The winter months see the return of the sheep here on the farm at Rougham Estate. The sheep, a mix of breeding ewes and last year’s lambs, are a vital piece in our aim to farm more regeneratively across the Estate.
In August we direct drilled a cover crop mixture into the previous crop’s stubble on the lighter land at the northern end of the Estate which is going to be planted with Sugar Beet this spring. A diverse mixture was planted, consisting of species such as Fodder Radish, Forage Rape & Vetch and provides an overwinter cover of the soil, protecting these light soils from erosion.
The diversity of species provides not only a feed source for the sheep to graze on over the winter months, but they also all bring valuable benefits to the soil structure and biological activity in soil profile. For example, the Fodder Radish has a deep taproot, growing deep down into the soil aiding in structure and also helping to root through any soil compaction layers and break them up.
The sheep are contained in the field using electric fencing, allowing the shepherd to easily split the field up into blocks and effectively move the flock onto a new piece of the field once they have finished grazing. As can be expected, the sheep manure also adds nutritional value to the soil; returning organic nutrients back to land along with a valuable source of organic matter.
