Brian Nicholson
With 100 hectares of farmland and just shy of 1000 sheep, 4th generation sheep farmer Brian Nicholson runs a top-notch operation. The sheds are occupied only when the ewes are lambing so his sheep spend the majority of the year outside, beside the home he shares with his wife Alison and children, Drew and Mia.
While breeding grass-fed lamb, Brian has been working hard to find innovative ways to make his farm more sustainable.
“There’s 15 hectares of mature woodlands and forestry on the farm and the mature hedgerows feed birds and small mammals so there’s a full ecosystem here on the farm,” Brian says.
In recent years he has been working to build and enhance this ecosystem by planting an area of his farm with wildflowers especially for birds and pollinators. Each year Brian plants 2.5 acres of wild bird cover (a spring-sown crop mixture which is left unharvested over winter) to provide an alternative food for seed- eating wild birds during the winter period. In addition to this he has also added in wild flower mixture for pollinators to encourage bees around the farm, and has invested in maintaining hedgerows to provide shelter for lambs and habitat for wildlife.
“I always try to do what I can for nature, whether that’s making or extending nature corridors or planting extra pollinator seeds to increase the variety of plant and animal life from within,” says Brian. “This essentially helps to create a lot more influx of wildlife which feeds into the greater ecosystem on the farm.”
Brian says it’s all part of a more holistic approach to farming. “Farming is all about marrying the best of nature and technology to produce quality products and to increase soil fertility to produce better grass. I’m using manure from the farm and I’m also using a lot more clover which sinks nitrogen into the ground, reducing the chemical fertilizer I need to use on the farm. And the healthier the stock, the less need for medication like antibiotics for the animals and imported feed.”
“Farming with nature is an integral part of the farm here and it’s something I hope we can use to pass the farm onto the next generation, in a better stead than it already is.”