Presentation for the ‘Native Is Better’ agro-ecology workshop, Oct 27, 2006

I am both a farmer and an ecologist. I farm with my family in the the South-east Scottish Lowlands

I want to explore why native is better and than to share with you what we do on our farm with British native breeds.

To say that ‘Native is better’ is controversial – What defines Native ?
I believe it is not helpful to think automatically because something is native it is better. It is better to consider the purposes for which animals were and are bred.

Since the beginnings of domestication 11,000 years ago pastoralists and herds people changed breeds to suit their needs.  As peoples migrated across the continents in response to political and climate change - they took their animals with them – and as they migrated they picked up others and cross-bred for selected qualities.  The purpose of breeding was not to produce a ‘native’ breed but to produce animals to suit their purposes.  What were those purposes ?

To breed animals that could survive local environmental conditions (vegetation, soil, water, climate and climatic extremes), as well as providing meat, milk and materials – and also until very recently in this 11,000 year old story to produce animals for spiritual purposes – of beauty to please the Gods.

These were animals ecologically, domestically and spiritually purposeful requiring intimate observation, detailed knowledge, skill and wisdom learned progressively by each generation and passed down and modified by succeeding generations – a story of change and adaptation – a sacred ecological knowledge.

In the last 100 years of this 11,000 year story ie in the last 1/110TH part of this story or if you like – taking the length of my body as a time line (which is 173cms), it equates to only 1.5cms !!

In this very, very short time in much of the world we have industrialised pastoralism and livestock husbandry.  The purpose of breeding has become diminished to a single purpose LIVE WEIGHT GAIN.  We have been witnessing the mass production, monoculturalisation of our ecosystems, of our cultures, OF OUR KNOWLEDGE. 

Mass production and Monoculture require less knowledge and less skill by fewer people.  Our sacred ecological knowledge which has guided the breeding of animals, has become displaced from the landscapes and the communities from where it was derived; a knowledge once shared powerfully by whole communities connected to their landscapes is now diminished and rests disparately with a few laboratory technicians, nutritionists and agronomists.

This presents a very serious problem; our environments are still changing – with global warming now even faster perhaps than in the past, but we are losing the knowledge and skills to adapt to change.

Reliance on native or traditional or heritage species I believe demonstrates a lack of confidence in our ability to use local knowledge….I am not undermining native species …. We need them…. But what we need more is re-acquire knowledge and skills.

But – Terra Madre is a message of hope – having been given the very great privilege of contributing to it – it would be a failure of will on my part not to offer a solution…

With many other farmers and land-managers, we recognise that we must change the way we are using land and animals – we have no option – like our forbears who had no option for survival, neither do we…the solution as a farmer is in the ancient skill of observing and reading change and knowing how to adapt to it.  As consumers or co-producers the solution is not just in buying and consuming the food we produce – it is in engaging directly with us and the ecological resources we use – come onto our farms - see what we do…become a part of what we do…be certain that what you are buying comes from systems which contribute to ecological diversity and environmental sustainability.  As buyers and consumers of our food, you have a right onto our farms – most importantly – please bring your children !

Our farm in the lowlands of Scotland is located in the foot hills of the Southern Scottish Uplands, and subject to very high winds and relatively low rainfall for much of the year.  It is a diverse agro-ecosystem including woodland, wetland, running water, poor acidic pasture, permanent grasslands and also we have ground that we cultivate for cereals and grassland renewal as part of a 4-5 year rotation. We are able to grow all our own animal feed and forage for our livestock.  We are self-sufficient and do not buy in animal feeds from else where. We have recently opted for organic conversion.

Peelham Farm, Foulden, Berwickshire, Scotland

We use British native breeds not primarily because they are native but because they suit our combined purposes for land-management, labour resources and production.

We are preparing our farm business for the reduction in European Union farm subsidies by creating alternative incomes, from both non-food, recreation based diversification activities including equestrian training, game shooting as well as diversifying our food production.  We operate an open farm system encouraging people onto our farm, we are doing more on our farm without increasing our labour.

We need farm animals that are resilient and do not require intensive management and can be productive under an extensive high fibre as opposed to a high carbohydrate / protein system, allowing us to use home grown feeds and to guarantee product integrity and traceability.  This also enables us to maintain profit margins by not having to buy-in expensive manufactured feeds.  We also need animals which have a unique selling point for marketing purposes in our direct selling enterprise. 

We use all British Native British breeds as our core breeding stock.  We supplement their forage based diets during the winter periods on home-grown cereals (barley) and broad beans.  We modify the barley to make it more digestible; we harvest it before it is ripe at what we call ‘the milky-ripe’ stage; we than crush it and mix it with a natural yoghurt bacillus called Lactobacillus buchneri this is all than compressed it into an anerobic environment in which the yoghurt breaks down the cellulose of the barley, while at the same time producing a natural preservative which prevents the development of harmful fungi.

The TAMWORTH pig is the oldest British pig breed.  It originated in Ireland and was known as the ‘Irish’ or ‘Forest Grazier’.  It is a very efficient forager – look at its long snout so similar to the wild boar – it will eat everything in the field from earth worms to the tough roots of perennial weeds which it selects and eats as a priority.  This is a particularly important characteristic as the Tamworths are an important part of our rotation, foraging old grass before we plough and sow cereals.  We supplement their earth worm, grass and root diet on a daily basis with our home grown cereals and beans.  This high forage diet produces a dark high quality and strongly flavoured meat.  I have also observed, but have not yet tested, that their slow-growing, outdoor, free-range existence gives them a marked muscle tone which toughens if it is cooked too quickly.  We produce pure pork products including cured and smoked hams, bacon and salamis

Tamworth Sow from Peelham Farm

The LLEYN sheep breed also originated in central Ireland in Co Roscommon.  It was further developed on the windswept Lleyn Penninsula along the coast of Wales by cross-breeding with the Border Leicester breed, on poor grassland.  It has developed into an ‘easy-care’ breed which thrives on a high forage low Carbohydrate / protein diet. It is a prolific breeder requiring little assistance during lambing.  It also has a high resistance to gut-worms so we do not have to rely on anthelmintic wormers which remain residual in the animals dung and are than detrimental to soil fauna. We produce spring lamb meat and mutton which is growing in popularity

Llen Ewe from Peelham Farm

LUING Cattle are a Scottish native breed and were recently developed on the western Scottish Isle of Luing from the cross breeding of two ancient native breeds; the Highland cow with the Shorthorn.  They were recognised as a breed by an Act of Parliament passed by the British Government in 1966.  They are extremely hardy and calve easily, again surviving well on a high forage, low protein / carbohydrate diet.  We produce a high quality field-raised beef veal.  This is a novel product for Scotland and the UK and is demand by butchers and restraurants.

Luing x Calf from Peelham Farm

In conclusion; We have always existed in changing, dynamic ecosystems – to continue to adapt sustainabily to this constant change, we need to understand and manage the present to create possibilities for the future.

Denise Daly Walton
ddwATfarmingDOTmeDOTuk