How can we achieve more biodiversity in agriculture and what prevents or motivates practitioners to implement appropriate measures? A number of farmers, advisors and scientists investigated this question in a European working group in 2023.
This group has now given rise to a three-year EU-funded project led by the Irish Agricultural and Food Development Authority, Teagasc, which aims to promote the cross-border exchange of knowledge and incentivise greater biodiversity. The "Bio" in the project name FarmBioNet stands for biodiversity, and the project is intended for all farms.
Practical examples to imitate
A core task in the project will be to collect practical examples of biodiversity-friendly farming practices that work well and encourage their uptake. The planned cost-benefit analysis of biodiversity measures is also exciting - how should the measures be evaluated economically, and what can a business expect from them? The project team was convinced that, depending on the measure, the costs could be low and the positive effects high.
The participants were able to see an initial practical example at the kick-off meeting in Dublin in February. An excursion took them to the farm of Kim and Mireille McCall in Calverstown, Ireland, an hour away from Dublin. With great enthusiasm and a typically open Irish manner, Kim McCall took the participants on a tour of his biodiversity hotspots.
Irish farm with structural diversity
The farm is something special in itself, with 84 hectares of rolling landscape boasting a remarkable level of biodiversity in both plants and animals, as well as its own castle ruins. The McCalls keep Aubrac cattle and sheep of the breeds Rouge de l’Oest and Beltex cross, which they use to graze the land.
Trees and woody plants play a major role on the farm, which is not typical for Irish farms. Various plantings of hedges and trees and the promotion of spontaneous natural regeneration ensure an exceptionally high level of structural diversity. This serves both biodiversity and the family's own wood-processing business.
Do nothing and observe
Kim McCall favours natural dynamics. "It's all about observation", he is convinced. One example of this is the unusual-looking open patches of ground on his pastures. They originated from rabbit burrows, explained McCall. The grazing animals continued to work on them by rubbing and scratching.
The result is a wonderful habitat for ground-dwelling insects, added Saorla Kavanagh, FarmBioNet project coordinator and biodiversity researcher at Teagasc. McCall observes this process and does not intervene. "In most cases, doing nothing is better than doing something", he concluded.
Pragmatic approach
McCall's approach to neophytes is equally pragmatic. The array of native species in Ireland is limited, and climate change means that insects are on the move much earlier. This means that they often cannot find food very early in the year. A few early-flowering foreign woody species could help to bridge this period. "So why should they be demonised?" McCall asked the audience.
Winter grazing on rushes
McCall summarised his approach as follows: "It's about experimenting with fences, trees and water". He did this in areas with dominant rushes, for example. As an experiment, he has switched to grazing - which is possible in Ireland's mild climate.
His cattle now only graze the rushes in October, he explained. In spring and summer, the meadows remain completely unused. This allows grasses and herbs to develop well and compete strongly with the rushes. In this way, McCall has been able to reduce the rush population in favour of greater species diversity.
Spreading ideas across borders
Approaches such as those on McCall's farm will be disseminated in the participating countries and across borders with the help of the project's "National Networks". The networks serve the purpose of direct exchange with practitioners in the FarmBioNet project as well. In Switzerland and Germany, the National Networks are being set up under the leadership of Agridea and FiBL Germany.
Knowledge and ideas will flow between the National Networks and the project in both directions. Participants can take part in national and international farm visits, workshops, and idea-sharing opportunities. The National Networks are key in ensuring the project remains practically relevant and considers country-specific conditions. Project results will be presented in clear, accessible formats across various media channels and shared through these networks, among others.
Simona Moosmann, FiBL
Farmers interested in biodiversity wanted for Swiss "National Network"
We are still looking for practitioners for the Swiss national network. Anyone working on a farm with an interest in biodiversity is welcome to join - including those from farms with more intensive production methods who can identify problems in the implementation of biodiversity measures. If you are interested, please contact Corinne Zurbrügg from Agridea (see contact below).
Further information
Contact
- Simona Moosmann (Projectmanager FiBL Switzerland)
- Corinne Zurbrügg (Agridea)
Links
- farmbionet.eu: FarmBioNet project website
- fibl.org: FarmBioNet in the FiBL Projectdatabase
- bioaktuell.ch: Content on the topic of biodiversity (in german)
- agrinatur.ch: Biodiversity platform (agrinatur) (in german)