner, one of the great advocates of herbal leys, described these mixes as his ‘fertiliser merchant, food manufacturer and vet all in one’.
With increasingly volatile weather patterns and growing demand to reduce chemical inputs to farmland, there’s never been a better time to consider establishing herbal leys in your operation.
Herbal leys can be incorporated into arable, livestock or horticultural operations. These complex seed mixtures of grasses, legumes and herbs can include a mixture of up to 17 species and the benefits are as diverse as the species they contain, from building soil fertility and improving water resilience to fostering better animal health and boosting biodiversity.
What the workshop covers
This workshop will provide an opportunity to:
- Observe a herbal ley system in action in our eight-year arable rotation.
- Learn about the costs involved and other management considerations when transitioning to herbal leys.
- Have your questions answered about establishing and managing herbal leys by experts and practitioners.
- Learn about the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) options.
By the end of the course, you can expect to be able to:
- Appreciate the benefits of herbal leys in terms of soil, environment and animal health, resource conservation, and biodiversity enhancement.
- Be able to plan a herbal ley system that is appropriate for your farming operation.
- Be able to manage a herbal ley system, from establishment to grazing and termination
Attendee will also be joined by James Turner, who will speak about his experience with herbal leys. James is a Farm Manager on an Estate in South Shropshire with 400 Angus cattle and 1000 acres of crops. Prior to this he was a farm business consultant in Shropshire and Cheshire. James has focussed on regenerative farming techniques and has incorporated herbal leys into the farming system for mowing and grazing since 2017.
Tickets include refreshments and a seasonal lunch from the FarmED Kitchen.
9 BASIS and EAR CPD points are available to claim for attending this course.
