Wildfire of 76

[openspaceman]

4 hours ago, ABtrees said:

 

 

Interesting thread.

Cattle are the answer - Galloways and their cousins Belted Galloways are particularly effective - apparently.

 

 

Farmers trial use of livestock to control bracken without chemicals

WWW.FARMINGUK.COM

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Farmers are trialling the use of livestock to control bracken without chemicals, with an ultimate aim to save costs while restoring habitats.

 

Cattle and Bracken contd. – Bog Myrtle & Peat

GALLOWAYFARM.BLOG

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Having recently written about cattle and bracken control, a brief follow-up is warranted after a walk across the hill last week. In one area where the cows often linger, bracken has been badly...

 

I know that they have used them to very good effect on the Malvern Hills

Galloways have been used on all of Surrey Wildlife trusts sites for about 20 years and there are about half a dozen on the site in question. They don't seem to have much effect on bracken. 

 

The are using the gps neck collars on their Chobham common reserve which is much bigger.

[ABtrees]

1 hour ago, openspaceman said:

Galloways have been used on all of Surrey Wildlife trusts sites for about 20 years and there are about half a dozen on the site in question. They don't seem to have much effect on bracken. 

 

The are using the gps neck collars on their Chobham common reserve which is much bigger.

 

To be fair the one in the photo on the Farming UK article looks a bit overwhelmed as well !

They do make the point though it is a long term solution which relies on numbers trampling the bracken as much as eating it .

[openspaceman]

19 minutes ago, ABtrees said:

 

To be fair the one in the photo on the Farming UK article looks a bit overwhelmed as well !

They do make the point though it is a long term solution which relies on numbers trampling the bracken as much as eating it .

yes there's a dilemma in that during the nesting season if you have enough cattle to trample the bracken you increase the chances of trampling eggs I suppose. The nesting season is the only opportunity to cut and collect the bracken.