Rather than seeing himself as being involved in ‘sustainable’ farming, Kildare man, Kim McCall, prefers the term ‘regenerational’ and stresses the need to be proactive.
Kim, who was shortlisted in the Farming for Nature awards, inherited a 214ac mixed livestock farm in Calverstown, Kilcullen, Co. Kildare, from his parents and farms with his wife, Mireille and their two sons.
“We can sustain things at a bad level forever, but we need to be proactive,” said Kim, who keeps a herd of 75 pedigree Aubrac suckler cows and their followers, a flock of 80 sheep, as well as a few pigs in summertime.
The farm boasts a wide range of habitats including: wetlands; woodlands; wet and dry grasslands; old buildings; and stone walls. These, they find, makes a walk around the farm “a very pleasurable experience, even when things might not be going too well otherwise”.
‘Regenerational’ farming
While his father never overstocked and took an environmentally friendly approach to farming, Kim has taken things a step further.
“I always had a great interest in nature and loved animals and birds. In the last couple of years I started to read about the insect population going down and think we should be doing something about that.”
Kim planted over 40,000 trees over the last 35 to 40 years. He also works to introduce daily measures to manage the land within its capacity.
I am very keen on moving animals on and off pasture as quickly as possible, though it’s not always possible. I’m on a three-day rotation, but I would love to get to a one-day rotation.
“On a daily basis, I look at the fields and the animals. They will tell you if you are getting it right. I don’t buy artificial fertilisers or use pesticides. The best feed is from the grass the animals are eating. Using the appropriate breed is also very important.
“Hedgerows and grasslands are rarely topped. The preferred approach is careful and balanced management to result in an ideal situation for nature, allowing birds, butterflies and bees to thrive,” Kim said.
“I’m in the process of remineralising the land, using relatively inexpensive Polysulphate which is in rock form, dug out of the ground, crushed and spread all over the farm.
Grazing ground, if managed correctly, has the ability to sequest more carbon into a stable source into the soil and that’s what we should be aiming for.
‘observation is the basis for intelligence’
Farming ‘regenerationally’ isn’t easy, particularly when trying to remain profitable, Kim said. However, farming for nature rather than against is very doable, he contended.
The McCalls’ work has been recognised by several national awards and several appearances on TV. They work closely with the National Biodiversity Data Centre, providing valuable data.
Kim finds that some farmers are ‘grasping the nettle’ and being proactive when it comes to ‘regenerational’ farming, but he remains concerned about changes in the rural landscape – in particular, the loss of wetlands to forestry.
He offered the following advice on farming for nature: “Stand back and look – observation is the basis for intelligence.”