The Queen's University of Belfast Jim McAdam Silvopasture - a new land use option Silvopasture. I n silvopastoral systems, grazing stock and trees are combined on the same land base. The system is being compared with agricultural and woodland controls. Swards can be managed as easily in silvopasture as in open grassland and yields have not been reduced by the trees. Sheep output and individual animal performance are not reduced by 10 year old trees.
Biodiversity is greater in silvopasture than the other systems.
Economic predictions for the system are favourable. The current downturn in meat product prices and increased interest in agri-environment support payments towards enhanced biodiversity are likely to enhance the attractiveness of silvopasture. The site is part of a UK national network of trials and a comprehensive review of the sustainability of the system has proved favourable. On this basis, Greenmount College has taken demonstration systems onto a network of commercial farms and then to the wider farming public. The DANI unit at Loughgall offers a modern and well equipped farming and scientific resource for collaborative research, particularly into the more fundamental environmental issues arising from what is proving a viable future land use option.