Bounty harvested from the fells
On a Cumbrian farm, abundant sources of bracken and fleece are transformed to bring health to plants and landscape alike
THE VALLEY OF Heltondale carves its way through the Cumbrian Fells high above Ullswater, England’s second largest lake. At the end of the valley, Dalefoot Farm nestles among drystone walls, sheltered by occasional weather-beaten trees, while up on the fells, the stark landscape is exposed and invigorating. The spectacular panoramic views attract hillwalkers all year round, yet in the depths of winter it can be a quiet place. The haunting cries of curlew and lapwing echo across the landscape in spring and summer, but most of these birds have long since made their way to the coast for the winter. Now, when the wind is not howling across the fells, there is little to be heard except the bleating of the sheep. January is traditionally a quiet time for upland sheep farmers, providing a respite before lambing starts in spring. For Simon Bland and Jane Barker at Dalefoot Farm, however, the seasonal rhythm has changed. Like most farmers, they have had to diversify and find new ways to supplement their income. From cheese-making to hosting music festivals, farmers are finding creative ways to maintain their livelihoods. During winter’s shortest days it may be quiet up on the fells, but down at Dalefoot, the lights are on and the rattle of machinery can be heard from the farm sheds. Inspired by an old gardening book, Simon and Jane have built a successful business using local raw materials. “January used to be our quiet time,” says Jane, “but now we’re making compost all year round.” Their need to diversify became pressing back in the 1980s when, having met Simon during a year’s sabbatical, Jane decided to leave her position as a lecturer in environmental science at Bradford University and stay with him on the farm. The commute to Bradford was arduous, but to leave a well-paid post was a gamble, especially at a time when incomes from sheep farming were plummeting. It was Lawrence D Hills, the founder of the Henry Doubleday Research Association, now Garden Organic, who provided the spark of an idea which led to the solution. “In one of his books, he says there’s a fortune to be made by someone who would go and gather bracken and bag it,” recalls Jane. Hills demonstrated the high nutrient levels in bracken and suggested that it could be harvested in a sustainable way to supply the horticulture industry. It was a raw material in plentiful supply on the fells. As a scientist, Jane was convinced, but she had to persuade Simon that it would be possible, not only to harvest bracken using the machinery they already had, but then to turn it into good quality compost. With a growing awareness of the damage
being done by peat extraction, the manufacture of peat-free compost could offer both a commercial and an environmentally sustainable solution.
Cutting hurdles
In the early days, Simon remembers how they went up on the fells with old-fashioned mowing machines with a cutter bar to harvest the bracken, but the rocky ground proved to be quite a challenge. Having amassed “the biggest collection of broken cutter bars in the county”, Simon bought a trail mower, which tended to bounce up over rocks and lasted much longer. Nowadays, the tractor cabs are fitted with GPS so the driver can mark the location of rocks and avoid them, making bracken cutting a much less hazardous task. Simon is the fifth generation of his family to farm on the fells, and using bracken was not altogether a new idea. “My Dad used to harvest bracken for animal bedding, so in that respect, it’s a very similar idea,” he explains. “It’s just the end use of the material that’s different.” Bracken bedding would be enriched with sheep manure during the winter and was then taken out and spread on the fields, fertilising them with nitrogen from the manure and potassium from the bracken, two of the main nutrients required for healthy plant growth. Harvesting the raw material was one thing, but turning it into a good product and developing a successful business was another. “Neither of us had product development, sales nor marketing skills,” says Jane. With the bracken-based compost, named Lakeland Gold, in production, the couple began selling at nearby Orton Farmers’ Market. The main drawback with the year-round event was that sales fell away in winter. “It was difficult telling people that compost would be a good idea for a Christmas present,” says Simon. The next step involved him setting off with his caravan to attend flower shows up and down the country. Building on the success of these, a mail order service was set up, and within three or four years, they had begun employing staff. A feature in the national press set the phones ringing, and from that point, the business really began to thrive.
