Lauren at Dale Cottage Farm applied for and won a Bakewell AHS training grant for her course on grass and soil health.
"It's been very useful attending the courses held by Niels Corfield and refreshing our knowledge on the importance of good grass health. The courses have been a good balance of theory and practical work, which required us going out onto our fields and studying our soils and grass with the support of the 'Soil Mentor' app.
Tests included identifying grass variety, grass density, worm count, dung beetle count and filtration rates and the results from the tests have since helped us identify what practices will help us improve our grass health without the need of synthetics - which is practice we do not do anyway.
The courses have also helped us better understand how we will introduce rotational and bale grazing with our Galloway herd and how to develop a rotational grazing chart to better plan for the grazing year.
The courses have not only been beneficial to refresh knowledge but also a great opportunity to learn from other like minded farmers and also have the opportunity to network and have a good chat with others during Covid times, even if it's through a computer.
Many thanks to the Society for supporting us and helping us attend these courses, every day's a school day and I always appreciate the opportunity for continued learning."