As regenerative farming gains popularity cute pics of animals grazing in vineyards seem to be trending. What is this all about? Is it just an Instagram ploy or is there more to it? I can’t deny that there is a positive vibe in the air when our cattle and sheep are around. A kind of warm, fuzzy feeling that just feels right. More farm-like. More happening. More alive. But, there is more to it than this. Let me explain…
Soil is obviously a big part of any vineyard site. Not only does half the vine (the bottom half!) spend all its time below the soil’s surface, it’s the place where the vine finds everything it needs to survive, thrive and bear fruit. The healthier the soil, the healthier the vine, the tastier the grapes and the more delicious the wine. So, what is healthy soil? Healthy soil has the continual capacity to function as a dynamic, living eco-system that sustains plants and animals. There are more species of organisms living below the surface than above it. A single handful of healthy soil contains millions of living organisms! These organisms are constantly interacting with each other and transforming plant material (fallen leaves, roots etc.) into compounds that are used by the plant. In nature plants thrive without the addition of fertilizers, or any of the commonly used agrochemical soil additives. They get everything they need from the soil. At Joostenberg we are trying to learn from nature and mimicking the way it functions. We want our soil to be alive and functioning to such an extent that we don’t have to boost its fertility with additives. This is where our furry little, and not so little, grazing friends come into the picture. Our main aim with grazing is to increase the volume and diversity of soil organisms. We especially want to increase the proportion of fungi to bacteria as some fungi have an incredible, beneficial ability to interact with the roots of the vine. The roots excrete sugars, and these are consumed by fungi. As a thank you gift, the fungi absorb minerals from the soil and converts these into nutrients that the roots can feed on. It’s a classic win-win relationship. Scientists call it symbiosis or mutualism. Other benefits resulting from soil organisms include things like increased carbon content, improved soil structure and aeration amongst others.
Cattle and sheep manure.
So back to our mixed herd of sheep, cattle and three donkeys. During the winter months when the vines are dormant and their leaves have dropped we allow the livestock to graze amongst the vines. At this time of the year the vineyard floor is overgrown by the multi-species cover crop that we planted in Autumn. There is plenty to eat! To make sure that they don’t cause compaction (compress the soil with their hooves) we move them into a new section of the vineyard every second day. The grazing has many benefits. The most important one is related to the urine and manure they scatter all over the vineyard floor. This is absorbed by the soil and serves as a source of nutrients but more importantly every little gram of dung or milliliter of urine attracts a multitude of life forms. It literally results in a feeding frenzy for insects, fungi, bacteria, earthworms and other creatures. Side note: there is also value in having a variety of grazing animals. The manure and urine from each species differs, and feeds and attracts a slightly different range of organisms. The net effect is that the soil ends up with a wider spectrum of “soil workers” adding a wider variety of benefits to the soil. As in most things, there is value in diversity. Once the dung and urine has been consumed and broken down into forms that are useful for the vines they will move onto food sources like dead leaves, roots and other plant debris. We’re hoping that this community will experience a population and diversity explosion and that the resulting underground action will result in healthier, more fertile soil. The cute, furry animals might be the poster boys but the real heroes are the tiny little creatures living just above and below the soil’s surface.
All the best
Tyrrel Myburgh