UNHIDE Agroforestry booklet 2025.09.22 - Flipbook - Page 13
“Thanks to the weeds and herbs that came in with
the grazing, the soil was repaired. Now I have
worms in the soil, next year there will be dandelions here. With the mixed forest and the presence
of the cows, the birds have come back. The dung
provides flies that attract these birds, which are
then here when the spruce bark beetles swarm.”
The diversity and improved soil flora also benefited the wildlife. “Thanks to the grazing of the
cows, a more nutritious grass comes in after just a
few years. When there is more grass in the forest,
wildlife damage is reduced. Deer and elk are now
to a larger extent content with grazing instead of
browsing shoots.”
Another conclusion was that the cows’ grazing
and trampling after only three years reduced the
cost of the forest company’s clearing by 90 Euros
per hectare (a contractor costs 500 Euros per
hectare, 2024).
The trees Anders favors are linden, beech, oak,
elm, cherry and spruce, and with the thinning by
browsing, the tree’s growth rate increases. The
cattle are especially helpful in thinning out saplings of rowan, aspen, alder and maple. As Belted
Galloway cows are happy with leaner pasture, the
forest grazing also saves money on expensive silage. By-products are linden honey, more berries
in the forest and fantastic, locally produced meat.
The purpose of a thick
electric fence is for
wild animals to see it.
The cows respect the
fence as long as they
have pasture.
