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Rodd Farm

The 250 acres of land owned by the Sidney Nolan Trust and managed as Rodd Farm lie in the beautiful valley of the Hindwell Brook, a major tributary of the river Lugg which has S.S.S.I. status. The land encompasses an amazing diversity of wildlife habitats from the ancient semi-natural broadleaved woodland (a county designated special wildlife site) to the complex of traditional hedgerows, the riverside meadows and the large area of undisturbed scrub. Although the land already supports a rich and healthy number of natural species the Trust is working to improve this with sensitive and appropriate management.

In 1987 Lady Nolan began the process of converting the farmland to organic management. The farm has been certified as organic with the Soil Association since 1992. This reflects the Trustees'  overriding concern to farm in a manner that will protect and enhance the very special wildlife value of the land. The farming must contribute to the development of vibrant and abundant natural wildlife communities.

Currently the farm supports Welsh Black suckler cows and a small flock of breeding ewes. About one third of the land is down to permanent pasture; the rest is in a cropping rotation of winter oats , spring barley and clover-rich grass leys. The produce from the farm is sold as organic with the majority of the livestock being marketed through Graig Farm at Llandrindod Wells.

Increasingly Rodd Farm is being used as a creative resource for artists and sculptors visiting or staying at The Rodd in an exciting exploration of the interplay between art and the landscape. In addition young people from the locality, and from communities as afield as Birmingham, are being encouraged to the land to learn about the natural world and to express their perception of it through art.

As well as attending specific events relating creativity to the landscape, visiting members of the public are able to enjoy this place of particular environmental interest with walks following the signposted footpaths.

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HILL FIELD

The hedgerow to the east of Hill Field was recently coppiced—all the old established plants were cut down to the stump. This hedgerow had grown out of a laying regime and had become top heavy and prone to falling over. The base had not been protected and sheep had begun to kill off the stools by nibbling off regrowth. The gaps that had been created by the loss of stools have been replanted with a mix of native species. Single hornbeam and small leaved lime have been introduced. Unfortunately something has overestimated the strength of the little tree and underestimated its own weight when alighting on the lime.

Coppicing is often a complementary hedgerow management technique to laying. At Rodd farm we reason that a laid hedge needs constant trimming to prevent damage caused by new growth whipping in the wind and loosening bindings. This reduces the availability of winter food from shrubs which blossom on two year old wood. The differential growth rates of plants in a coppiced hedge quickly produces a hedge of varying height but with a dense base. This provides an immense variety of habitats (and song posts for birds with differing habits). The advantageous stock proof qualities of laid hedges seems to have been eroded now that both coppice and laid hedges are routinely fenced on both sides. With time we plan that all of the hedgerows of Rodd farm will enter a 10-12 year coppice cycle with many being encouraged to broaden and become true landscape and habitat features. Most of the new fencing at the Rodd is still carried out using fast grown tanalised softwood. This has an ongoing concerns for us as organic farmers and we have plans to use split and cured sweet chestnut coppice material from the wood in the near future. Suitably air dried but untreated it should have a lifespan in excess of the softwood.

CALANS

The trees in the small plantation adjacent to Calans were planted in 2001. The mix of species was designed to try and replicate that found in the most part of Rodd Wood. Species such as field maple, spindle and birch were included as likely species to be found in more open, possibly disturbed, woodland sites. As the cover afforded by the new trees increases, dead wood from Rodd Wood will be brought into this small plantation to introduce the insect populations so vital to the cycling of nutrients in woods. The plantation has been designed to create a connection between Rodd Wood and the hedgerow network of the farm, allowing for movement of all kinds of species between these two important habitats. The blackthorn hedge on the eastern side of the plantation is spreading at an incredible rate, enjoying the freedom from an agricultural cutting regime. This will be allowed to continue. The blackthorn is one of the earlier hedgerow plants to blossom and when left without cutting is an important early food source for nectar eating insects. The fruit of an established plant is particularly abundant and attracts large populations of redwing and fieldfare, especially after frost has softened the flesh.

The new trees are now well established in spite of a few having recently died back. This is almost entirely due to field voles nesting in the tree tubes. In the warm protected environment they leisurely strip the bark from the young tree, to eat and to line the nest. The numbers of field vole in the area, evidenced also by the numerous burrows in the tussocks of grass, bodes well for encouraging owls and other predatory bird species. By planting up this small area we have also created a haven for weeds such as thistles, which show their worth by attracting butterflies and bees when in flower and goldfinch and green finch when seeding.

CROW MOOR

This field with its evocative name, heavy wet soils and remnant oaks was obviously part of the wood until much later than others. It now has a park land quality much favoured, on a larger scale, for the keeping of deer in earlier times. It is possible that the existence of the oaks is due to the firewood demands of the nearby forge and/or dwellings. The wood that resulted from pollarding these large trees would have been considerable and would also have been much more accessible than that from the depths of Rodd Wood. Pollarding becomes essential as a management tool in this situation putting the regrowth of the trees well out of the reach of browsing livestock.

