We were very excited when our neighbour Roger pointed out an orchid in our parkland fields – the first time he can remember seeing orchids growing there – and today we spotted another one!

We took on the farm less than 2 years ago so it’s great to see our grazing approach reaping rewards already. We think it is a Southern Marsh orchid. As you can see, it’s not the grandest of specimens but its mere presence is the important bit. Orchid seeds are so small (like dust!) that they are unable to germinate by themselves, they do not contain enough energy to do so. Instead they are dependent on mycorrhizal fungi in the soil to provide the energy necessary to do so.

By ‘mob grazing’ our cattle – moving them regularly through our pastures – we are aiming to improve the diversity of life in our soils including increasing mycorrhizal fungi. Improved diversity below the ground should improve the diversity above ground – leading to a greater number of wild flowers, grasses and herbs in our pastures. And a more active soil is breaking down more organic matter, releasing more nutrients into the soil, ready to be taken up by the plants and then the grazing animals, which will ultimately end up in us when we eat our delicious, nutritious, pasture-fed beef!

The presence of our little orchid is a sign that we are on the right track, improving our soil and increasing diversity. Encouragingly, our aforementioned neighbour now has 5 species of orchid (80+ plants) growing in his garden where 8 years ago there were none. It’s something for us to aim for!