Longfield Farm by Andrew Aldieri

Hamish Marr’s farm is huge! Before visiting his farm, I didn’t have a good idea of how large farms could get. Even though I was already told his farm is 500 hectares, or 1,235 acres, seeing it in person was unbelievable. His land stretched as far as the eye could see, and his pastures were brimming with crops used for seed production and feed for livestock.

While there were many impressive aspects about Hamish’s farm, I’d like to focus on his sustainable practices. In order to maintain his generational farm in the present and for the future of his family, Hamish has adopted both traditional and innovative methods. While we were in his first paddock observing the thriving pasture, Hamish described his patterns of crop rotation and rotational grazing. Hamish explained crop rotation as planting a different crop in the same paddock every season. The order that the different crops are planted is significant too. While some plants take up high amounts of nitrogen from the soil, others return it and feed the following season’s plants. Hamish also went into detail about rotational grazing. This is the intentional, strategic movement of livestock through different paddocks to prevent overgrazing and minimize the need for supplemental feed. Hamish grazes around 5600 livestock total, 5000 ewes and 600 cattle from the neighbor. Rotational grazing is very important to maintain soil quality, pasture growth, and minimize input costs. 

It was really interesting to see rotational grazing in practice as I had learned about it in the classroom last year. The first application I saw of it was on UD’s farm, but it was a much smaller scale. UD’s farm is only about 300 acres and a fraction of the number of animals, so I assumed Hamish would do it differently from us. However, it was fascinating to see similar principles to UD on Hamish’s farm. It also highlighted how systems of agriculture can be so similar yet so different around the globe.

Contrary to rotational grazing, I was less familiar with the practice of crop rotation. I knew it consisted of changing what crops are planted, but I didn’t know how specific it was. Hamish explained the factors behind how he decides what to plant in the paddocks; it often has to do with market demands and what would grow in the soil best.

Overall, Hamish Marr made a point to emphasize the importance of these practices. They replenish soil nutrients, regrow pasture, and ensure long-term productivity for his generation and the future of his farm.