Farming at Bruern
There is so much going on at Bruern and so many questions I've had from people genuinely interested in what we are doing. Below is a Q&A section that covers many aspects of what we do and why we do it.
If you are interested in our farm story, please click here.
Q: What farming methods and techniques do you favour using on the farm?
A: Officially, we are ‘conventional’ but there is nothing really conventional about what we do. We are not organic although we do practice some organic principles.
We are constantly looking to improve the environment while growing our produce. We are achieving better results by constantly pushing our techniques, thinking outside the box and attempting methods that are often centuries-old. The soil and larger eco-system here at Bruern is far more better for it.
Q: Do you use pesticides?
A: NO! we love bugs and insects and actively crreate habitats for them. For example, we’ve removed the need for pesticides through the use of wildflower margins in and around the fields that attract insect predators such as wasps, hover flies and lady birds."
Q: Do you practice regenerative farming?
A: In many ways, yes, although the term "regenerative farming" is becoming more and more appropriated by agri-business and retailers and we feel is being somewhat green-washed.
Some of the "regenerative" things we do include
min-till: a soil conservation system with minimum soil disturbance (as opposed to ploughing which destroys soil structure)
Livestock integration: putting sheep and cattle on over winter crops to help weed suppression; provide natural fertiliser and build soil organic matter.
Keeping fields covered with stubble and/or clover: retains water; stops soil erosion; store carbon; increases insect life; links to field margins and hedges
Robust hedgerows: to capture carbon; provide food and shelter for birds.
Direct drilling: which means minimum disturbance to the soil when drilling crops.
Q: Do you use inputs on your fields?
A: Yes we do to counter weed burden and disease. Weed burden is a fact of farming and there are two main ways to deal with it: ploughing or roundup. Through harrowing fields and smart rotations, we are able to keep our use of glyphosate to an absolute minimum and we never use it on crops. Modern varieties of wheat can be susceptible to disease and sometimes will require a fungicide. However, we have been successfully trialling different blends of crops in a single field as well as a variety of heritage wheats that have greater resistance to disease.
In short, low-input farming involves experimenting, figuring out how to cooperate with nature and how to benefit from the partnership - rather than concentrating on ways to overcome natural forces through chemical inputs.
Q: What produce do you grow at Bruern?
While predominantly arable we have a mixed farming system that includes saddleback pigs, English longhorn cattle and sheep. We grow a variety of crops including heritage grains, rye, wheat, barley, beans, buckwheat, sunflowers and pulses.
A: The heritage grain trust describes heritage grains as “…a variety of wheat, rye, barley and oats that were grown before the introduction of intensive, scientific plant breeding in the early 1900s. Our ancestors grew genetically-diverse ‘landrace’ crops that were adapted to poor soils and difficult growing conditions."
We have a research program at Bruern that is trialling over 500 varieties of ancient grains from around the world. As weather becomes more extreme and as conventional flour lacks nutrients and flavour, we are on a quest to find grains that can tolerate extreme weather but that also be used for baking.
