SRUC’s Kirkton and Auchentyre farms, near Crianlarich, will host a Soil Association Scotland two-year trial to investigate and demonstrate non-chemical techniques to control rushes on farms and crofts.
The first meeting on Friday 5 June is open to all, and free to farmers and crofters. The half day workshop will look at the current rush situation on the SRUC farms, explore non-chemical management options, identify priorities and actions, formulate a management plan for implementation through 2015-16 and discuss which measures might best suit attendees own farms or crofts.
“Rushes are an issue on many upland farms and can impact on production by reducing the size of livestock grazing areas” explained Professor Davy McCracken, Head of SRUC’s Hill & Mountain Research Centre.
“Chemical herbicides are a widely used control method, but for many farmers and crofters this option may not be possible, desirable or appropriate. So we are more than happy to collaborate with Soil Association Scotland to help test and demonstrate a wider range of alternative control methods on our upland research farms.”
Soil Association Scotland, in association with SRUC and Newcastle University, plan to run the trials over two years with four meetings in each region during spring and autumn of 2015 and 2016. Kirkton and Auchentyre farms will be one of three regional Scottish host farms, with the others in the Cairngorms and near Ullapool.
The meetings are open to all but will be particularly relevant to those who farm organically, or who wish to reduce their impact on the environment or reliance on chemical inputs.
The meeting will be held jointly with the Kirkton Grassland Group - a group of local farmers who have met on the SRUC farms over the past two years to discuss grassland management in the uplands.
Soil Association Scotland are running the trials with support from the SRDP’s Skills Development Scheme, Duchy Originals Future Farming Programme, Forestry Commission Scotland and Zero Waste Scotland. SRUC Research and SAC Consulting Solutions input to the events at Kirkton & Auchtertyre Farms is being funded by the Success Through Knowledge Programme supported by the Scottish Funding Council.