Crow Moor represents excellent barn owl territory with abundant prey in the rough pasture of Little Roughs, the cleared area of the wood and the areas of new plantation. By leaving rotten trees standing in this field we hope that we are providing appropriate nesting sites for these birds. Similarly old hollow trees make excellent summer bat roosts and we have reason to believe that at least two species exist in significant numbers in and around Crow Moor and the wood. From time to time the trees in Crow Moor shed limbs. This is left at the base of the tree where it become home to a variety of wildlife. Left out tin full sun the wood would bake and dry out, supporting few invertebrates and fungi, but in the dappled shade of the large tree canopies the conditions are ideal. The nutrient recycling capacity of an old pasture such as this can be quite striking and a cow pat can be integrated into the soil within a matter of days in the warmth of spring. On an organic farm, in the absence of biocides given to livestock, the flies and beetles begin the process of degradation. This is assisted by other soil invertebrates, nematodes, fungi and earthworms. Even the rooks and magpies, hunting for insect food, act to break the pat down and thus aid its assimilation into the soil.

THE GRITTS

The Hindewell Brook bounding the northern edge of the field is a tributary of the River Lugg, an important SSSI. The Rodd Farm stretch of the brook is home to otters, probably the territory of a breeding female, with several spraint sites along its length. A few years ago a dog otter of considerable age and size was knocked down on the road nearby. The brook sustains a healthy population of young trout making it ideal fishing for both the otters and herons. The quality of the water is evidenced by the numerous rafts of water crows foot an indicator species of especially clean conditions. The banks of the brook are characteristically stabilised by alder with angelica and dog violets growing in their shade.

Until last year in The Gritts there were two magnificent black poplars which had stood, leaning away from each other, for generations. The larger of the two fell in recent winds. The black poplar was once a common tree of the floodplain often important as a boundary marker. The tree has very specific germination requirements and this has combined with a dwindling demand for its wood to send it into rapid decline. Several groups are working to revive the species and here at The Rodd we have planted cuttings from our trees together with others from widespread gene pools around the country.

Another important feature of The Gritts is the hedge running along the top of the rise. The hedge runs continuously a good way along the valley, sited to divide the fertile flood plain of the river from the poorer ground higher up overlying river gravel deposits. It is likely that this would have been a feature for a considerable period, protecting the fertile riverside hay meadows from grazing livestock. Towards the north, as the bank of the river steepens and amongst the trees is an enormous badger sett. Badgers are a woodland species coming out of the trees to forage. The number of badgers in this community must be considerable, their activity causing trees to be dislodged into the river.

RALLOWS

Although many of the fields of Rodd Farm are permanent pasture and only grazed some are cultivated on a rotational basis with an arable crop interspersed with years of a grass/clover ley. Generally we grow a crop of winter sown oats for two years followed by at least five years of the ley. The ley is the fertility and soil conditioning part of the cycle which provides for the two years of cropping. It is on the ley that we apply composted manure from the livestock housing when, with stable soil conditions, earthworm and insect populations are high and provide for rapid incorporation of organic material. The current crop of oats was sown in November 2006. The late germination attracted the attention of large numbers of rooks who threatened to decimate the crop. The scarecrows, in spite of their appearance, proved to be excellent in extending the apparent duration of human presence in the field. This success was balanced, however, by the emergence of charlock in the crop in the spring. Charlock develops early and competes with the oats and can become a serious problem in the next years cultivation. On the whole organic farmers live with weeds, attempting control where possible but appreciating that weeds not only supplement the diet of grazing livestock but also provide essential food for numerous bird and insect species.

Most of the oats grown at Rodd farm go for human consumption, ending up in organic muesli and breakfast cereal. A little is fed to livestock on the farm. Rallows, Crabtree and Hill Field support nesting pairs of both curlew and sky lark. In 2005 24 sky larks were counted in the sky above hill field. The arable crops and the lateness of silage and hay making on the farm give the birds the cover and time to rear their broods before they are disturbed. When cutting silage we try and leave a patch until the next day to let the birds and young avoid being trapped.

RODD WOOD

Rodd Wood is a particularly fine and important example of Ancient Semi Natural Woodland, managed in the past as hazel, ash and sweet chestnut coppice with oak, ash and sweet chestnut standards. During the last ten years the wood has been brought under a management regime which has involved the removal and thinning of non-native softwood plantations and their replacement (by natural regeneration) by the oak/ash mixture. A coppice rotation has also begun with two compartments of approximately one hectare completed. The wood is home to populations of Fallow, Roe Deer and Muntjac that enjoy grazing the fresh regrowth of coppice stools making woodland management in this manner a challenge.

Coppicing of the wood, however, brings light into the wood allowing the flowering and seeding of many of the plants of the ancient woodland flora - wood anemone, enchanter’s nightshade, sweet woodruff, primrose, bluebells, archangel, wild garlic, violets, early purple orchid, herb paris, pig nut and many more. 26 ancient woodland indicator species have been recorded in Rodd Wood over the last few years pointing to continuous tree cover in the past. It is likely that Rodd Wood remains as the natural cover for an area of heavy and wet clay that proved, in the past, to be impossible to cultivate.

One of the wood’s most endearing residents is the Dormouse which spends most of the day asleep in nests of honey suckle bark, grass moss and leaves. What with a long winter hibernation they are asleep for more than three quarters of their lives. When awake they feed on nuts, seeds, flowers, fruit and insects. It is the characteristic tooth marks on hazelnut shells that, in the absence of actual sightings, allows their presence to be determined.