When Celtic people cleared a piece of land, they would leave one large single tree in the middle – trees provided food, shelter, warmth and a home for man, animals and insects.
Much has been written about the darling buds of May – not much is written about Lammas which celebrates the second growth of foliage on trees in early August each year and this year has been one of the best in years due to the good growing weather . Even less is written about tree hay – the fall of leaves come September.
Throughout the year, cattle will self medicate while browsing in hedges as a supplement to grazing. In the Autumn, when the grass becomes seasonably wet, the tree hay or fallen deciduous leaves high in dry matter and minerals due to the deep tree roots balance the diet. Different types of trees have differing qualities and not all are palatable.
Just as the Amazon are the lungs of the world, so Treflach is the lungs of Oswestry – all the grass and greenery takes in the carbon dioxide and releases oxygen, and all the grass and leaves consumed by the farm animals is then deposited on the land to be stored as carbon in the soil. The carbon is only released when ploughed in the form of carbon dioxide. Treflach has very little land under the plough. (NB. Treflach Farm has sold its plough and now operates a min till system for growning barley and peas for pigs. Get in touch if you would like to know more)
So grass fed sheep and cattle and orchard and acorn fed pigs are the best carbon capturers on the planet that allow us to meet our nutritional needs and look after the environment at the same time.