Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[kattabelly]

I'll take the liberty of answering this as it's only about 100 miles east of here. No. Grasslands and cereal fields are usually brown by mid August but this year most of England has had an exceptionally dry spring and summer.

Seems like it'll be increasingly common in future though. Further east but I remember a few really dry summers when I was living down in Sussex, and the farmers I know there have been looking at what changes they can make based on the assumption that drought is going to be a regular issue from now on.

Even here we've had a couple of scarily dry springs in the last few years, although that's not lasted right through the summer yet thankfully. This field cant have been cut for hay much more than a fortnight ago

The wind last week caused more crop damage than it would if we'd had a wetter spring though.

 

[Perris]

Seems like it'll be increasingly common in future though

Yes. I think I need to learn to cope with increasingly static weather patterns (lows or highs blocked in place) and more energetic weather (intensity of rain or wind) when it does change from one to another.

what changes they can make based on the assumption that drought is going to be a regular issue from now on

I think they'll have to ditch the modern version of slash-and-burn agriculture we've been practicing these past 50-odd years.

 

[kattabelly]

I think they'll have to ditch the modern version of slash-and-burn agriculture we've been practicing these past 50-odd years.

The people I know were already very into all the regen ag, permanent pasture etc stuff tbf. Rainwater capture and storage and more drought-resistant breeds/varieties/types of livestock and crops are the obvious, relatively easy changes they're mostly looking at initially. Still, pretty striking when you hear someone say they're downsizing their flock of local heritage sheep in favour of breeds developed for places like Australia and South Africa.

 

[Perris]

The people I know were already very into all the regen ag, permanent pasture etc stuff tbf. Rainwater capture and storage and more drought-resistant breeds/varieties/types of livestock and crops are the obvious, relatively easy changes they're mostly looking at initially.

Good.

Still, pretty striking when you hear someone say they're downsizing their flock of local heritage sheep in favour of breeds developed for places like Australia and South Africa.

That sort of approach is the problem. Why do people not recognize the value of the local? why is the preferred solution always exotic? Grass greener on the other side? It's just too stupid.

eta sorry for the expletives but it really gets my goat. Sussex is not going to look like the outback or South Africa in their lifetimes, if ever!