In June, two members of the BEVA Sustainability Working Group, Julia Shrubb and John Walmsley, attended the Dung Beetle Conference at Yeo Valley Farms, Blagdon. Here, John and Julia (who additionally gave a lecture on the state of play in the equine industry) report back on an inspiring conference, and the lessons that we in the equine industry might learn.
The conference was organised and run by the Farm Carbon Toolkit and brought together farmers, vets, soil scientists, entomologists and researchers to discuss the state of knowledge on methods of enhancing crop and pasture health that improve biodiversity, with a focus on dung beetle ecology.
“Live as though you’ll die tomorrow, farm as though you’ll live forever” is an old adage in the farming world and, if the long-term health of our soils is to be saved in perpetuity, there is much to do. The humble dung beetle is a crucial element in the maintenance of soil health and biodiversity in pasture. Its benefits to the cattle industry in the UK are estimated to be £367 million per annum (Beynon et al 2015).
Avermectins are responsible for a significant decline in dung beetle species because the drug remains insecticidal for a significant time when passed in dung. It was clear from the meeting that vets have an important role in understanding the problem and advising clients on strategic use of anthelmintics and appropriate pasture management.
Prof Richard Wall from Bristol University showed that there is no natural degradation of dung after avermectin treatment and postulated that rotational grazing could reduce gastrointestinal parasite levels and consequently decrease the necessity for the use of anthelmintics. Rob Howe of LLM Farm Vets endorsed this and emphasised the importance of maintaining sward length above 100 mm. Sward diversity was discussed by Ian Wilkinson of FarmED who described its benefits not only by using plant species with anthelmintic properties such as chicory and sainfoin but also nitrogen fixers, drought resistant plants and plants with deep roots that unlock minerals in the soil. Eurion Thomas from FECPAK discussed the importance of faecal egg counting every two weeks for sustainable worm control.
As the two days progressed, it became manifest that the equine industry lags behind the cattle world in its understanding of the most effective pasture management and integrated parasite control that maintains soil health and biodiversity on equine properties. Balancing regular removal of faeces to reduce reliance on ecotoxic anthelmintics with leaving faeces for dung degrading insects such as dung beetles to benefit biodiversity, is difficult. More research is needed to provide evidence from which an effective strategy can be developed to offer to horse owners.
It was a treat to be exposed to so many enthusiastic experts and to attend a conference which included farm walks, one of which demonstrated mixed ley pastures; another was an example of silviculture where we could see cattle enjoying the advantages of pasture with trees which provide shade and shelter, browse, moisture during drought and warmer ground in winter. And what conference have you been to where a highlight was an early morning walk sifting through dung pats to identify dung beetles?!
Beynon SA et al, (2015), Ecological Entomology 40 (Suppl. 1), 124–135