Gathering the harvest
Jane acknowledges that bracken gets a bad press. “It’s increasing at two per cent per annum, so it’s very invasive,” she says. “It provides the environment for ticks to survive, so there are issues with it.” It would be a mistake to assume bracken is cut in order to eradicate it, however. By managing it as a sustainable crop, they are reaping the benefits of its nutrient content while preventing its uncontrollable spread. Bracken is harvested when it begins to darken in colour and has its greatest food value. It can be 6ft (2m) tall at this point so the cutting also provides a service for other farmers. Gathering sheep among such tall plants is not easy. The first cut is not made until July, to avoid disturbing ground-nesting birds. To further protect wildlife, the cutting height of the machines is set to 6-9in (15 -23cm) above the ground. Continued harvesting of bracken also allows the grass to improve, increasing grazing capacity and providing better conditions for butterflies and other insects. “It’s a safer method of bracken control because you retain the integrity
of the understorey,” explains Jane. “Bracken control using chemicals can prove so catastrophic that it can result in landslip and mass erosion.” As beds weaken, they are allowed more time to grow and are cut later in the year. When the bracken becomes too thin to be worth cutting, it is left for a year to recover. In this way, it is managed on a rotation, just like any other crop. Bracken is harvested like hay, using the same farm machinery. After cutting, it is left to wilt and go brown on the ground, then raked into rows, called windrows, to allow it to dry. A strip of six rows are then raked up into one big row before the baler follows on, and the bracken is formed into bales, which can then be stored until they are needed.
A new use
With Lakeland Gold compost up and running, Jane and Simon once again drew inspiration from Hills’ writings to find a solution to a major problem facing sheep farmers. At a time when fleeces had such little value that some farmers resorted to burning them, Hills’ comments on the fertilising qualities of sheep wool inspired them to begin making a new type of compost based on yet another locally available and undervalued raw material. While bracken is good for improving drainage, and is especially useful for breaking down clay soil, wool provides water-retaining properties and a source of slowly released nitrogen. Much of the wool that goes into the compost comes from their own flock, which now comprises approximately 400 sheep, mainly Cheviot x Texel crosses and Whitefaced Woodlands. Traditionally, there would have been Westmorland White Faces in the valley, but as these are now extinct, Jane brought in the Whitefaced Woodlands, a Derbyshire breed which are “virtually the same sheep”. Their interest in rare breeds extends further to their registered herds of Fell ponies and Dales
“Earth knows no desolation. She smells regeneration in the moist breath of decay” George Meredith
ponies, whose manure is also used in the composting process to ensure the right mix of nutrients. In addition to their own fleeces, Simon and Jane have permission from the Wool Board to buy them directly from other Lake District hill farmers. The use of organophosphates in sheep dip, and the harm they cause to public health, has become an extremely contentious issue. Simon will only use undipped wool in the compost. “By going direct to the farmers, we can guarantee it’s not dipped,” he explains. By paying a premium for Herdwick and Swaledale fleeces, they are also helping other farmers. During the composting process, the compost is turned every day, to allow air in and to control the temperature. Legal requirements dictate how hot the compost must be in order to kill any pathogens. As bacteria work to break down raw materials during the main composting period, the temperature rises to approximately 75°C. When the hottest part of the
composting process is past, a screening machine removes stones and any uncomposted material, and the compost is maintained at a lower temperature, or ‘cured’, until it becomes stable. Batch analysis is regularly carried out to test for nutrients, pathogens, pH levels and electrical conductivity, the latter indicating whether or not the compost’s salt levels are right for healthy plant growth. From the early days at the farmers’ market, Simon and Jane have always been keen to ask their customers for feedback. Having created a product that was “almost there”, they needed to fine-tune the raw ingredients. “We send out a lot of samples to people because we need them to feel it and use it,” says Jane. Members of groups such as the National Vegetable Society are referred to by Simon as their ambassadors, testing the composts and reporting back. Rather than making a general multi-purpose compost, Simon and Jane produce different grades to suit different uses. There are now composts blended to suit vegetables, bulbs and alpines. Bales of bracken taken from areas with acid base rock are used to make a naturally ericaceous compost for lime-hating plants. Now the range of composts are being used by some of the biggest gardens and top nurseries. One of these is W H Hyde & Son, specialist lily grower and consistent Chelsea Flower Show gold medal winner. For Simon, this is validation enough. “If I can have a nursery growing plants to gold medal standard at Chelsea, then the growing medium is okay.”