A few pigs on your shoot

Using livestock as a conservation partner on your patch might not be a quick fix, but it really does work, explains Richard Negus

If you go down to the woods today, you’re in for a big surprise. Well, you are if the woods belong to Matt Chatfield, because his are full of sheep. Matt is a silvipasturist, using the woodlands on his farm at Halwill in Devon to graze livestock. Not only does this method of farming benefit the sheep, Matt also believes it has improved the quality of his woods too. The understorey, he says, has become thicker and more diverse, and wildlife has increased. This form of silvipasture woodland management is a technique that could be of great interest to keepers and shoot managers, particularly on farms and estates where regenerative farming practices are being embraced. The pheasant is, after all, a bird of the jungle; it loves the thick protection that…

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Shooting Times & Country (Digital) - 1 Issue, 14-Jun-2023

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