UNHIDE Agroforestry booklet 2025.09.22 - Flipbook - Page 26
Stora Juleboda farm: Foraging & silvo-pasture, Sweden
needed at work; to clean out land before sowing
or planting new trees, or diligently turning the soil
over and eating invasive weeds, such as couch
grass (Elymus repens) and white goosefoot, and
thus inviting other species to get a chance to
establish in the orchard.
In conventional orchards, apple tree roots are
looked after by cutting, as they are considered to
get too invasive with time, Marcus explains, while
at Juleboda, the pigs offer this service for free.
Being grafted onto A2 rootstocks, the apple trees
are very robust and can withstand a lot, including
weed competition. Thanks to the presence of the
pigs in the orchards, the voles are kept away.
The Berkshire pigs live outdoors all year around
and have good resistance to cold temperatures,
Black currant leaves for tea.
and simple nutritional requirements. The pigs are
fed apple leftovers from cider production. When
they have finished their assignment, they graze in
the forest.
Chickens and sheep are also part of the work-rotating livestock. According to the family’s research, the same number of animals were kept on the
farm in the 17th century, as today. Moving of the
sheep is done from horseback. During the dry
summer months, the sheep are moved every day,
there are a total of 32 fenced areas.
Regenerative grazing is about keeping and moving animals through pastures to improve soil-,
plant- and animal health. Time is key, how long
they are kept in one place, and for how long the
pasture will be left to recover. This mimics wild
Ramson.
