#26 Holistic grazing and acorn fed pigs in the Portuguese montado with Francisco Alves
The Regenerative Agroforestry PodcastShow Notes
Francisco Alves manages 700ha of montado, a traditional agroforestry system of Southern Europe, with herds of cattle, goats, sheep and the famous Alentejo pig. His experience at Herdade Sao Luis exposes us to the future of recently planted silvopastural systems. We discuss important topics such as how mature trees interact with pasture, the optimum tree quantity per hectare, how they contribute to his animals' health and growth, as well as the key management constraints. On top of this, Francisco is using the holistic management technique for animal grazing. This enables him to regenerate his soil and pasture, limit damage of animals to seedlings, clearing bramble regrowth and preparing field seeding all with his diverse animal herds. Overall, Francisco is extremely enthusiastic about having mature trees in his grazing system, and sees a huge benefit as compared with open pasture. As always, 1h30 was too short to ask him all the questions we wish we could. Enjoy! • TABLE OF CONTENTS 01:50 Introduction to Farm 14:40 Holistic management and animal system description 24:30 The pig's function, description of system, and feeding on acorns 31:10 Goats, sheep and cows and the economics of diversifying animal species 39:30 Tree density per hectare, managing this unique agro-ecosystem 42:45 Economic flexibility with diversity, and commercialisation 48:20 Interactions between trees and animals 01:02:20 Optimum tree quantity per hectare for pasture production and microclimates 01:08:40 Learning about and designing silvopasture systems 01:12:30 Tree fodder on the farm and oak pruning 01:20:40 Using animals to manage forest regrowth and keep the pasture productive • RESOURCES https://www.instagram.com/herdadesluis_porcusnatura/?hl=en https://www.projectomateria.pt/pt/produtores/porcus-natura_57 • GET IN TOUCH www.regenerativeagroforestry.org • SUPPORT US www.gumroad.com/regenagroforestry • FOLLOW US on Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
More from The Regenerative Agroforestry Podcast
Propagate is a leader in the agroforestry space, specialising in project development and planting agroforestry systems at scale. It's a huge pleasure to chat with Harry, co-founder and Chief Research Officer of the US-based company. Tune in as we geek out on agroforestry economics, economic modelling, design implications and financing options. We delve into questions such as: How do you business plan agroforestry systems? How do we find a balance between economic performance and ecosystem services? And much more! • RESOURCES https://www.propagateag.com/ • GET IN TOUCH www.regenerativeagroforestry.org • SUPPORT US www.gumroad.com/regenagroforestry • FOLLOW US on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram • FUNDING FOR EUROPEAN PROJECTS https://explore.ecosia.org/regenerative-agriculture Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
In this episode I discuss with Claire Lemarié her experience working with farmers in the Pays de la Loire region in France, where she is a technical adviser for the chamber of agriculture. She has precious insights into the management of mature hedges, as this region still has a significant amount of bocage: a traditional french hedge layout. In this interview we gain an understanding of why effective information sharing between farmers is crucial to creating innovative agroforestry systems and how she enables peer to peer exchange through the 'Club des Agroforestiers'. • RESOURCES https://www.linkedin.com/in/claire-lemari%C3%A9-34b667155/?originalSubdomain=fr Youtube video Chambre d'agriculture de la Loire • GET IN TOUCH www.regenerativeagroforestry.org • SUPPORT US www.gumroad.com/regenagroforestry • FOLLOW US on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram • FUNDING FOR EUROPEAN PROJECTS https://explore.ecosia.org/regenerative-agriculture Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Coppicing is an ancient and modern tree management system. Coppicing is known for its multi-functionality: capable of producing biomass, animal forage, firewood and much more. Today we interview Mark Krawczyk, practitioner, consultant and author of 'Coppice Agroforestry'. In this interview we tackle some of the practical challenges of coppicing, to better understand the economic potential of this technique. Mark demonstrates a variety of nuances and compromises, showing us the versatility as well as the key challenges of this technique. TABLE OF CONTENTS 00:02:22 Introduction 00:13:19 What are the key concepts of coppicing 00:27:50 What impact on tree health? 00:39:12 What prospects for mechanising management? 00:51:44 What uses for coppiced wood? 01:17:42 What effect of coppicing on surrounding plants? 01:22:24 Productivity of coppice stands 01:29:14 In relation to soil types • RESOURCES https://www.keylinevermont.com/ http://www.coppiceagroforestry.com/ https://regenerativeskills.com/mark-krawczyk-on-coppice-agroforestry-and-woodland-management-part-1/ • GET IN TOUCH www.regenerativeagroforestry.org • SUPPORT US www.gumroad.com/regenagroforestry • FOLLOW US on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram • FUNDING FOR EUROPEAN PROJECTS https://explore.ecosia.org/regenerative-agriculture Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Bruce Maynard and his family are livestock managers and row crop farmers in New South Wales in Austalia. Over his carreer, he has succesfully integrated shrubs and trees to their livestock and row crop operation. He has been able to double his stocking rate through increasing the ecological function of the farm. We dig deep into the design of his tree systems and how it has evloved over the years. We unpack in detail how he has been able to transform his landscape on such a large scale and how this was possible from a business perspective. TABLE OF CONTENTS 00:01:21 Bruce's story and description of the farm 00:10:06 No-kill cropping 00:15:05 Complexifying the landscape 00:22:57 Design over time 00:30:19 Taking machinery into account 00:37:57 Specifics of saltbush 00:42:30 Recovery times between bush and pasture 00:54:06 Microclimatic benefits 00:57:30 Planting trees at scale and its logistics 01:10:30 Management of trees/shrubs 01:16:00 Business strategy and cashflow 01:19:32 Ressources to go further • RESOURCES http://selfherding.com/index.html https://stressfreestockmanship.com.au/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHzo0fDBZs0 • GET IN TOUCH www.regenerativeagroforestry.org • SUPPORT US www.gumroad.com/regenagroforestry • FOLLOW US on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram • FUNDING FOR EUROPEAN PROJECTS https://explore.ecosia.org/regenerative-agriculture Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
What have we learnt from 30 years at one of the most prominent agroforestry research sites in the world? In collaboration with AGROMIX, We are excited to present an interview with Christian Dupraz, a leading agroforestry researcher from INRAE Montpellier. This is one of our rare 'in person' interviews where we discussed years of findings under the alley cropping walnut trees of the Domaine de Restinclières. We analysed many technical details such as tree - crop competition, tree pruning and adapted tree species. We also discussed socio-economic aspects such as the relationship with the local farmers and the reason why alley cropping systems have not yet been scaled. Enjoy! TABLE OF CONTENTS 02:25 Introduction 11:12 Experiment today 13:38 Growth rate of trees 17:43 Impact of AF on the quality of the wood 20:13 Considerations to produce a straight trunk 00:22 Impact on arable crop 00:26:45 Competition between crop and tree 00:30:18 Effect of pollarding on tree quality 00:33:56 How do the trees effect the row crop farmer? 00:38:08 How would tree crops fare in alley cropping? 00:39:32 Increase in bat population and its benefits 00:44:36 Main mistakes 00:48:05 What context for alley cropping to be successful? 00:56:30 Why do we not see more alley cropping? • RESOURCES https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Christian-Dupraz-3 https://agromixproject.eu/ • GET IN TOUCH www.regenerativeagroforestry.org • SUPPORT US www.gumroad.com/regenagroforestry • FOLLOW US on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram • FUNDING FOR EUROPEAN PROJECTS https://explore.ecosia.org/regenerative-agriculture • FIND OUT MORE ABOUT OUR COLLABORATION WITH AGROMIX HERE Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.