Link between gut biology and soil biology

I'm very interested in this topic.
With outdoor breeding sows we always have a deterioration in performance at the end of the two years that we occupy a site, presumably something is impacting sow and piglet health.
I'm looking into ways to stop this very economically damaging drop, spurred on by what I learned at Groundswell and read since.
If maintaining ground cover influences the soil microbiome then that would influence the pigs gut microbiome.
The problem is how to do that with all those trotters and snouts doing their worst even if there was a chance to establish cover before they went on. (The rest of the rotation is out of my control)
 

Dead Rabbits

Member
Location
'Merica
Has anyone read " I contain multitudes "?

I have read reviews on it and heard an interview with the author. However I am loathe to spend money on a book that I won't read several times. The library can't get it.
 
I started to rethink about this when I watched this:

.

I am naturally a bit cautious about of lot material in this field because I think there is a lot claims that use a narrow evidence base and then overreach themselves. I only watched this because I thought that Stanford would probably do a bit of due diligence on their speakers which might reduce the chance of the speaker being a crank.
 

Dead Rabbits

Member
Location
'Merica
I started to rethink about this when I watched this:

.

I am naturally a bit cautious about of lot material in this field because I think there is a lot claims that use a narrow evidence base and then overreach themselves. I only watched this because I thought that Stanford would probably do a bit of due diligence on their speakers which might reduce the chance of the speaker being a crank.

You are right to be very cautious about this subject. There are already numerous snake oil salesman about promoting their microbial wonder product/food. The research is in its infancy, the tip of the iceberg has not even been exposed yet.
 

DrWazzock

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Lincolnshire
I tried some Inulin when I saw on the telly that it helps you sleep. White powder sprinkled on food. A soluble fibre. can't digest it but it provides some kind of benefit for gut bacteria. It definitely made me sleepy but also very windy at night. The Mrs was glad when I stopped using it.

Apparently it's made from ground up chicory roots. Also present in Jerusalem artichokes.
 

newholland

Member
Location
England
I am sure you guys will have already seen this in the other thread, but @martian did well posting the link, its a great, straight to the point presentation. These guys are so very correct. Had some great days with Gary Zimmer in the states too.
But how on earth do you go about trying to get an average farmer to listen? the farmer who's idea of constructive conversation is to moan about black grass, the lack of chemicals blah blah - is it that they just don't care?.....can't understand?.....too greedy?......lack of education and imagination?......how do you go about trying to change modern farming attitudes?

 

David_A

Member
BASE UK Member
Location
Fife
I am sure you guys will have already seen this in the other thread, but @martian did well posting the link, its a great, straight to the point presentation. These guys are so very correct. Had some great days with Gary Zimmer in the states too.
But how on earth do you go about trying to get an average farmer to listen? the farmer who's idea of constructive conversation is to moan about black grass, the lack of chemicals blah blah - is it that they just don't care?.....can't understand?.....too greedy?......lack of education and imagination?......how do you go about trying to change modern farming attitudes?

If they do not wish to change the surely that will be their problem in the long run. Of course it may backfire on us all if we are to become a more cooperative industry.
 

Kiwi Pete

Member
Livestock Farmer
It's strange how much of this my Dad used to chatter away about in the late 80s when I was just a wee nipper in the passenger seat, puttering around sheep in a little Suzuki LJ50.. it beggars belief that more research hasn't been done on the ruminant microbiome- compared to the research done on "ways to make them grow"!!
It seems we are not that much further ahead in 30 years in terms of really understanding what we've been doing for centuries.
So many farmers still see an animal as one, and not the product of a trillion microbes. And soil is just a place to sprinkle fertiliser on..
 
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SFI - What % were you taking out of production?

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Red Tractor drops launch of green farming scheme amid anger from farmers

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As reported in Independent


quote: “Red Tractor has confirmed it is dropping plans to launch its green farming assurance standard in April“

read the TFF thread here: https://thefarmingforum.co.uk/index.php?threads/gfc-was-to-go-ahead-now-not-going-ahead.405234/
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