The coastal heathland
of North Pembrokeshire is hardly prime agricultural land and without grazing,
it would soon become overgrown; bad news for walkers, also for birds such as
chough and for several rare plants.
For many
years the National Trust has made use of wild ponies to keep the heaths under
control but now the focus has switched to grazing by Welsh Blacks. Not only do
they do a better job, they also provide valuable food helping to offset the
costs of conservation.
Until
recently the cattle were overwintered in a number of small barns scattered
across the area. But now all over-wintering has been brought under one roof at
Southwood Farm; much more efficient and making it feasible to breed and build
up the herd.
Traditional
field walls ripped up in the drive for greater productivity are being replaced
to allow greater management of grazing land, moving cattle in time to avoid
turning fields into mud baths. New footpaths are being introduced connecting
with the nearby coast path and there are plans to create a bunkhouse. And for bedding
the cattle are enjoying the local heather and gorse harvested with a Ryetec
Flail Collector to create fire breaks on the heath.
Everyone’s a
winner it seems! Here’s Andrew Tuddenham explaining the background and the
plans for the future:
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