“You can grow anything on it and I’m planting trees,” says Gray, a 16th-generation Devon farmer. It is being co-funded by the Woodland Trust and Innovative Farmers, a Soil Association programme helping farmers participate in agricultural research. Gray has a keen eye on other income streams, adding 350 walnut and chestnut trees and apple trees to his planting. I like livestock farming, I don’t want to just grow plants and I want to feel I’m doing something of value. This helps the scientists account for any annual variability in soil carbon and more general trends.

Source: The Guardian May 16, 2021 07:01 UTC