The farming community lost a great friend, farmer and SAC Consulting specialist with the sudden death of Gavin Elrick, near the end of 2020. Born Robert Gavin Elrick in 1961 to Robin and Jean Elrick, he grew up in King Edward with his younger sister, Shona. In 1985, he married Carol at Cullen Old Parish Church. Their daughter, Lauren, was born in 1993, followed by sons, Nathan, in 1995, and Ellis, in 1998. More important than anything to Gavin was his family and he cherished the time they all spent together. After his parents retired in 1996, Gavin and Carol moved into the family farmhouse at the 120-acre Mains of Blackton to take over its running. Gavin never really wanted to be anywhere else.
“Peatlands are dynamic and diverse and the underlying causes of their degradation are as complex as the ecosystems themselves,” said Nazir Foead, head of Indonesia’s Peatland Restoration Agency (BRG). He made these remarks at the fourth and final webinar in a series convened by BRG and the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), which sought to explore and develop criteria and indicators for peatland restoration in Indonesia.
The country has pledged to restore over 2 million hectares of degraded peatlands in response to the U.N. Paris Agreement adopted as an effort to hold global warming in check. However, as Foead said in his keynote address, it is not a simple task. One possible solution to this complex endeavor is to measure progress through an appropriate, easy-to-use set of criteria and indicators that are locally relevant and internationally recognized.
Trees: the root to securing environmental support payments?
13 January 2021 |
Planting trees has been linked to increased farming productivity
Farmers and landowners are being urged to look into woodland planting as it could be the root to securing environmental support payments.
Trees have also been linked to increased agricultural productivity, according to SAC Consulting, part of Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC).
As shelter for livestock, they can reduce incidence of mastitis in ewes and hypothermia in lambs. For arable farms, trees can reduce wind damage to crops.
It was this unique mix of benefits that led John Lamont, a farm manager in Aberdeenshire, to plant over 11,000 broadleaved trees last year.