New bulrush wetter farming trial gets underway

We’re excited to announce the start of works on our latest wetter farming project, growing bulrushes on an area of re-wetted agricultural peat near Liverpool.

Gore House Farm is typical of many farms across our region which are sited on peatland. Historically drained and converted to agriculture, much of this once prosperous land is becoming more and more difficult to farm due to increasingly waterlogged land and declining soil health.

And that’s not the only problem. When peat is drained it causes the carbon that was once stored in the peat to oxidise and be released as carbon dioxide – a harmful greenhouse gas. In fact three per cent of UK greenhouse gas emissions come from lowland agricultural peat alone.

But how to address the dual issues of greenhouse gas emissions and unprofitable and difficult to farmland?

Wetter farming, also known as paludiculture, is the practice of restoring the naturally higher water table on areas of drained peatland and growing crops which thrive in these wetter conditions. Whilst the word ‘paludiculture’ may seem new this is in fact a highly traditional practice, think of the thatching reed that was once grown across large areas of East Anglia.

Read our blog: What is wetter farming?

Gore House Farm bulrush trial

Field with long grass and trees in the background — Gore House Farm bulrush wetter farming trial site before works were started - Helen Earnshaw

We are excited to announce that work has gotten underway at our latest wetter farming trial at Gore House Farm in Great Altcar just north of Liverpool. Thanks to funding from the Lowland Agricultural Peat Water Discovery Pilot administered by the Environment Agency on behalf of Defra, a seven hectare field is being re-wet and will be used to grow bulrushes. These familiar plants with their tall stems topped with fluffy brown seed heads are a common sight along pond edges and in other soggy places, so they should thrive in the wetter conditions.

Those fluffy seed heads will then be used by materials science company, Ponda®, who will turn them into BioPuff®, a revolutionary sustainable filling for padded jackets, replacing the need for either goose down or synthetic fibres. Fashion designer, Stella McCartney, has just announced a clothing collection using BioPuff®.

Orange digger in field — Digger installing water retaining bunds at Gore House Farm wetter farming trial - Helen Earnshaw

How do you re-wet a field?

At Gore House Farm we will be using bunds to stop water from draining off the field and allow it to get nice and wet again. Bunds are low walls of compressed peat which continue down underground and form a waterproof barrier. This will not only stop rainwater from draining away which will then act to re-wet the peat, but also effectively separates the water table, allowing us to re-wet one area whilst the surrounding fields are unaffected.

In previous wetter farming trials we have installed bunds throughout the field which separated the trial into a series of cells. This allows us to control the water levels across the site and also grow different crops or trial different methods in different cells. However, at Gore House Farm we are only installing bunds around the perimeter of the field and using the existing land drains and ditches to control the water levels. If successful, this would be much quicker and cheaper to install for other farmers who may be interested in trialling wetter farming on their land.

Do bulrushes have any other uses?

Much as reed beds can provide natural water filtration, the same can also be said for bulrushes. As Gore House Farm is sited downstream from a water treatment plant, we will also be monitoring water quality as it leaves the wetter farming trial field. If, as expected, we see that the bulrushes have filtered out impurities from the water, this is not only better for our environment but may also allow the farmer to unlock additional payments from the government for this important ecosystem service benefit.

A person crumbling white fluffy bulrush seeds in their hands — Fluffy bulrush seeds - credit Saltyco®

What next?

Once the bunds are installed and the field has had its natural water table restored, we will then be sowing the bulrush seeds. Obviously getting large farm machinery onto a wetter field could be tricky so we are looking to sow the seeds by drone. The crop should then be ready to harvest within two to three years.

However during that time we will be busy monitoring the area closely. We will be taking regular measurements of any greenhouse gases which are being released, along with water quality, any effects on biodiversity, and of course how the bulrush crop is faring.

This project has been made possible thanks to funding from the Lowland Agricultural Peat Water Discovery Pilot administered by the Environment Agency on behalf of Defra.