Practical Guides

Fertiliser Crops & Soils Animal Health & Welfare Conservation & Biodiversity Forestry & Woodlands

Fertiliser

Liming & Biodiversity - A Practical Guide

This guide will provide information about how liming affects biodiversity of both above
ground (species and habitats) and below ground (soil microbes).

Liming & Biodiversity - A Practical Guide

Poultry manures can be used as a fertiliser for grass and crop production, and provide a valuable source of nutrients that can be used to supplement bagged fertiliser.

Crops & Soils

Soil Compaction - A Practical Guide

Soil compaction is the consolidation of soil particles as a result of animal or vehicular traffic. Soil compaction is not just a problem for arable farms; it causes problems for crofts and small farms with livestock, at gateways and on cropped fields.

Earthworms - A Practical Guide

Earthworms play a major role in soil fertility and are a sign of a healthy well-functioning soil. This guide explains why they are important and how you can assess the abundance of earthworms in your soil.

Drainage - A Practical Guide

Crofts and smallholdings can often have old, damaged or blocked drainage systems, leading to waterlogged soil and runoff. This guide will provide you with the steps to consider.

Crop Choice & Crop Rotations - A Practical Guide

Success with horticultural crops depends on you choosing the right crops for your soils and geographical area and changing the plots or beds in which you grow them each year.

Polyunit Comparison For Crofts And Smallholdings

Polyunit Comparison - A Practical Guide

Polytunnels and similar structures (polyunits) provide a means of extending the growing season as well as allowing growth of a range of products that may not be typically grown due to climatic conditions or soil capability and can be used to house livestock

Animal Health & Welfare

Tagging Sheep For Crofts And Smallholdings

Tagging Sheep - Practical Guide

Tagging sheep can be viewed as complicated and confusing when for most crofters and smallholders, there are only a few tagging requirements to remember. This guide will outline the requirement to tag, types of tag, when to tag, and how to record tagging in your flock record book.

Calving On The Croft & Smallholding - Practical Guide

Tagging sheep can be viewed as complicated and confusing when for most crofters and smallholders, there are only a few tagging requirements to remember. This guide will outline the requirement to tag, types of tag, when to tag, and how to record tagging in your flock record book.