Woodland Management, Conservation and Shooting – Ladybank – Event Summary

Good planning is essential to ensure that the different options complement each other rather than work against each other.  These different options would include things such as the mix of grazing, arable cropping, conservation schemes, forestry and pheasant rearing.  With a large number of enterprises it is important that all opportunities are taken to gain any commercial advantages possible.

The general consensus was that the individual components of the system are in themselves good for biodiversity.

Additional benefits of the integrated system demonstrated include:

1. Trees providing shelter for livestock
2. Trees providing cover for pheasants
3. Fencing off water courses reducing pollution
4. Fencing off water courses reducing risk of Johnes
5. Grass margins mitigating yield loss alongside woodlands
6. Unharvested crops utilising poor arable land